Ben Shephard

For the American musician and Soundgarden bassist, see Ben Shepherd. For the English historian, see Ben Shephard (historian).
Ben Shephard
Born Benjamin Peter Sherrington Shephard
11 December 1975
Epping, Essex, England
Nationality British
Education Chigwell School
University of Birmingham
Occupation Journalist, presenter
Years active 1998–present
Employer ITV Breakfast
ITV
Sky Sports
Television Presenting:
GMTV
The Xtra Factor
The Krypton Factor
Goals on Sunday
Champions League
Tipping Point
Good Morning Britain
Ninja Warrior UK
Spouse(s) Annie Perks (m. 2004)
Children Jack (b. 2005)
Sam (b. 2007)
Website
Official website

Benjamin "Ben" Peter Sherrington Shephard (born 11 December 1974)[1][2] is an English television presenter and journalist who is currently employed by both ITV and Sky Sports. His most recognised role was as a main presenter on the now defunct breakfast station GMTV, although since then he has hosted game shows such as The Krypton Factor, 1 vs. 100, Safebreakers, Tipping Point and Ninja Warrior UK.

On 3 March 2014, ITV announced that Shephard would return to breakfast television to host their new morning show Good Morning Britain. His first show was on 28 April 2014.

Early life and education

Shephard was educated at Chigwell School, an independent school in the civil parish of Chigwell in the Epping Forest area of Essex, followed by the University of Birmingham, where he achieved a 2:1 BA Hons degree in Dance, Drama & Theatre Arts.[3] A West Ham United supporter, he has also received honours in both rugby and football.[4]

Career

Channel 4

Main article: Channel 4

Shephard's career took off in 1998, when he began hosting Channel 4 spin-off show The Bigger Breakfast, alongside fellow presenters including Josie D'Arby, Melanie Sykes and Dermot O'Leary. That same year, Shephard became the first presenter of T4's teen strand on Channel 4, which launched on 25 October 1998. He also presented Control Freaks for the channel in 1998.

Shephard returned to Channel 4 in 2013 to present a brand new cookery programme called What's Cooking?. He hosted one series, alongside actress Lisa Faulkner, and then permanently left Channel 4 on 24 May 2013.

ITV

Main article: ITV

Between 2004 and 2006, Shephard presented the first three series of ITV2 spin-off programme The Xtra Factor, whilst Kate Thornton hosted the main show on ITV While hosting the show, Shephard also starred in The Xtra Factor – Battle of the Stars. He was replaced in 2007 by Fearne Cotton.

Between 2005 and 2011, Shephard was a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for regular presenter Phillip Schofield. On 14 July 2014, Ben stood in for Eamonn Holmes on This Morning Summer.

In 2006, Shephard co-presented reality singing contest Soapstar Superstar alongside Fern Britton. The programme returned the following year in 2007, without Shephard as the host. In 2007, Shephard co-hosted Dancing on Ice Exclusive, a spin-off series which aired on ITV.

In 2008, Shephard returned to ITV to co-present Who Dares, Sings! with Denise van Outen. The series received reasonable viewing figures, achieving an average of 3.58 million viewers.

Shephard has hosted two music specials on the channel, celebrating some of Britain's best loved musicians. These shows were Rod Stewart: One Night Only, which aired on 5 December 2009 and Phil Collins: One Night Only, which aired the following year on 18 September 2010.

In 2009, ITV decided to revive the classic game show The Krypton Factor. Shephard was chosen to present the new series. Following the success of the first series, he was asked to present a second series the following year. This was aired in 2010. In 2010, Shephard co-presented a short-lived show called Dancing on Ice Friday alongside Coleen Nolan. The show was a spin-off from the main Dancing on Ice show.

Shephard has presented the popular daytime game show Tipping Point since 2012, as well as celebrity episodes known as Tipping Point: Lucky Stars since 2013.

