Vicki Butler-Henderson

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Vicki Butler-Henderson

Born 16 February 1972 (1972-02-16) (age 36)
Hertfordshire, England
Occupation racing driver
television presenter

Victoria "Vicki" Butler-Henderson (born 16 February 1972, in Hertfordshire, England) is a racing driver and television presenter.

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[edit] Biography

Born into a racing family, her grandfather used to race a Frazer Nash at Brooklands, her father was in the British karting team and her brother Charlie is a racing driver. She has an older sister, Charlotte, who does not race. Butler-Henderson grew up on the family farm, and was educated at The Perse School for Girls in Cambridge. [1]

Butler-Henderson started racing karts at the age of 12, being overtaken by David Coulthard in her first race.[2] She holds a Race National C licence as well as a power boat racing licence. After supplementing her income as a racing instructor at Silverstone Circuit, she also undertook a dual career in journalism where she worked on numerous British motoring magazines including Auto Express, What Car? and Performance Car. She was the assistant launch editor and mechanic in Max Power magazine, referred to simply as "VBH." [1]

[edit] Media career

In 1997, she joined the BBC's flagship motoring show Top Gear. After the BBC cancelled the original show in 2001, Butler-Henderson, along with co-presenters Quentin Willson and Tiff Needell, moved to Channel 5 in 2002 to continue their work on a show now called Fifth Gear. In 2004 she also presented ITV's coverage of the British Touring Car Championship, in which her brother Charlie briefly competed in 2004; and from February 2006 the ten-part series Wrecks To Riches for Discovery Real Time, but was replaced for the second series starting in December 2006 by former racing driver Amanda Stretton.

Butler-Henderson has in recent years broadened her media career outside racing and cars to become a general presenter. After co-hosting radio shows on Virgin Radio, in 2005, she presented a daytime television show for ITV called Date My Daughter in which a single man 'dates' three mothers after which they decide if he is worthy enough to date their daughter. [3]

With her distinctive gravelly voice, some what derived from cigarette smoking, she has recorded voice overs for radio and television advertisements, including Wrigleys Extra Thin Ice and Sony Stores. In January 2006, Butler-Henderson appeared in a TV commercial for the Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership in which she stated that the Partnership "don't want your cash, they just want you to slow down".

[edit] Personal life

Butler-Henderson is romantically linked to former Fifth Gear producer and current Top Gear studio director, Phil Churchward. [4]

Butler-Henderson drives a Mk II Golf GTi, a Honda S2000 and a Ducati Monster 750. [1][5] She is a fan of snooker and darts, and is an avid skier.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Vicky Butler-Henderson Interview. Asrecommended.
  2. ^ Alex, Eckford (4 October 2006). Auto Talk: Vicki Butler–Henderson. AutoTrader.
  3. ^ Upclose. ITV. Internet Archive (22 November 2005).
  4. ^ Bad boys are back in town. The Sunday Times (July 16, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  5. ^ "Typical biker: Vicki Butler-Henderson", The Daily Telegraph, 21 November 2000. 

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Butler-Henderson, Vicki
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Racing driver, television presenter, journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 16 February 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Hertfordshire, England, UK
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH