T V & Radio
My friends laugh at how I routinely come away from a supermarket checkout with the entire life story of the person who served me!
But CONNECTING with people is what I do.
It's what I LOVE!
And after 20 years in an industry I adore I’ve got a Best Presenter BAFTA, an NTA and TRIC award to my name. But however amazing accolades are, those awards are just the result of an incredible journey - which all started with a childhood dream. I wanted to present Blue Peter. The End.
It was in the days before The Spice Girls and Girl Power and Blue Peter was the place I saw girls doing all the things I wanted to do! As a shy 6 year old I never equated my shyness with holding me back on my dream. I worked for free in local radio, taught myself to type so I could become a PA at BBC TV Centre and got up at 4 on weekends to present on Nickelodeon.
My 6 years on Blue Peter were incredible, getting to inspire a generation to play all out and getting to do things you couldn’t even pay to do?
I still get blown away by messages from women like “THANK YOU - you’re the reason I’m a brain surgeon” and “you made me feel as if anything was possible in my life.”
I jumped out of planes, bobsleighed with the British Olympic Team, got my Touring Car race licence and became the first Civilian to fly a full display with The Red Arrows.
A TV career followed - hosting the London Olympic bid to a worldwide audience of 100 million (gulp) and fronting some of TV's most iconic show - most recently standing in on the sofas of Good Morning Britain and This Morning...
And then Radio.
I was honoured to become the first woman to front a National Chart Show with Hit40UK - as well as fronting my own shows on London’s Capital FM.
I love radio. Having fronted Heart Breakfast for 3 years, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of messages I received when I left. People shared how my positive attitude had helped people through dark times, how they viewed me as a mate, how I’d helped them to keep going.
Wow - what an honour to get to do that in a job you love and get to impact others so positively!
I guess that’s what I love about presenting. For me, it's always been about connecting with the audience on a very real level. After Hit40UK I moved to Los Angeles for 3 years with my husband and new baby daughter. I wanted some time away from the industry and 3 years of anonymity in LA was perfect.
My husband is an award winning Producer / Director at Trey Farley Director so our self-shooting capabilities have been a game changer in these unprecedented times in 2021.
I’ve always just been an ordinary girl-next-door in an extraordinary job and keeping grounded is really important to me. Being recently described as “honest, authentic and refreshingly real” was worth more to me than ALL the awards!