Shephard co-presented two episodes of the factual series Mystery Map with Julia Bradbury, which aired for two episodes on 20 November 2013 and 27 November 2013 respectively.[5][6]

In 2015, Ben co-presented the primetime game show Ninja Warrior UK for ITV. He presents the show alongside Rochelle Humes and Chris Kamara. The first series began airing on 11 April 2015 and continued for eight episodes.

ITV Breakfast

Main article: ITV Breakfast

Shephard joined the long-running programme GMTV in 2000 where he presented Entertainment Today alongside Jenni Falconer. He also became the main relief presenter for GMTV Today. Due to the departure of Eamonn Holmes in April 2005, Shephard became Fiona Phillips' co-host on GMTV Today, presenting on Mondays, Tuesdays and alternate Wednesdays. He continued to present Entertainment Today, but began to share duties with Michael Underwood. When GMTV relaunched in January 2009, his main co-host became Kate Garraway, presenting on Monday, Tuesday and alternate Wednesdays. He has also presented the show with Emma Crosby, Carla Romano and Penny Smith.

On 30 June 2010, Shephard announced his departure from GMTV, two months before the end of the programme, stating that he wished to spend more time with his family and do charity work. [7] Ben presented his final episode of GMTV on 30 July 2010, before the programme was axed two months later in September. The show was then replaced by Daybreak hosted Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley and then later by Lorraine Kelly, Kate Garraway and Aled Jones

After just four years on air, Daybreak was axed in spring 2014 to make way for a brand new ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain. It was announced on 3 March 2014, that Shephard would be a presenter on the newly launched programme. Ben's first show was on 28 April 2014 and he currently hosts the show weekday mornings alongside Susanna Reid.[8][9]

Sky

On 27 July 2010, Shephard announced that he had signed a new contract with Sky Sports, where he currently works on live football and co-presents Goals on Sunday (known as Soccer Extra when aired on a Bank Holiday Monday) alongside Chris Kamara in a deal reportedly worth £495,000 a year.[10][11][12] He has also gone on to host live secondary match coverage of the UEFA Champions League on Sky Sports 3 or 4, while the main coverage on Sky Sports 1 is hosted by Jeff Stelling. He is also the main anchor for Sky Sports coverage of the League Cup.

In the summer of 2011, Shephard fronted an eight-part game show for Sky1 called Safebreakers.

On 3 March 2014, Shephard announced on his official website that he would only be presenting Goals on Sunday for Sky Sports as of 27 April 2014.[13]

BBC

Main article: BBC

On 14 July 2007, Shephard presented entertainment series DanceX with Strictly Come Dancing judges Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli on the panel. The show was not renewed for any further series.

Between 2008 and 2009, Shephard presented the National Lottery game show 1 vs. 100, taking over from Dermot O'Leary.

In June 2012, Shephard made a guest appearance on the sports-based panel show A Question Of Sport. The following month he announced that he had permanently left the BBC in order to concentrate on his work with Sky Sports and ITV.

Radio

In 2006, Shephard was a presenter on Magic Radio station. He presented a Saturday breakfast programme. He returned to radio in 2008, where he presented a Monday evening show on Heat Radio.

Other work

Ben appeared in the 2004 TV film A Bear's Christmas Tail as a carol singer. He also appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2009. He played the role of Diagon Alley Father, but was uncredited.

In 2009, Shephard starred in an episode of Bookaboo on CITV.

From July to September 2012, Ben was a studio host for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, which was only made available to view in the Olympic park. At this time, he also acted as a stadium commentator, where he introduced all of the action in the main arena, and he also interviewed celebrity guests.

Since 2013, Shephard has been the face of Warburtons lunch thins.

Guinness World Records

Shephard currently holds two Guinness World Records:

Personal life

Shephard married Annie Perks on 25 March 2004. The couple have two sons: Jack (born in 2005) and Sam (born in 2007).

A West Ham United supporter, Shephard has also received honours in both rugby and football.[4]

Charity

Shephard supports several charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Haven House Children's Hospice and the Holly Lodge Centre. To help raise funds for these charities, Ben takes part in many extreme physical challenges. Since the year 2000, he has completed 14 marathons.

