Saira Khan

Saira Khan
Born 15 May 1970
Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England
Occupation TV presenter, entrepreneur
Spouse(s) Steven Hyde
Children Zachariah Hyde, Amara Hyde
Website
Official website

Saira Khan (born 15 May 1970 in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England) is a British television personality of Pakistani descent. She was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.

Career

Khan has since become a regular face on British TV. In 2006, she presented on the BBC's Temper Your Temper, a programme dealing with anger management. She has presented several documentaries for the BBC, "Saira Khan's Pakistan Adventure" 2x60mins BBC2 2007 and "Adopting Abroad, Saira's Story" 2x60mins BBC2 Sept 2011, as well as appearing as a guest on a variety of BBC and ITV shows such as Ready Steady Cook and Countdown. She currently presents the CBBC show Trade Your Way to the USA and previously presented Beat the Boss. She presented an edition of the BBC's Money Programme about entrepreneurial mothers.

Khan has also contributed to radio notably to Radio 4's Woman's hour and Radio 2's The Jeremy Vine Show and Radio 4's Any Questions

In 2006, Khan set up a new campaign called OUR SAY to campaign for local and national referenda on issues of major public interest.[1] Khan also runs her own baby-products business called Miamoo.

She has also written a self-help book, P.U.S.H. For Success.

Parents and her early life

In 1965 Saira's parents emigrated from the city of Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir to England. She was born to Muslim parents and brought up in a Muslim culture, but is not herself a practising Muslim: "I like the way I was brought up, my parents taught me about family values, tolerance, generosity and self respect - these are values I hold dearly, but I believe these values are shared by all good people, not just people from one faith. My issue with religion is the way it's practised by the majority of people. I don't like how it can create a divide and lead to hatred - that's not what religion is about. I'd rather say I practise nothing and be a good person than say I'm a Muslim and be ignorant and selfish." Saira had converted to Christianity from Islam. She wrote an article to ban abaya(Muslim women dress) on London Streets.She also supported Israel on many occasions.

Saira went to Brighton Polytechnic and then on to the University of Nottingham, where she gained an MA in Environmental Planning in 2003. She became a Town Planner after graduating and worked for a small private consultancy called Michael Parker Associates based in Lewes in East Sussex.

Her father died from a heart attack in 1998 while visiting relatives in Kashmir – "I was absolutely devastated. For the first time I felt really alone."

She is relative of Sardar Sayab Khalid, member of Azad Kashmir assembly.

Personal life

She is married to Steven Hyde. In 2008 Khan gave birth to a baby boy, Zachariah. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis. In March 2011, she adopted a baby girl, Amara, from the Edhi Orphanage in Karachi, Pakistan.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.our-say.org/

External links