HE'S OUTSPOKEN, hates yuppies, has a reputation as a right-wing ranter, and guess what... he wants to hear from you.
Jon Gaunt, 46, has had a meteoric rise through the nation's media from his days growing up in a single parent family in Coventry.
And now the popular host of Talk Sport and columnist for The Sun has decided to let his listeners and readers have their say in a series of 'an audience with' events in Coventry and Bedworth.
Well, he'll still be talking back if he doesn't agree, but Jon says it's a chance to return to his real passion - the stage.
"I went to Birmingham University to do drama," he explained.
During his time there, Jon adds, the now superstar Clive Owen became a good friend and even Simon Le Bon was a classmate.
"When I went back to Coventry we set up a theatre cooperative called Tic Toc, we put on a real mix of shows that the city sorely needed.
"I still think Coventry needs that sort of venue today, the Belgrade is good as a theatre, but the city is crying out for a venue like the Civic Hall in Bedworth."
Sadly, the cooperative folded and Jon began his journey into broadcasting, eventually taking him to the very top.
But he explains he's not into the trappings that come hand-in-hand with his line of work.
"I think the best bit of London is when you are leaving it at Euston station," he laughed.
"I never wanted to become one of the media types that live down there.
"I get invited to have lunch at Parliament by some well-known politicians, but I always decline, it's not for me."
Jon's actions bare out his claims as he lives more than a few miles away from the capital in Northamptonshire.
But he still likes to keep close to the area he grew up in.
"I have a step-sister in Bedworth and I buy all my meat from John Taylor's butchers in Earlsdon, he's a good friend of mine," he added.
"Bedworth has always been considered as the poor relation of Coventry, but it's a great place, and at least it has a Civic Hall."
An audience with Jon Gaunt, Live and Undaunted, will be coming to the Bedworth Civic Hall (024 7637 6707) on Friday February 22, followed by a finale appearance at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre (024 7655 3055) on Saturday June 7.
WIN TICKETS! THE Coventry Times is offering you the chance to see Jon Gaunt in his new show ‘An Audience With Jon Gaunt’, which takes place at the Civic Hall in Bedworth on February 22.
In this promotion you are invited to put your questions to ‘Gaunty.’ Send us up to three questions and you have a chance of winning free tickets as well as three FREE copies of his new Autobiography ‘Undaunted.’
Send your questions to the Times editor: darren_parkin@mrn.co.uk or write to Coventry Times, Midland Newspapers Ltd, Corporation Street, Coventry, CV1 1FP before noon on Friday, February 8. Usual competition rules apply.
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