Shephard also spent a long time and become good friends with 12 year-old Harry Moseley, who had supported Cancer Research UK for many years, despite suffering from brain cancer himself. Harry dedicated a lot of his time to help others who had cancer and with the help of Shephard has been able to help more people beat cancer. In September 2011, Harry Moseley died but Shephard remains involved with Harry's family and is now an ambassador for the Help Harry Help Others campaign in his memory.

In 2006, 2008,[16] 2010, 2012 and 2014, Shephard played for England in Soccer Aid which aired live on ITV. The Soccer Aid events raise money for the Unicef charity.

One of Shephard's charity challenges was boxing against Lemar for the Sport Relief appeal. After training with Ricky Hatton and Andy Mayo at Mayo's Gym, he won by decision after 3 rounds.

Another of Shephard's charity challenges took place in early 2009 when he, along with eight other well-known celebrities, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief. Joining him on the climb were Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Fearne Cotton, Gary Barlow, Alesha Dixon, Ronan Keating, Denise van Outen and Chris Moyles. The team raised £3,326,000 in total.[17]

In 2010, Shephard and his friend Ivan ran the Coast-to-Coast Challenge, raising over £120,000 for the Children's Heart Unit Fund at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne. The run was 145 miles long and took them five days.

In March 2011, Shephard designed blue and black striped hipsters for charity to help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer.

On 13 January 2014, Shephard joined his friend Ivan and burned ten thousand calories for the charity Seb4Chuf. However, despite this, Ben had warned his Twitter followers that if he picked up any injuries in the process, he might not be able to take part in 2014's Soccer Aid.

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Channel Notes
1998 Control Freaks Presenter Channel 4
The Bigger Breakfast Presenter
T4 Presenter Teen strand
2000 Eastenders Revealed Presenter BBC
Maths 4 Real Presenter Channel 4 1 series
MTV Select Co-presenter MTV
2000–2008 Entertainment Today[18] Co-presenter ITV Joined GMTV Today in 2005
2002 Friends Man with Microphone NBC Guest appearance, 1 episode
2004–2006 The Xtra Factor Presenter ITV Spin off from The X Factor
2005–2010 GMTV Presenter Left the show in 2010[19]
2005, 2009–2011, 2014 This Morning Presenter Regular stand-in presenter
2006 Soapstar Superstar Presenter 1 series
All*Star Cup Reporter
The Xtra Factor: Battle of the Stars Presenter ITV 3 series
2007 Dancing on Ice Exclusive Presenter Spin-off from Dancing on Ice
DanceX[20] Presenter BBC One 1 series (7 episodes)
2008 1 vs. 100[21] Presenter 2 series (16 episodes)
Who Dares, Sings! [22] Co-presenter ITV 1 series (7 episodes)
2009 Scream! If You Know the Answer [23] Contestant Watch 1 episode
Rod Stewart: One Night Only Presenter ITV 1 episode
2009–2010 The Krypton Factor[24] Presenter 2 series (20 episodes)
Ads of the Decade Narrator 3 episodes
2010 Dancing on Ice Friday Co-presenter Spin-off from Dancing on Ice
2010— Goals On Sunday Co-presenter Sky Sports
2010–2014 UEFA Champions League Presenter
2010 Phil Collins: One Night Only Presenter ITV 1 episode
2011 Safebreakers Presenter Sky1 1 series (8 episodes)
2012— Tipping Point Presenter ITV 5 (regular), 2 (celebrity)
2013 What's Cooking? Co-presenter Channel 4 1 series (65 episodes)
Mystery Map Co-presenter ITV 1 series (2 episodes)
2014— Good Morning Britain Co-presenter Weekdays
2015— Ninja Warrior UK Co-presenter 1 series (8 episodes)

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 A Bear's Christmas Tail Carol Singer No. 1 TV film
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Diagon Alley Father Uncredited

Radio

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Magic 105.4 Presenter Saturday breakfast slot
2008 Heat Radio Monday evening slot

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Hardwar Syd Voiceover

References

External links