Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981)
is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's ''
This Morning'' (2009–present) and ''
Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongside
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
.
From 2008 to 2020, Willoughby was a team captain on the
ITV2
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...
comedy panel 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 ...
.'' Her other television work includes ''
The Xtra Factor'' (2008–2009), ''
Text Santa
''Text Santa'' was a charity initiative set up in 2011 by ITV to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period. The appeal to the public is to donate money mainly via text donation and profits from merchandise. The telethons have been h ...
'' (2011–2013, 2015), ''
The Voice UK
''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...
'' (2012–2013), ''
Surprise Surprise'' (2012–2015), ''
Play to the Whistle'' (2015–2017), ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' (2018), ''
Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof
''Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof'' is a British reality television competition series presented by Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack. The series began broadcasting on BBC One on 12 April 2022.
The series follows eight celebrities who are trained by ...
'' (2022), and
''The Games'' (2022).
Early life
Willoughby was born in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
,
the younger of two daughters of Brian Willoughby, a sales manager of a double-glazing company, and Linda Willoughby (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Fleming), a former air stewardess. She was educated at the independent
Burgess Hill Girls in the town of
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
in
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, and
The College of Richard Collyer
The College of Richard Collyer (colloquially Collyer's ), formerly called Collyer's School, is a co-educational sixth form college in Horsham, West Sussex, England. The college was rated as being ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2009.
It is the se ...
in
Horsham.
In 1995, at the age of 14, Willoughby was spotted by talent scouts at ''
The Clothes Show
''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...
'' Live exhibition and signed with the model agency,
Storm Management
Storm Management is a British model agency based in Chelsea, London.
Background
Storm was founded in 1987 by Sarah Doukas in London. Doukas discovered Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Behati Prinsloo, and Anya Taylor-Joy. In 2009, Doukas sold a con ...
. She appeared in teen magazines for girls such as ''
Mizz'', ''
Just Seventeen'', ''
Shout'', and ''
More!
''More!'' was a fortnightly, later weekly, women's fashion magazine and associated website published on Tuesdays in the United Kingdom by Bauer London Lifestyle. It included celebrity news, high street fashion, and sex tips. The magazine was pu ...
''. From 1998, at the age of 17, Willoughby started modelling
bra
A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...
s,
underwear
Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...
and
tights
Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...
for clients including
Pretty Polly Pretty Polly may refer to:
* "Pretty Polly" (ballad)
* ''Pretty Polly'' (film)
* ''Pretty Polly'' (opera)
* Pretty Polly (horse)
Pretty Polly (March 1901 – 17 August 1931) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and bro ...
, appearing in advertisements and posters.
Career
2000–2005: Children's presenting
In 2000, Willoughby won an audition for a show on
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
featuring
S Club 7
S Club 7 were a British pop group from London, created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and consisting of members Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett. The group ...
called ''S Club TV''.
[Bio](_blank)
Holly Willoughby In this show actors represented an alternative S Club. She also appeared in a show called ''S Club 7: Artistic Differences'' playing a character called Zoe with the regular members of the band. Willoughby worked as a receptionist for a while and then as a runner for the defunct shopping channel ''Auction World TV''.
Willoughby also took on menial jobs and started an
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
course in psychotherapy. Then eventually, she found work as assistant manager during which time she persuaded a friend to make a showreel of her. This secured her an agent who then contacted the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Later in 2002, Willoughby presented a factual entertainment programme for children called ''
...