Carol Deirdre McGiffin (born 18 February 1960) is an English

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

broadcaster, who has appeared on the daytime talk show ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'' since the early 2000s. She appeared on the twelfth series of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

''.

Early life

McGiffin was born in London and brought up in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, Kent, to John McGiffin and Heather Barham (10 July 1934 - 2003). She grew up with her two sisters Kim and Tracy (1963-2017) and her brother Mark.

Career

She started her broadcasting career in 1984 as a producer on cable channel

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...

and moved on to presenting in 1988 as co-host of the Chris Evans shows on GLR. Her style then and characterised today is based on comedic observation of men. In 1995 McGiffin was a founding member of the Talk Radio UK team, co-presenting the popular weekday evening show ''The Rude Awakening'' with Moz Dee. When the show ended in September 1995 she became the station's music expert for around six months, hosting her own Friday evening review slot and appearing every week on

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

's programme. In late 1996 she reappeared on

Liberty Radio Liberty Radio is a UK radio broadcaster and company based in London, England that, , is transmitted free to air from the Astra 2F satellite at 28.2° East to most of Europe, and on the Internet, but not on analog or DAB terrestrial radio. . Li ...

, co-hosting the breakfast show with Richard Skinner for six months. In 1997 and 1998 she united with

Paul Ross Paul Ross (born 31 December 1956) is an English television and radio presenter, journalist and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross. Early life Growing up in outer east London, Ross was educa ...

and

Nick Abbot Nick Abbot (born 22 August 1960) is an English radio presenter and currently presents ''The Late Show'' on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on LBC. Early life and career Abbot was born on 22 August 1960, and was educated at George Heriot's School, ...

in varying time slots. In 1999 she joined London radio station

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...

teaming up again with Abbot, who left the station after six months. McGiffin continued to host the show on her own with producer/sidekicks, including Marcus Railton and Jonathan Sanchez until 30 September 2000. She co-hosted phone-in shows on

BBC London Live BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the London ...

. In 2002, she occasionally teamed up with Abbot on

Real Radio Real Radio was a network of five regional radio stations broadcasting to North East England, North West England, Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire. Each station broadcast a mix of local and networked programming. On Tuesday 6 May 2014, the station ...

. Between February and July 2006 she was the southern presenter of

The Local Radio Company The Local Radio Company was a British media company, based in Redruth, Cornwall, that owned ten independent local radio stations in the UK. After takeover talks with UTV Media, UKRD Group and Hallwood Financial, UKRD acquired the majority sha ...

's night-time talk show ''North South Divided''. Mike Elliott was her northern counterpart. In August 2006 McGiffin returned to

LBC 97.3 LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed Commercial broadca ...

presenting a Sunday morning show. McGiffin's weekly views on the world and travel advice in her ''Travel Clinic'' ended on 10 February 2008, when she left the station. Throughout the summer of 2012, she regularly reviewed the daily newspapers on '' This Morning''. In August 2013, she entered the ''

'' house to compete in the twelfth series, where she finished in fourth place. In June 2018, it was announced by panellist

Denise Welch Jacqueline Denise Welch (born 22 May 1958) is an English actress, television personality, writer and broadcaster. Her roles include Natalie Barnes in ''Coronation Street'' (1997–2000), Steph Haydock in '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2010), and ...

that McGiffin would be returning to Loose Women after five years away. In 2020, McGiffin teamed up with LBC Radio presenter Nick Abbot to create a weekly podcast "What's your problem?" with Nick and Carol. The show is released every Monday on Global Player and Apple Podcasts. In 2020, McGiffin said she supported

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and would vote for him if she could. In 2021, she was criticised for voicing support for the January 6 rioters.

Television

* ''

'' (2000-2001, 2003–2013, 2018–) – Regular Panellist * ''

Daily Cooks Challenge ''...Cooks!'' is an ITV television cookery show, hosted by Antony Worrall Thompson, broadcast on the ITV networks between 10 June 2006 to 21 May 2010. Formats There were different names for the show, depending on which day it aired. The Satur ...

'' * ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

'' – Contestant (2007) * ''

Tonight with Trevor McDonald ''Tonight'' (often referred to as ''The Tonight Programme'') is a British current affairs programme, produced by ITV Studios (formerly Granada Television) and ITN for the ITV network, replacing the long-running investigative series ''World ...

'' * ''

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), and b ...

'' * ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, an ...

'' – Guest * ''

The Jack Docherty Show ''The Jack Docherty Show'' was a weeknightly comedy chat show which first aired on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom between 30 March 1997 and 23 June 1999. Presented by comedian Jack Docherty, the programme was one of the first to air on the chan ...

'' * ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' is a British comedy panel show broadcast on Channel 4 and its sister networks, airing since 3 June 2005. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr; the current team captains are Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan. The show is based on ...

'' – Panellist * ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...

'' * ''

Celebrity Juice ''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore ...

'' – Panellist * ''

The Justin Lee Collins Show ''The Justin Lee Collins Show'' is a British television chat show presented by Justin Lee Collins that aired on ITV2 between 19 March 2009 and 21 May 2009. Collins has a small band on the show and a continuing theme is to mention Labi Siffre ...

'' * ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'' (2014) * ''

OK! TV ''OK! TV'' is an early evening magazine programme which was broadcast on Channel 5 between 14 February 2011 and 16 December 2011. It was a brand extension of celebrity title ''OK! Magazine''. It replaced the former magazine and discussion sh ...

'' * ''

Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

'' – Contestant * '' This Morning'' (2012, 2016) – Newspaper Reviewer * ''

'' (Summer 2013) – Housemate * ''

Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

'' (Summer 2013) – Guest * ''Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Psych'' (Winter 2014) – Panellist

Personal life

McGiffin is a survivor of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

.Thompson Holidays brochure
''retrieved 31 July 2008 For several years, she has returned to Maidstone to join members of her family and take part in

Race for Life Race for Life is a series of fundraising events, organised by charity Cancer Research UK. They involve running, jogging or walking a 5-kilometre, 10-kilometre or 'Pretty Muddy' course and raising sponsorship for doing so. The money raises funds fo ...

to raise money for the charity

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

, she does this in memory of her mother.BBC Kent
''retrieved 13 June 2008'' She and Chris Evans (broadcaster) were married in 1991. They separated in 1993 and were divorced in 1998.

Autobiography

In 2010, McGiffin released her autobiography, ''Oh, Carol!''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGiffin, Carol 1960 births English television presenters Living people People from Maidstone English social commentators English autobiographers Women autobiographers