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Rav Wilding (born 16 October 1977) is a British television presenter and former police officer who served with the
British Transport Police
, nativename =
, abbreviation = BTP
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
, badgecaption =
, f ...
and
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
. Prior to joining the police, Wilding served in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and worked as a security guard at
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
department store 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 ...
. He is best known for his role as a presenter on the BBC TV show ''
Crimewatch
''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was o ...
''.
Early life and education
Born in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, Wilding is the second of five children born to a
Mauritian
Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notably I ...
father and an English mother who were both nurses. He attended
Fulston Manor School
Fulston Manor School is a secondary School with academy status in Sittingbourne, Kent. The head teacher is Mrs Susie Burden . It teaches years 7–13 (11- to 18-year-olds).
Description
Fulston Manor School is a larger-than-average secondary sch ...
in
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...
, Kent.
After a family breakup, Wilding had to leave home at a young age due to social housing not being willing to accommodate him with his mother and younger siblings after he had turned 16. After completing an apprenticeship in
dry lining, he then opted to join the military aged 17.
Military and police career
After secondary school, he took an apprenticeship in construction before joining the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
at seventeen. After sustaining a serious leg break, Wilding was forced to leave the Army after only 4 years.
Upon leaving the army in 1999, Wilding started working at
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
in
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
as part of the security team. After approximately nine months at Harrods, Wilding's application to join the
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
was accepted and he started training school. Wilding joined the Service on the 22 May 2000 and was posted to
Peckham
Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
in
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
. While based at Peckham in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, he was involved in the high-profile police investigation surrounding the
death of Damilola Taylor
On 27 November 2000, ten-year-old Nigerian schoolboy Damilola Taylor was killed in London, in what became one of the United Kingdom's most high-profile killings. Two brothers who were 12 and 13 at the time of the killing were convicted of mansla ...
. Wilding was part of a specialist unit specifically created in the aftermath of the murder where he worked on the tough
North Peckham Estate
Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...
where Taylor was killed.
After two years as a policeman, he responded to an advert for people to participate in a jungle adventure, to live for three months in an Australian rain forest for a new television programme on
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 ...
called ''
Eden''. After numerous auditions and around 50,000 applicants Wilding was picked for the programme and flew out to
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
After three months in the jungle, Wilding returned to Britain and went back to work in the police but this time in to the
CID
CID may refer to:
Film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film
* ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film
Television
* ''CID'' ( ...
. Working within CID, Wilding was posted to units focusing on robbery, burglary and major investigations as well as a long spell working on a Sapphire unit dealing with rape and sexual assault allegations. He was eventually selected for Detective training and became a
Detective Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal Police, law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Ot ...
for the last six years of his service. Wilding worked on many high-profile cases that appeared at the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
.
In January 2021 it was announced by Chief Superintendent Martin Fry that Wilding had joined
British Transport Police
, nativename =
, abbreviation = BTP
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, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
, badgecaption =
, f ...
as a detective.
Television career
Wilding had to go through numerous interviews and auditions as well as formal television presenter training. Having also auditioned for ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
,'' he was offered a part on
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. ...
...
''
Crimewatch
''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was o ...
,'' which he has appeared on since 2004. After taking a period of unpaid leave, Wilding resigned from the police force in February 2008 to concentrate on TV work.
Wilding is a regular reporter on crime issues for
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 ...
's ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
.'' Since 21 April 2008, Wilding has co-presented a new programme called ''
Missing Live
''Missing'', titled ''Missing Live'' from 2008 to 2010, is a BBC One morning television series which was broadcast between 2005 and 2011. Sally Magnusson was the programme's original presenter. She was replaced by Louise Minchin and Rav Wildin ...
'', shown every weekday morning on BBC One. In August 2008, he hosted the twenty-episode fly-on-the-wall series following the lives of the
Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is a dedicated helicopter emergency air ambulance for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It was established in October 2000, and currently operates two Airbus H145 aircraft. It is an independent char ...
, ''
Helicopter Heroes
''Helicopter Heroes'' is a British daytime television series, following the lifesaving work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The first episode aired on 3 September 2007, and a total of seven series have been made. The programme ceased production i ...
'' on BBC One. He has also fronted two series of the daily live show ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' for
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 will present the third series in June 2011.
In January 2008, he won a celebrity edition of ''
The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'' and ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
.'' On 29 December 2008, Wilding appeared on ''
Celebrity Mastermind''. His specialist subject was The Human Body. He came last with only fifteen points. In 2011 he took a role on CBBC as co-presenter and dunk tester for
Dave Benson Phillips
Dave Benson Phillips (born 3 February 1965) is a British entertainer, comic, children's television presenter and wrestler, best known for his work presenting ''Playhouse Disney'' (1998–2006) and '' The Fun Song Factory'' (1994–1999). He ...
in the remake of ''
Get Your Own Back
''Get Your Own Back'' was a British children's television game show created by Brian Marshall. Each episode staged a contest between teams of children – attempting to score as many points as possible – and their respective adults – attemp ...
''.
In August 2009, Wilding was revealed as one of the contestants in ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'' and was partnered with
Aliona Vilani
Aliona Valeriya Kavanagh (''née'' Vilani on 1 May 1984; russian: Алёна Валерия Вилани), also known by her stage name Aliona Vilani, is a Russian-Kazakh TV personality and was a professional dancer in the BBC series of ''Stric ...
