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'''Fearne Cotton ''' (born [[3 September]] [[1981]]) is an [[England|English]] [[presenter]] known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' and ''[[Red Nose Day]]''. She can also now be heard co-hosting the [[BBC Radio 1]] Chart show and also request show with [[Reggie Yates]]. Fearne was also host of [[ITV2]]'s ''[[The X Factor (UK)#The Xtra Factor|The Xtra Factor]]'' during 2007.
'''Fearne Cotton is a mutant cat camel. yay! hiya nina! ''' (born [[3 September]] [[1981]]) is an [[England|English]] [[presenter]] known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' and ''[[Red Nose Day]]''. She can also now be heard co-hosting the [[BBC Radio 1]] Chart show and also request show with [[Reggie Yates]]. Fearne was also host of [[ITV2]]'s ''[[The X Factor (UK)#The Xtra Factor|The Xtra Factor]]'' during 2007.


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 17:52, 27 July 2008

Fearne Cotton
Born (1981-09-03) 3 September 1981 (age 43)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Presenter, Voice-over artist
Known forPresenting radio, reality and music shows.
Parent(s)Lyn and Mick Cotton
RelativesSir Bill Cotton
WebsiteRadio 1 Website

Fearne Cotton is a mutant cat camel. yay! hiya nina! (born 3 September 1981) is an English presenter known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and Red Nose Day. She can also now be heard co-hosting the BBC Radio 1 Chart show and also request show with Reggie Yates. Fearne was also host of ITV2's The Xtra Factor during 2007.

Early life

Born in <Northwood, north-west London, Cotton grew up in the nearby suburb of Eastcote, in Abbotsbury Gardens. She was brought up by Lyn and Mick Cotton, and has a younger brother called Jamie. Although her grandfather's cousin is former BBC executive Sir Bill Cotton, she says she has not seen him since the age of five and cites her rise to broadcasting fame as down to her own hard work and discipline.

She attended Newnham Primary School in Eastcote/Eastcote Village. She studied Art at university.

Career

Cotton began her career in children's television but has in recent years been given higher profile roles presenting events such as Live 8 and the results for the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as American show "The Guinness Book of Records - Live".

Early career

Cotton began having ballet lessons from the age of five and went to weekend drama school at ten. After being discovered in a nationwide talent search, she began her presenting career in 1998, at the age of 16, with early morning GMTV children's programme The Disney Club and later Diggit with Paul 'Des' Ballard. She soon found herself fronting several children's programmes for CITV, including Draw Your Own Toons and Mouse, a series aimed at encouraging children to use computers. In 2002 she presented Finger Tips, an arts and crafts programme for children, with co-presenter Stephen Mulhern.

Cotton soon branched out from ITV, and her association with CBBC began when she presented children's science programme Eureka TV along with her friend Holly Willoughby. She subsequently gained a role as co-presenter on CBBC's Sunday morning show, Smile and then The Saturday Show.

Her association with children's programmes continues as she narrates the popular CBBC Serious… documentary programme, as well as presenting Only in America.

Top of the Pops

In 2003 Cotton started presenting Top of the Pops:Saturday (later called Top of the Pops: Reloaded) with her The Saturday Show co-presenter, Simon Grant, which then later became Sam and Mark from Pop Idol and JK and Joel.

From 2004 to 2006 Cotton was the main presenter of Top Of The Pops, which she co-presented with Reggie Yates each week until the show was moved from Friday nights on BBC 1 to Sunday nights on BBC 2. From then on she was joined by a different guest presenter each week. She was one of the final ever regular presenters for that programme. The programme ended in July 2006, officially as a result of poor viewing figures, but Cotton was unavailable for the final episode because of her filming for ITV's Love Island in Fiji. However, a quick introduction she recorded on location was shown at the start of the broadcast.

Charity events

Cotton took part in the first edition of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy (2003). She was only the second person to be voted off the programme after giving her performance of the Travis song Driftwood[1].

