Holly Willoughby
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| Holly Willoughby | |
| Born | February 10, 1981 Brighton, England |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Television presenter |
Holly Marie Willoughby (born 10 February 1981 in Brighton) is an English television presenter, best known for the ITV ice skating show Dancing on Ice. She was educated at the independent Burgess Hill School in the town of Burgess Hill in West Sussex.
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[edit] Career
Willoughby started out as an underwear model for various clients including Pretty Polly, appearing in various adverts and posters - one wall poster featuring her and three other models is still available to buy in some shops.
She started her television career in 2000, becoming one of the presenters on the short-lived CITV show S Club TV, a spin-off of the British pop band S Club 7. After that, she presented several shows for CBBC including Xchange and also the Fame Academy spin-off show on the CBBC Channel.
In 2005, Willoughby moved back to CITV to co-present the successor to SMTV Live called Ministry of Mayhem, later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown. Every Saturday morning she was covered in gunge, starred in several sketches and comedic situations and also interviewed special guests, whilst linking to various competitions and cartoons. In 2006 she won the BAFTA children's TV presenter award.[1]
In January 2006, she started hosting the new ITV ice skating show Dancing on Ice with Phillip Schofield, and returned to co-host the show in 2007 and 2008.
She has presented Streetmate for ITV2, and a similar show, with friend Fearne Cotton called Holly & Fearne Go Dating was hastily dropped due to poor viewing figures after debuting on September 5, 2007
She has since also presented on other ITV programmes, including co-presenting the ITV2 companion show for Celebrity Wrestling with Jack Osbourne, and the ITV2 show Lip Service with Spencer Brown.
ITV have also used her to present a number of music related shows, including The Westlife Show: Live, a one-off music show on ITV1 on December 15, 2007, as well as occasionally presenting ITV's flagship music show CD:UK. She also presented Greased Lightnin, the ITV2 spin-off show to the main show Grease Is the Word. The main show was on Saturday nights (ITV), with the spin off-shown later in the evening (ITV2).
She has also competed in a number of shows, including competeing with Fearne Cotton in ITV's Saturday Night entertainment show, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, on September 29, 2007 and taking part with in an episode of All Star Family Fortunes, on November 3, 2007.
In May 2008, it was officially announced that Holly will take over from her best friend, Fearne Cotton, and present The Xtra Factor.
[edit] Other notable achievements
- She was voted 71st in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World poll in 2005; 30th in 2006 and 100th in 2008.
- She turned on Brighton's first Christmas lights for 25 years on 16 November 2006.
[edit] Personal life
Willoughby is married to Dan Baldwin, a former producer of Ministry of Mayhem. The couple moved into a flat in South London and got engaged on the same day. On 6 May 2006, live on Saturday Showdown, Willoughby announced her engagement.[2] The wedding took place on 4th August 2007 at Amberley Castle, West Sussex. Fearne Cotton and Sarah Cawood were two of the bridesmaids and Oisin Russell Conway was an usher.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Fearne Cotton |
Host of The Xtra Factor 2008 – present |
Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Willoughby, Holly |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10 February 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brighton, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
