Sometimes I’m on TV…
I absolutely love doing TV. Working with creative, energetic clever people as part of a team is always a joy. And my mum still gets excited when I’m on the tele so that’s nice…
GB News - Bev Turner Today
Coming soon…
This Morning - ITV
I regularly pop up on This Morning’s ‘View’ section in which I have to set-up and discuss several stories of the day alongside another ‘commentator’ and debate the most salient points. On an average day, we could cover anything from politics to parenting, through pandemics and prostate checks.…just what you would expect from ITV’s longest running daytime show.
Jeremy Vine - Channel 5
I’ve been a regular panellist alongside Jezzer for almost two years and they keep asking me back. I think this may be because I generally know how I feel about most current affairs topics; I love live TV; I’m always across the news agenda; I’m a girly swot about being fully-prepared and I don’t mind a well-natured row. I don’t even mind a bad-tempered row which does happen from time to time and always causes a stir when they clip those bits on social media. But I see nothing wrong in being divisive and taking a position – daily, news-based shows like this keep the country thinking!
Good Morning Britain - ITV
Good Morning Britain (another early start!) is a very regular haunt of mine which I absolutely love - not least because I get to argue with Piers Morgan! This is not easy at 8am, but after enough coffee I am usually raring to go and love a good spar with a man who doesn't pause for breath
BBC Breakfast - BBC1
Why do I only seem to do TV that gets me out of bed criminally early?....I’m a regular newspaper reviewer on BBC Breakfast which means that I get to travel to my home town of Manchester and have a night away from the kids. This is all the incentive I need. Oh, and I get paid to read the papers and talk about them – which I do anyway – so I love this gig.
Taste - Sky 1
This was the show that I wish I had royalties on…I was the writer and sole presenter on 65 x 1 hour food and drink shows which showcased then ‘unknown’ TV favourites such as Gino DeCampo, Ching He Huang, Angela Hartnett and Olly Smith amongst many others. We had an absolute ball! The programme was a huge success; it was showed all around the world on all Sky channels for seven years and I once received a text from a friend watching on a hotel in Kabul who said, “I’ve just seen you on TV claiming that pate is enjoying a renaissance.” Olly Smith and I exploded a chocolate bomb (which were apparently a hit at parties), but which revealed some Chinese love eggs and how I managed to carry on with the next link whilst we were both doubled over with laughter I will never know…Sadly, the commissioner moved on and as is the way with these things, it did not get recommissioned, (although by that time I imagine whoever owned the rights was on a yacht enjoying a renaissance of their own). I still get recognized on the street for Taste and I’d like to start a social media campaign #bringbacktaste, but that would look quite desperate so I’ll leave it for now.
Formula 1 - ITV
(See books - The Pits)
ITV moved me from NBA to F1 after losing the rights to basketball and although I was a total motorsport novice, I was told to "bring the sport to life from behind the scenes!” Sadly, the TV director didn’t agree with this vision and sat me down to say, “I’ve been told to bring a pretty TV presenter on board, what do you think your role is?” I wanted to point out that this was not only sexist but also offensive to host Jim Rosenthall. Anyhow, cutting a long story short, I was paid very well to appear on TV for 3 minutes every two weeks (unless something headline-grabbing about tyre pressure came up in which case my items would be dropped entirely at the last minute). I left F1. Had a baby and wrote a book. In 2018 I was rolled out onto all the usual outlets to discuss the sport’s decision to drop Grid Girls which was, of course, what I’d said at the time. This proves that I’m a soothsayer who is always ahead of the curve so sit down and show me your palm.
Videotech - ITV1
I had a great time hosting my own late-night music show as you can imagine…I interviewed everyone from Take That to The Spice Girls, Coldplay etc etc…basically anyone who was anyone in the music industry in 2003. There was a lot of partying. A lot of nonsense. And a lot of happy memories.