Cotton has fast become a large part Comic Relief, hosting part of the Red Nose Day telethon in 2005, and returning in 2007 to be one of the most featured hosts of the night, presenting strands alongside Jonathan Ross and Lenny Henry.

In July 2005 she had her career highlight to date, presenting Live 8 in Hyde Park, where she found herself being chatted up by Robbie Williams. During an interview with the British pop star, he asked on camera "Why don't you come and live with me and my dogs in L.A.?" Following the event, she commented that she would prefer to remain friends.

In November 2005 she hosted the BBC's annual telethon, Children in Need), with Terry Wogan and Natasha Kaplinsky, a role that she reprised for the 2006 and 2007 events. She also appeared in the video to the official Children In Need single released that year, Wham!'s "I'm Your Man" sung by Shane Richie[1]. She can be seen as the barmaid Shane flirts with at the Club Tropicana bar, another reference to a different Wham! song.

In September 2007 she became the Patron of Post Pals (http://www.postpals.co.uk), an organisation brightening the lives of seriously ill children. She says "It's so easy to make a kid smile. Just send an email, a card or even a gift to make a kid's day! Get ⅔¾on the website and spread the word and make someone happy!"

BBC Radio 1

In September 2005 she joined BBC Radio 1, to present the Friday early morning slot with Reggie Yates[2] who she had previously worked with on CBBC as a presenter, and co-star of Only in America and Top Of The Pops. She occasionally stands in for other Radio 1 presenters, such as Sara Cox. It was announced on 30 July 2006 that Cotton would be co-hosting the weekend breakfast broadcast along with Reggie from September 2006 replacing Spoony, who was leaving the station after six years.[3]

Since 14 October 2007, Fearne and Reggie have presented the Radio 1 Chart Show, taking over from JK & Joel, who left the station.[4] Cotton became the first ever permanent female presenter of a BBC radio chart show. In June and July 2008 it was announced she will be part of the team of DJ's covering for Edith Bowman while she is on maternity leave, along with Vernon Kaye and Nihal.

Reality

In 2006 Cotton also presented the second series of Love Island with Patrick Kielty on ITV, taking over from Kelly Brook. Liza Tarbuck and Denise van Outen were previously offered the role but pulled out due to other projects. Although the series was seen to be a flop due to rival reality programme Big Brother, this was said to be a career boost for her role in peak time television.

She also presented the Friday night live eviction programme for the Five reality TV series Make Me A Supermodel, replacing former TV presenter and model Rachel Hunter.

On 9 May 2007 it was announced in The Sun newspaper that she would be taking over from Ben Shephard as the host for the X Factor spin-off programme, The Xtra Factor on ITV2. But on the 6 February 2008 it was announced that she was quitting the show after just one series due to her busy schedule in America.[2]

Eurovision

On 20 May 2006 Cotton read the United Kingdom votes for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, Greece.

On 17 March, 2007 she, along with Terry Wogan, hosted Making Your Mind Up 2007, [5] the show to decide which song the UK will send to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. On the night Cotton saved the blushes of her co-presenter when Wogan accidentally announced the wrong artist as winner. [6]

The Eurovision Song Contest, held in Helsinki, Finland on 12 May 2007, saw Cotton return to Europe's screens as the face for the UK vote. It fell to her to announce the highest award of 12 points to Turkey.

Going Stateside

In January 2008, it was confirmed that Fearne would be heading to the US to host The Guinness Book of Records - Live, proving her worth over a number of American candidates.[7]

Following this successful first US appearance, Fearne secured a job co-hosting the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing. It was announced that due to this she had quit her presenting role on The X Factor spin-off The Xtra Factor. [8]

Other notable TV appearances

On 29 October 2006, Cotton appeared with her family in a star special of Family Fortunes.

In January 2007, Cotton presented The Brits Launch party and The Brits are coming for the ITV and ITV2 and on 14 February, 2007 she was seen interviewing performers backstage at the 2007 BRIT Awards for ITV.

On 25 February, 2007, she interviewed guests and film stars at the Oscars for Sky One in the UK.

