Kate Thornton (born 7 February 1973)
[ is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as the first presenter of '']The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' (2004–2006) and for presenting daytime shows including '' Loose Women'' (2009–2011) and '' This Morning'' (2009–2012). In 2010, she co-presented the first series of ''71 Degrees North
''71 Degrees North'' is an English-language and Norwegian-produced reality television series on ITV which began broadcasting on 11 September 2010. Ten celebrities had to battle it out to see who would make it to the 71st parallel north, with cha ...
'' alongside Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones (born 12 February 1978) is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C a ...
.
Career
Journalism
In 1995, she became the first female and youngest ever editor of pop magazine '' Smash Hits'' at age 22, producing her first issue in February 1996 covering the breakup of boy-band Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
. She left a year later, having been unable to prevent a further slide in sales of the magazine. In 1997, she became a Features Editor at the '' Sunday Times'', a post she held until 2001, and also a contributing Editor for magazine '' Marie Claire'', in which position she continued until 2003.[Kate Thornton CV at Troika Talent](_blank)
PDF file accessed September 2011
Television
Whilst undertaking these new editorial roles, Thornton began a second career in television. In February 1997, Thornton was given her first TV presenting job, on the 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 ...
current affairs programme ''Straight Up''. She was tasked with putting together a photo tribute with music for Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
on the day of her death. In an interview in March 2011, Thornton said: "...because it was a Sunday, the music library was shut and the only thing I had in my car, the only piece of music that was appropriate was "Candle in the Wind
"Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.
In 1997, John perfor ...
" from Elton John's greatest hits." Colleagues attributed the subsequent airplay and then the re-recording of the song to this event. Thornton is quoted as having been doubtful initially, but later having come to accept the possibility: "I never dared to assume for one minute that I was the link. But Nick Knowles
Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles (born 21 September 1962) is an English television presenter, writer and musical artist. He is best known for his presenting roles on the BBC, including game shows ''Who Dares Wins'' (2007–2019), ''Break the Sa ...
(co-presenter on the show) has convinced me that whatever came as a result of it was all down to me."
Thornton was the first presenter of the UK series of ''The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''. She presented three series of the show from 2004 until 2006 before being replaced by Dermot O'Leary
Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...
. Thornton later anchored ITV's daytime series '' Loose Women'', in rotation with Andrea McLean. She presented 233 episodes of the show from 2009 until 2011. She was replaced by Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...
.
Thornton was a regular stand-in presenter on '' This Morning'' and in 2010, she co-presented the first series of ''71 Degrees North
''71 Degrees North'' is an English-language and Norwegian-produced reality television series on ITV which began broadcasting on 11 September 2010. Ten celebrities had to battle it out to see who would make it to the 71st parallel north, with cha ...
'' alongside Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones (born 12 February 1978) is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C a ...
. Neither returned for the second series. In 2010, she narrated '' The Nation's Favourite Abba Song''. Thornton also presented '' A Night with Will Young'' in 2011. She guest presented six episodes of ''Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
'' in 2012.
Thornton also presented ''Gravity Games'' for BBC Two, ''Women: The Naked Truth Honest'' for Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and ''Breasts Uncupped'' for Sky1.
Radio
Thornton has presented a number of programmes for BBC Radio 2 since 2002. Along with presenting, Thornton was also the writer of the radio documentary ''From Band to Brand'' in 2004, and the creator of the radio series ''Line of Enquiry'', inviting an audience to put questions to a number of celebrities, which began in 2007.
From 10 March until 28 April 2013, Thornton presented ''The Boots Feel Good Forum'', a radio show dedicated to health and fitness, which aired 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 statio ...
and Smooth Radio.
Since 2014, Thornton has presented '' Paper Cuts'', a radio series for BBC Radio 2, She joined Greatest Hits Radio
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer.
Overview
The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Rad ...
on 26 February 2022 and has replaced Darren Proctor on Saturday nights.
Other work
Thornton launched cashback site TBSeen in January 2016, along with TV presenters Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...
, Amanda Byram and Denise Van Outen, celebrity chef Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an actress, presenter and celebrity chef.
Early life
Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in ...
, actresses Tamzin Outhwaite
Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includi ...
, Julie Graham
Julie Graham (born 24 July 1965) is a Scottish television and film actress.
Career
Graham has appeared in the Channel 4 ''Blood Red Roses'' (1986, filmed in East Kilbride). She also appeared in 1986 in an episode of ''Taggart'', “Death Call ...
and singers Heidi Range
Heidi India Partakis ( Range; born 23 May 1983) is an English singer, best known as a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group before they released any mater ...
and the band All Saints, Nicole Appleton
Nicole Marie Appleton (born 7 December 1974) is a Canadian singer and television presenter. She is a member of the British girl group All Saints and Canadian duo Appleton with her elder sister Natalie Appleton.
Early life
Appleton was born i ...
, Natalie Appleton
Natalie Jane Appleton Howlett (born 14 May 1973) is a Canadian singer. She is a member of the British girl group All Saints and the duo Appleton with her younger sister Nicole Appleton.
Appleton joined All Saints in 1996, becoming the fourth ...
, Mel Blatt
Melanie Ruth Blatt (born 25 March 1975) is an English singer. She rose to fame in 1997 as a member of the girl group All Saints. The group have gained five number one singles, two multi-platinum albums, two BRIT Awards and have sold over 10 mil ...
and Shaznay Lewis
Tricia Marie "Shaznay" Lewis (born 14 October 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and a member of the girl group All Saints. She has co-written most of the group's songs, including number one singles: "Bootie Call", "Pure Shores" and internat ...
. TBSeen entered administration in September 2018.
Thornton hosted the live '' Strictly Come Dancing'' tour in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Thornton currently hosts the Yahoo! podcast "White Wine Question Time" where she asks three friends three questions over three bottles of wine. Guests have included Jo Joyner
Joanne Mary Joyner (born 24 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Mandy Carter in Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. Since 2018, she has starred as Luella Shake ...
, Nadia Sawalha, Malin Andersson
Malin Elisabeth Andersson (born 4 May 1973 in Kristianstad, Skåne) is a Swedish women's football player.
In an international career lasting from 1994 to 2005, Andersson appeared in 151 international matches for Sweden. At the time of her ...
, Leigh Francis
Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (20 ...
, Angela Griffin
Angela Mellissa Griffin (born 19 July 1976) is a British actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera '' ...
and Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...
. The podcast first aired in December 2018. During the UK's COVID-19 lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
in 2020, she also created and hosted "Up Close And Socially Distant", a video series for Yahoo!, where she talked over the phone to famous celebrities, front line workers and those leading initiatives to help serve the community during lockdown. The show ran for nine weeks.
Personal life
Thornton began dating DJ Darren Emerson
Darren Paul Emerson (born 30 April 1971) is an English musician, DJ and producer best known as a former member of the British electronic music group Underworld.
Career
Early life
Emerson began mixing hip hop records at the age of 14, and by ...
in 2004. The couple became engaged in 2007. She gave birth to her first child, a boy named Ben on 13 May 2008. On 3 February 2011, she announced live on air that she and Emerson had separated.
In January 2012, Thornton said that after leaving ''Loose Women'' she had enrolled at college to study counselling because her television career had "hit the kerb".
She has been in a relationship with construction worker Mat Vincent since 2013.
Filmography
;Television
;Radio
References
External links
*
Kate Thornton's CV
Kate Thornton on Greatest Hits Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Kate
1973 births
English journalists
English music journalists
English television presenters
People from Cheltenham
Living people
English women journalists
Women writers about music
Top of the Pops presenters