Margherita Taylor (born 26 April 1972) is an English TV and radio presenter. She is a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

with

Global Group Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysa ...

and currently presents on stations Smooth Radio and Classic FM. Taylor 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 (now Birmingham City University), majoring in

video production Video production is the process of producing video content for video. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard dri ...

for her degree.

Radio

Taylor is of British, Trinidadian, Ghanaian and Danish heritage. Taylor started her career in broadcasting in 1993 when

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

based radio station

BRMB Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...

offered her a slot as a DJ as part of a talent contest. She presented a weekend overnight show, but soon came to the attention of bosses at

Capital London Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

, BRMB's former sister station in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and in 1994, was appointed presenter of weekend breakfast on the station, and provided cover for Capital's other presenters. She was the longest serving member of the on-air team. Taylor has presented an evening show on The Jazz; a radio station available on satellite, DAB and online. She could be heard on the

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

nine-station network presenting early weekend breakfast from 8 January until 31 December 2011. Presently, Taylor presents on two

radio stations: ''Smooth Classics'' on Classic FM each weeknight 2200–0100, along with Sunday afternoons from 1200–1600 and regular supply cover on

Heart London History Heart London is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. Across London and its neighbouring counties, it can be heard on 106.2 MHz. ...

and

The Heart Network Heart is a British radio network and brand of 13 adult contemporary local stations operated by Global throughout the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the Heart stations are owned by Global, while the ...

until March 2017. In March 2017 Taylor moved to Smooth London to present Sunday afternoons 2–6pm show, which is part of the

Taylor was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and diversity.

Television

In March 1999, Taylor became one of the original presenters of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

daytime teen-aimed show, T4, alongside

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 ''T ...

and later

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including ''All Star Family Fortunes'' (2 ...

. She left in January 2002. She has acted as a contributor for '' Good Morning Britain'', ''

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 Gr ...

'', ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, T ...

'', and '' This Morning'' on

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 ...

, presenting competitions. She began presenting ''

Escape to the Country ''Escape to the Country'' is a British daytime television reality property-buying/real estate programme, created by Talkback Thames, which premieres on network BBC One, produced by John Comerford and is repeated on BBC Two. It first aired on 14 ...

'' in 2016https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08mjgm4, Margherita Taylor visits Shropshire on

BBC One 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, p ...

and has presented on ''

''. Taylor has also done

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

work for British television advertisements.

References

External links

Margherita Taylor

Smooth Classics on Classic FM

Margherita Taylor on Smooth Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Margherita Alumni of Birmingham City University English radio personalities English radio DJs English television presenters Classical music radio presenters Heart (radio network) Living people Black British television personalities 1972 births English people of Danish descent English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Members of the Order of the British Empire