Hewer was born in Swindon on 17 February, 1944. His mother was Mary Patricia Hewer, and his father, John David Radbourn Hewer was a senior partner of Hewer, Spriggs and Wilson, a veterinary practice in Swindon's Old Town area. They had met when both were university students in Dublin. The family lived in Old Town, and Hewer was educated at Clongowes Wood College, an exclusive Jesuit boarding school in County Kildare, Ireland. Hewer has two sisters and two brothers. Hewer's grandfather, John Radbourn Hewer, began as a vet in Swindon in 1912. His maternal grandfather, Oswald Jamison, was High Sheriff of Belfast during the 1920s. He secured a place to study law at Trinity College, Dublin, but his parents could not afford the fees for him to go there.
Career
Hewer moved to London in the 1960s aged 20 to join a public relations consultancy as a trainee. Within six years he had joined the board and eventually bought out the owner, becoming the sole shareholder. His PR company was hired by Amstrad to represent them in 1983. He spent 21 years in the Amstrad management group. He sold his PR agency in 1998. Hewer's status as a businessman and public figure has been used in various ways; for example, in 2012, he was one of many celebrities to help promote the change in the UK pension scheme to automatic enrolment. In 2013, he worked with Vista Print on their "Build Your Small Business" campaign, and in 2014 worked with Bark.com to promote their services marketplace product.
Television
Hewer and ex-Amstrad owner Alan Sugar became friends through their working relationship. He became one of Sugar's advisers on The Apprentice on BBC One. On 18 December 2014, Hewer revealed that he had decided to leave the show after the tenth series, believing it to be "the appropriate time". On 9 January 2012, Hewer became the new host of the Channel 4 game show Countdown taking over from Sports presenter Jeff Stelling. In July 2012, Hewer presented a four-part series on BBC Two called The Farm Fixer, where he assisted farmers in Northern Ireland in diversifying. Hewer also presented two BBC One series The Town that Never Retired and We All Pay Your Benefits with Margaret Mountford. On 28 August 2013, Hewer appeared on an episode of BBC One's, Who Do You Think You Are?. In July 2014, Hewer co-presented a BBC One documentary series with Margaret Mountford called Nick and Margaret: Too many Immigrants? which researched the impact of and attitudes towards immigrants in the UK. Hewer has appeared on panel shows Would I Lie to You?, Ask Rhod Gilbert, Have I Got News for You, Room 101 and Big Star's Little Star. In December 2015 Hewer appeared, alongside Margaret Mountford, in BBC's Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.
Personal life
Hewer married Margo Spindler in 1973. They were divorced in 1985 after they had had two children. His son, James Radbourn Hewer b.Feb 1975, briefly acted as co-director in his father's company Hewer has been a patron of the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action since 2015. In 2017 he presented the charity's BBC Radio 4 charity appeal during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. In July 2008, Hewer took part in the charity drive event, the Mongol Rally, in a Renault 4, driving from London to Ulan Bator. He raised over £12,000 for Hope and Homes for Children. He wrote a series of blogs about his journey for the online travel section of the Daily Telegraph. For many years, Hewer was a supporter of the Labour Party. While appearing on Question Time in 2017 he stated that he had supported the party since Harold Wilson, but was critical of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband. In January 2019, he stated that he would no longer vote for Labour, after his Countdown co-presenter Rachel Riley received abuse on social media for speaking out against anti-Semitism within the party. During one Countdown introduction Hewer recounted an anecdote about a £100 cheque, in his name as payee, left with a pub landlord. Thinking it was a scam, he didn't bank it. Time passed and a chap asked Nick did he get the cheque? Yes what was it for? You bet that sum that Donald Trump would become US President. "So I did" and proudly deposited his winnings. In an interview with the Irish Times in 2018 to promote his book Hewer offered regrets about his poor relationship with his children following his divorce, He expressed satisfaction that he had improved family relations and was a better grandfather. He and his partner have a home in south west France. On 2 November 2012, Hewer received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Kingston University in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to business and entrepreneurship". On 1 April 2019 Nick became the President of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
