Nicola Shields (born 1 November 1985) is a British television presenter best known as the
Formula E
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...
pit lane reporter. A biological sciences graduate of the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
, she got a job for UBS which she left after one year to found the social media company Starcount.com. Shields began her presenting and reporting career in 2012 and her work has included the
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 ...
show ''
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 ...
'' and ''Supercharged'' on
CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
, and most recently CNNI's ''Saved by the Future''.
Biography
Shields was born in 1985
and was raised in
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
.
She has one brother. Shields spent time at the family's countryside farm in Yorkshire during the holidays.
She was educated at the
Lady Eleanor Holles School
Lady Eleanor Holles School (often abbreviated to LEH or LEHS) is an independent day school for girls in Hampton, London. It consists of a small junior school and a larger senior school, which operate from different buildings on the same site. It ...
. Shields was exposed to motor racing from an early age as she often watched Formula One with her father and competed in go-kart races.
Her childhood dream was to race in the series but realised that this was not feasible as she became older.
Shields studied biological sciences at the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
.
The first job she got upon graduating was with the financial services company
UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
.
Shields left UBS after one year and founded Starcount, a social media data analytics device.
She began presenting and reporting at technology and science shows in 2012 which included
''The Gadget Show Live'', the International Confex and the Intel Solutions Summit.
The following year Shields began acting as one of the presenters of the BBC One property-buying programme ''
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 ...
''.
That same year she reported from the Willis Resilience Expedition to Antarctica where she investigated climate change and sustainability.
Shields was also involved in the production of a programme about electric vehicles.
Shields presented for Goodwood TV at the 72nd Members Meeting and ''
Motors TV
Motorsport.tv was a pan-European digital television channel dedicated to motorsport. It ceased broadcasting in late September 2018 to concentrate on web-streaming only.
Launched in 2000 as Motors TV, it broadcast an extensive range of nationa ...
'' in 2014.
In early 2014 she contacted Aurora Media and was invited for screen tests for the company's television coverage of the electric motor racing series
Formula E
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...
. Shields was confirmed as the series pit lane reporter in April of that year.
She later said that she had to get involved upon hearing about the series from a contact at
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
as it consisted of two of her main hobbies, cars and science.
Shields is the host of the ''
CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
'' technology and electric racing show ''Supercharged'' which first aired on 13 February 2016, and of ''Saved by the Future''. She was announced as the host of the LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards which took place on 13 September. Shields's other work include hosting the
Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...
on ''
ITV4
ITV4 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The channel h ...
'' and presented the
Formula Kart Stars on ''
Sky Sports F1
Sky Sports F1 is a television channel created exclusively for Sky's UK and Ireland coverage of Formula One, with Sky having a package of rights from the 2012 season to the 2029 season. From 2012 to 2029, Sky Sports F1 has the exclusive rights ...
''. She has written articles for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' and
''CNN.com'',
and commentated on
Esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
events such as the Ferrari eSports series, the
Formula E Race at Home Challenge and the Fordzilla eSports Cup.
In October 2020, she was named an ambassador of the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
's The Girls on Track UK
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
and motorsport initiative for school-age girls.
Personal life
In September 2014, she married her partner of four years Mark Sainthill in a ceremony held in
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
. Her first child, a boy, due to be born in June 2019, was born three weeks early via
caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
in May.
References
External links
*
*
Patron of Educational Wealth Fund(2018)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Nicki
1985 births
Living people
People from Twickenham
Alumni of the University of Bristol
CNN people
Formula E people
English television presenters
English women writers
Television personalities from London