Kirsten O'Brien

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Kirsten Lindsey O'Brien (born 23 February 1972) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

television presenter and actress. She is perhaps best known for her work presenting for 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. ...

...

, including the popular

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

art programme ''

SMart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...

'' from 1999 to 2009, and

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

pre-school art spin-off programme ''

SMarteenies ''SMarteenies'' is a spin off of the children's art programme ''SMart'' designed for pre school viewers. It was broadcast on the CBeebies channel daily from the channel's launch in February 2002. The series remained repeated until its suspensio ...

'' in 2002.

Career

O'Brien studied

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

and

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

at the

University of Central England in Birmingham Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

, graduating in 1993. She got her first broadcast experience on the university's student radio station which led to her first job in 1995 at

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...

where she made her presenting debut on a children's science programme. In 1996 she joined the team presenting the continuity links during the BBC's children's programming

. She stayed there for three-and-a-half years during which time she became best known for her partnership with puppet

Otis the Aardvark Otis the Aardvark was a puppet of an aardvark that was a presenter on BBC Children's and Education, Children's BBC on British television.Rich Pelley (14 June 2020)Pulling the strings: meet the people who brought puppets to life ''The Observer'' ...

. Both O'Brien and Otis also co-presented with other people (and often solo). The 1997 Saturday morning spin-off ''Saturday Aardvark'' was entirely built around them. Puppeteer Dave Chapman would often reduce O'Brien to tears of helpless laughter with his ad-libs. O'Brien left the CBBC on-air presentation team in 1999 but is still a regular on children's TV and radio. She has co-hosted ''

'' and its spin-offs ''

SMart on the Road Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television seri ...

'' and ''

'' (for the pre-school

channel). On radio she was one of the presenters of

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

's ''Little Toe Radio Show''. In 2004 she played

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

in pantomime. The same year O'Brien successfully took part in a lumberjack competition for the BBC series ''Bring It On''. She performed a sketch show during the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in August 2006 entitled ''Lesley's Lunch Hour - Not During Lunch, And Not Quite An Hour'' along with double act partner Ruth Bratt. Then in 2007 she took her comedy show ''Kirsten O'Brien - Confessions of a Children's TV Presenter'' to Edinburgh. Between 28 May and 15 June 2007, she co-presented ''Springwatch Trackers'' alongside

Steve Backshall Stephen James Backshall (born 21 April 1973) is an English naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's ''Deadly 60''. His other BBC work includes being part of the expedition teams in ''Lost Land of the Tiger'', ''Lo ...

. Transmitted live on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

from a farm in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and repeated later in the day on the

CBBC Channel CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

the show featured teams of boys and girls who were set a series of Tracker challenges. She has been a guest on

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

's on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

, ''

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and ...

'' and several times on ''

Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive ''Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive'' is a British television show, first aired on BBC Three in July 2006. Devised by Paul Duddridge, it concerns the making of a comedy panel game show called ''Annually Retentive'', themed around historical events, ...

''. O'Brien filmed ''Kirsten's Topless Ambition'', a documentary for BBC3 that aired on 28 April 2009, in which she was "''facing a huge decision - whether to do what many other female presenters had done before her and take her clothes off for a lads' mag to try to clinch bigger, better presenting jobs and a more adult audience.''" Ultimately she only received one offer and opted against doing this and decided to perform more stand-up comedy. She also stated on the show that she had been ready to leave ''

'' since co-presenter Mark Speight's death and felt it was not right to stay. Kirsten then stayed with CBBC to take over as host of game show ''Gimme a Break''. From 2009 to 2010, she made appearances on the morning show

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 ...

presenting on-location. On 19 February 2010 she and

George Lamb George Martin Lamb (born 20 December 1979) is an English radio and television presenter, currently presenting ''Football Tonight'' on BT Sport. In 2012, Lamb presented the Channel 4 game show ''The Bank Job''. Lamb is the son of actor Larry Lam ...

presented ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

: The Aftermath'' where they interviewed members of the cast about the live 25th anniversary episode. She took part in a celebrity version of TV show ''

Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challen ...

'', which aired on 2 January 2010. Kirsten O'Brien Glasto 2010

In 2010 O'Brien, along with actor and friend

Will Mellor William Mellor (born 3 April 1976) is an English actor, singer and model. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in ''Hollyoaks'', Gaz Wilkinson in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanne ...

, appeared in ''The World's Toughest Driving Tests'', a driving challenge. They travelled the world mastering the biggest and hardest-to-drive vehicles to find out who is the better driver. In the first episode, which aired in February 2010, O'Brien won when she beat Mellor driving a Romanian

TR-85 The TR-85 is a third-generation main battle tank designed for the armed forces of Romania. Based on the TR-77-580, the TR-85 tank was developed from 1978 to 1985 and produced from 1986 until 1990. A modernization program was initiated in Marc ...

combat tank. She went on to take wins in the third and sixth episode. Three wins, together with a draw in the fifth episode meant that Kirsten was the overall winner of the series. On 31 December 2010, she appeared on BBC1's ''

Celebrity Mastermind ''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. It began in 2002 as a one-off special, expanding to the current arrangement of 10 episodes, broadcast during December a ...

'' answering questions on

Reeves and Mortimer Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County ...

(scoring 13) & 24 overall with 1 pass, coming third. She donated her fee to Teesside Hospice. On 9 January 2011, she was spotted at the

V&A Museum of Childhood Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts. It is in Bethnal Green and is located on the Green itself in the East End ...

during filming of a secret new TV series. On 26 March 2011, she was a compere for one of the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...

shows at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

at which

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

headlined. On 3 March 2012, she appeared on

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

Let's Dance for Sport Relief ''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...

''. She danced to

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

's "Jump". This was followed by an appearance on ''

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 ...

'' in June 2012. O'Brien was announced on 12 June 2013 as the co-presenter of

Heart Wiltshire Heart Wiltshire (formerly GWR FM Wiltshire) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north and west Wiltshire. The station was rebranded to Heart in March 2009 in line with Glo ...

's Breakfast programme alongside Ben Atkinson, effective 1 July 2013. In 2019, she became a presenter and newsreader for Andrew Peach's Breakfast show on

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audie ...

Filmography

Television

Theatre

Personal life

O'Brien plays tennis, and has taken part in swimming, abseiling and netball events for charity. She suffers from

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

and is a keen

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

fan; she has been involved in charity work with the club, including the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

's Creating Chances programme. She is married to Mark Drake. They became parents on 15 December 2011 when O'Brien gave birth to a baby boy whom they named Fox Michael Drake. In September 2017 O'Brien tweeted that she had given birth to twins.

References

External links

*
''Breakfast on BBC Radio Berkshire''
(BBC Radio Berkshire) {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Kirsten 1972 births Alumni of Birmingham City University British children's television presenters English people of Norwegian descent English people of Irish descent English television presenters Living people People from Nunthorpe People from Middlesbrough