The third of seven children, Dick was born in Burma, but raised and educated in Northern Ireland. He attended Ballyclare High School before going to Welbeck where he was Head of College.

Dick then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and, in 1979, was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals. In 1993 he was awarded an MBE for distinguished service in Northern Ireland. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2001 having served in Germany, England, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Northern Ireland.

After leaving the army, Dick had a successful career as a Programme Manager, and then trouble shooter, for a large multinational company before becoming a full-time television presenter and author.

He has an honours degree in Electrical Engineering and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University.

Dick has arguably the best moustache in showbusiness. He is a man of many interests, some of which are reflected in his successful and varied television career.

He hit our television screens with Scrapheap Challenge and subsequent credits include three series of It’s Not Easy Being Green and Celebrity Masterchef for the BBC and Hungry Sailors for ITV.

2015 took Dick across the pond to film Dirty Rotten Survival in America for National Geographic, whilst beginning filming Escape to the Chateau for Channel 4. Then in 2017, Dick filmed BBC4’s Trainspotters, Biggest Little Railway and Cabins in the Wild for Channel 4. After 9 wonderful series, Escape to The Chateau came to an end in 2022.