IT is obvious to anyone who listens to Steve Berry that his two biggest passions are motoring and music.

It is little surprise then that the dad-of-three has forged a successful broadcasting career around them — proudly championing his recognisable Bury accent along the way.

His career as a journalist, presenter, producer and director has taken him all around the world — he has edited motoring magazines, presented on a number of radio shows, been a producer on ITN and hosted a certain BBC motoring show.

Throughout the 1990s the 'boy Berry from Bury' took centre stage on Top Gear along with the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and Quentin Wilson until a format shake-up saw a change in presenters.

There are many more strings to the 50-year-old's bow, but more recently he was drawn back near his hometown for his current role as breakfast presenter on classic rock station Real Radio XS, which broadcasts across Greater Manchester.

Steve said: "I wake up in the morning and jump out of bed. I love coming to work. The people are great and the music is great I couldn't ask for more really.

"The kids of today have their own idea about music but that's not my thing. We play music for men and women of a certain age and mindset. I can't really work out why there wasn't a station like this before.

"Me and Matt (breakfast show producer) are like a bickering couple but there is obvious affection between us, and importantly, everybody is in on the joke.

"I spoke to Slash (Guns N Roses guitarist) recently who has been on Top Gear, and he asked if I got along with Clarkson and I said, 'do you get on with Axl?' This minder then piped up said it was time to wrap up the interview and Slash said, 'hey I'm talking to this guy.'"

Born in Fairfield hospital, Steve lived near the Buckley Wells railway line and attended St Mary's primary school — where his daughter now also attends.

He said: "We used to live in what used to be Orchard Court and three years ago I remember walking from there to Tottington and I walked past all the properties I had ever lived in my life.

"It was a pretty ordinary childhood, but really good. I remember we would play those kinds of football games on Bury Grammar school's hockey pitches that would literally last weeks. We'd be like, 'what's the score?' and someone would say 'about 450-330.'"

His love of motors was in his blood thanks to his father Alan Berry and his grandfather John Moore.
Steve said: "My grandfather and my dad were really interested in motorbikes and cars, which lead me to my obsession. I remember my grandfather had a British racing green Jaguar and he would drive me to the shops on a Saturday afternoon, go in and leave me in the car with the engine running. It was brilliant.

"My dad was very mechanically minded and I'd spend an hour stood next to him with a spanner while he was fixing his car, and you could guarantee he'd need me for it when I'd wandered off and he's shout, 'where's my spanner?'"

He began his career as a journalist before specialising in motoring journalist and later joined the Top Gear team.

He said: "I did a lot of crime reporting and investigative stuff before the opportunity came up for me to do motoring. I ended up editing three magazines after then, which was really good.

"When people ask me about the success of Top Gear, I say it's because we all knew what we were talking about. I was there for about 10 years and it was a brilliant experience."

Despite his success Steve, who now lives in Salford Quays, hopes his children do not follow in his footsteps.

He said: "The last thing I want my children to do is work in the media as it's changed so much. If you're in the comfortable bosom of the Beeb then you're probably ok, but in the commercial radio world there have been so many cuts and job losses.

"My daughter used to be a child model and she had an audition for a speaking part with Nigel Martin Smith, who managed Take That. She was only two. I went along in my leather jacket and he looked at me and asked, 'can you ride a motorbike?' I said 'of course.' He then asked me if I wanted to be in a film.

"I got back home later and her mum asked how her audition went, and I said, 'not great, but I got a part."

Listen to Steve Berry every weekday from 6am on 106.1 Real XS.