Cotton interviewed Princes William and Harry for the BBC before the Concert for Diana on 1 July 2007.[9] She also interviewed performers and guests at the concert, which was held at the new Wembley Stadium.

Starting on 5 September 2007, Cotton took part in a dating programme with friend Holly Willoughby called Holly & Fearne Go Dating. In this programme they find dates for lonely singles.

On 29 September, 2007, she and Holly took part in ITV's Saturday Night entertainment show, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway segment, Beat The Boys.

In 2008 she presented a show for ITV called 'Guilty Pleasures' in which eight celebrities sang their favourite songs. [10]

On 1 April, 2008 Digital Spy ran an April Fools Day story stating that Fearne had become The new Head of Light Entertainment at ITV.

Personal life

Cotton is a keen artist having studied art at A level.[11] This was a skill she made good use of whilst presenting the series Draw Your Own Toons.

She also enjoys body art and claimed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that she has eleven tattoos over her body, the most notable of which is a fern leaf, covering her right hip up to her rib cage.[12]

Cotton has two cats called Tallulah and Keloy, named after one of the magic words from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. She was photographed with Keloy by the late Lord Lichfield for the 2006 PDSA Calendar.

For a period in 2004-2005, she dated Lostprophets' front man Ian Watkins. It is rumoured that Watkins wrote two songs on the group's third album, Liberation Transmission, (Broken Hearts And Torn Up Letters, Story Of A Lonely Girl) and (4:AM Forever), about the couple's separation, although he refuses to either confirm or deny this. However it has also been reported such songs were written for a now deceased fan of the band.[13]. Another of her ex-boyfriends, Peter Brame who was a Fame Academy singer, sold explicit details of their lovelife to a tabloid Sunday newspaper, describing how his cocaine addiction destroyed their relationship. She maintains that "he had to do it for his own reasons and I don't resent him for that." She also had a relationship with Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard. She is currently in a relationship with former American amateur skateboarder Jesse Jenkins.

She has had a number of speculated partners, many of which she has denied claiming, 'I am not interested in dating other celebrities, i prefer normal down to earth guys'. She engaged in a serious 2 year relationship with successful Manchester based businessman James Hartley, this did not last however reportedly due to their busy schedules and long periods apart.

She is a vegetarian and an animal lover.

Was also quoted in an interview in Heat Magazine to having extremely sensitive feet and not being able to stand her toes tickled.

She is a fan of Led Zeppelin and says their track Good Times, Bad Times is her favourite song of all time.

She supports Arsenal F.C. and is a fan of Alan Hansen.

Her heroes include Jimmy Page, Debbie Harry and Vivenne Westwood.

Her real life best friends are Holly Willoughby, Reggie Yates and Kate Thornton.

In 2008, she was adopted by Brangelina.

She has been described by fellow Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray as "The female Steve Bunce" Fearne is a fan of the Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk (Of which Murray is the presenter and Bunce is a regular pundit) and hopes to appear on the show sometime in 2008.

She is a fan of Marilyn Monroe and of 1950s glamour.

TV appearances

References

  1. ^ "Fearne next to exit Fame Academy". BBC News. 2003-03-08. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "TV presenter Cotton joins Radio 1". BBC News. 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Radio 1 promotes Cotton and Yates". BBC News. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "All Change At Radio 1". BBC Radio 1. 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Barry Viniker (2007-02-24). "UK Presenters announced". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Eurovision gaffe 'not technical'". BBC News. 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ "Fearne's Leaving Us". Sky News. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ "Cotton quits 'X Factor' role for US". Digital Spy. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ "Princes 'excited' over Diana show". BBC News. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-06-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Top music stars reveal their Guilty Pleasures". ITV. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  11. ^ "James Grant Management". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  12. ^ Gordon Smart (2007-01-04). "I'm ace in bed boasts Fearne". The Sun. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Prophets no longer lost". The Sun. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
Preceded by Host of The Xtra Factor
2007
Succeeded by
Media offices
Preceded by BBC Radio One
chart show presenter
w/Reggie Yates

2007 -
Succeeded by
Incumbent