Christopher Jonathan Hollins (born 20 March 1971) is an English journalist, presenter and TV personality. Formerly a first-class cricketer, he is best known for being the sports correspondent for ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...

'' until 2012, and for winning ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' 2009. Hollins presented the BBC consumer rights series '' Watchdog'' from 2010 until 2015.

Early life

Hollins was born into a footballing family in Bromley, south London. His father is John Hollins, the former Chelsea,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Queens Park Rangers and England footballer. His uncle David was a goalkeeper and played for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

as well as Wales, winning eleven caps. Hollins was educated at Bickley Park School in Bromley and Tonbridge School,

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Hild Bede College Hild or Hildr may refer to: * Hildr or Hild is one of the Valkyries in Norse mythology, a personification of battle * Hild or Hilda of Whitby is a Christian saint who was a British abbess and nun in the Middle Ages * Hild (Oh My Goddess!), the ult ...

, and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

Career

Sport

After leaving Tonbridge School in 1989, he played football for

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

, Queens Park Rangers, and Aldershot Town. He then attended

and subsequently Oxford University for whom he played first-class cricket and gained a blue.

Television

Hollins started his media career at London TV station Channel One TV, then owned by Associated Newspapers. He then moved to Sky Sports in 1994 followed by spells at

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

and Five TV. Hollins joined BBC News in 1999, and has also reported for ''

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

'' and '' Football Focus''. He joined ''

'' in October 2005, replacing Rob Bonnet. Hollins was the main sport presenter on ''

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

'', presenting on Mondays–Thursdays until his final show on 21 March 2012 (he had decided not to make the move to Salford as the show was being relocated). He was also a regular male relief presenter during the week, standing in for main presenter Bill Turnbull. Hollins has reported from the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Japan, the 2010 World Cup, and America to cover The Masters golf in 2007. In 2009, Hollins joined the presenting team of the BBC One

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

s show '' Cash in the Attic''. In April 2010, Hollins co-presented '' The One Show'' for a week alongside Louise Minchin while regular hosts Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley were unavailable. Hollins returned to co-host an episode with Alex Jones in March 2016. In September 2010, Hollins became a co-presenter on '' Watchdog''. He later left following the 2015 series. In July 2011 Hollins became a co-presenter on BBC One's programme ''The Great British Weather''. Hollins and Matt Allwright presented three series of ''

Food Inspectors ''Food Inspectors'' is a BBC television series that investigates the health and hygiene surrounding 'food'. The show, which is a spin-off from Watchdog (TV series), Watchdog began airing in February 2012, is presented by Chris J. Hollins, Chris H ...

'', a factual programme which began airing on BBC One in February 2012. In 2016, Hollins co-presented the third series of ''

Secret Britain ''Secret Britain'' is a BBC documentary series which has aired on BBC One since 15 August 2010. The series explores some of the United Kingdom's hidden corners such as deserted beaches and tumbling waterfalls, showcasing the very best of what th ...

'' alongside Ellie Harrison and Denise Lewis.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Hollins won the 2009 series of ''

'' with dance partner Ola Jordan, beating

Ricky Whittle Richard George Whittle (born 31 December 1979) is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. I ...

in the final. He consistently won the public vote throughout, despite losing the judges' vote 190 – 186 in the Final. Hollins and Jordan were the only pair in the competition never to face the "Dance Off"

Film

Hollins appeared in the 2007 film '' Run Fatboy Run'' as a marathon commentator alongside Denise Lewis.

Personal life

Hollins lives with his wife, Sarah Alexander.

Charity work

In 2008, Hollins became a patron of children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Chris Hollins is an ambassador for Gold Challenge, part of the official mass participation legacy programme for the London 2012 Games, and a supporter of WellChild.

Filmography

;Television ;Film

References

External links

*
Chris Hollins appointed new Sports Presenter on BBC Breakfast
BBC Press Office, 5 October 2005
Chris Hollins ''Breakfast'' Profile and Interview
BBC News, 24 October 2005
Chris Hollins on the Yesterday website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollins, Chris 1971 births Living people Footballers from Bromley People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Oxford University cricketers English cricketers English footballers Aldershot Town F.C. players BBC newsreaders and journalists Strictly Come Dancing winners Association football midfielders