He presented Mixing It on BBC Radio 3 from 1990 to 2007, when the programme ended. His score for Cold Feet was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Original Television Music in 1999, though lost to Ben Bartlett's score to Walking with Dinosaurs.Russell graduated from the University of York in 1982 with a degree in music; he was a presenter on University Radio York but was "thrown out ... for laughing while reading the news".