. Wilding was made fourth favourite by bookmakers behind former boxer
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
and actor
Ricky Whittle, however he became the third celebrity to be eliminated on the show after failing to be saved in the dance-off, on 3 October 2009.
He appeared several times on ''
Big Brother'' spin off show ''
Big Brother's Little Brother
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 2010.
In September 2010, Wilding went to the front line of British Military operations in Afghanistan filming a series for BBC called ''Remembrance Week''. Whilst filming he witnessed a bomb blast that killed one of the serving soldiers with the unit he was filming (The second Battalion the Duke of Lancasters Regiment) The Lions of England. The series focused on both past and present conflicts.
Since February 2011, Wilding has been a host of the
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 ...
show ''Cop School'', educating the youth on how to be a police officer. It was renamed ''
Hero Squad
''Hero Squad'' was a children's television programme that aired on the CBBC Channel from 2012 - 2013. It followed six children around the UK that were trained up by the various emergency services around the UK, who then took part in a staged res ...
'' in 2012 and the second series, looking at other emergency services' including the police, aired in October 2012. In March 2011, he presented the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series ''Neighbourhood Blues'' which focuses on how the police help communities and how they fight crime.
In September 2011, Wilding took part in and went on to win the second series of ITV's ''
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 ...
'', where ten celebrity contestants must battle it out to see who will make it to the
71st parallel north, with challenges along the way.
In August 2011, Wilding hosted a ''Crimewatch'' special on the riots in England.
On 15 December 2011,
Kirsty Young
Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968) is a Scottish television and radio presenter.
From 2006 to 2018 she was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs''. She presented ''Crimewatch'' on BBC One from 2008 to 2015.
Early ...
, Wilding's ''Crimewatch'' co-host, stated that it would be his last show. Since June 2009, Wilding presents accompanying series, ''
Crimewatch Roadshow
''Crimewatch Live'' (previously known as ''Crimewatch Roadshow Live'' or simply ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' and originally as ''Crimewatch Daily'') is a British television programme produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit Cymru Wales, that recon ...
'', every morning live on BBC1. Series 4 aired in June/July 2012.
On 13 August 2012, Wilding started a new series called ''Frontline Police''. In the series he joins the
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of .
The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...
force and goes back to his roots of when he was in the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
. The show currently airs every Monday at 8pm on
Channel 5.
Wilding presents ''Crime Scene Rescue'' 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 ...
; the show began on 15 April 2013.
In December 2013, he became a contestant in the third series of the diving reality show ''
Splash!''.
He took part in an episode of ''
Tipping Point: Lucky Stars'' on ITV, in which he set the record for the most counters dropped in a single go in any episode of ''Tipping Point'', sinking 23 counters (for a total of £2,300).
He appeared on Season 5 on ''
Hacker Time
''Hacker Time'' is a British children's sketch comedy talk show, broadcast by CBBC, starring Hacker T. Dog, a character from Scoop. In each episode, Hacker interviews a celebrity, and plays games and the show also includes recurring segments, su ...
''.
In 2016, he presented a three-part series for
ID called ''British Police Murdered on Duty'', telling the stories of the
Shepherd's Bush murders, as well as murderers
Dale Cregan
On 18 September 2012, two Greater Manchester Police officers, Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone, were killed by Dale Cregan in a gun and grenade ambush while responding to a report of a burglary in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England.
The inciden ...
and
David Bieber
David Francis Bieber (born 3 February 1966), also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman, is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered police constable (PC) Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Nei ...
.
In 2016, he filmed a five-part series for
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 ...
called ''Ill Gotten Gains'' following police and proceeds of crime experts seize criminals assets after conviction and watch them auctioned off to raise money for the public phrase. He co-presented alongside
Angellica Bell
Angellica Bell (born 24 March 1976) is a British television and radio presenter, best known for her presenting on CBBC between 2000 and 2006. She is also known for providing occasional cover on ''The One Show'' and for co-presenting ''The M ...
. He presented ''Christmas City'' for
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 ...
daytime in December 2016.
Personal life
Wilding was in a relationship with English television personality and glamour model
Chantelle Houghton
Chantelle Vivien Houghton (born 21 August 1983) is an English television personality, glamour model, and columnist. In 2006, she competed in the fourth series of the Channel 4 reality series ''Celebrity Big Brother''. Houghton was sent in as ...
. The couple separated in 2011. Wilding began a relationship with Loose Women's producer Jill Morgan in 2012. The couple married in 2017.
Wilding revealed on
Morning Live
''Morning Live'' is a "topical live series" that airs at 9:15 am on weekdays on BBC One.
Series overview
History
''Morning Live'' first broadcast in October 2020 as a 40-part series to connect with viewers' real-life concerns and to offer tr ...
that he is dyslexic, dyspraxic and also had been diagnosed by
Simon Baron-Cohen
Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of ...
as autistic in a film broadcast on the subject.
Filmography
;TV
*''
Crimewatch
''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was o ...
'' (2004–2011) – Presenter
*''
Missing Live
''Missing'', titled ''Missing Live'' from 2008 to 2010, is a BBC One morning television series which was broadcast between 2005 and 2011. Sally Magnusson was the programme's original presenter. She was replaced by Louise Minchin and Rav Wildin ...
'' (2008–2010) – Co-presenter
*''
Helicopter Heroes
''Helicopter Heroes'' is a British daytime television series, following the lifesaving work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The first episode aired on 3 September 2007, and a total of seven series have been made. The programme ceased production i ...
'' (2008–2014) – Presenter
*''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'' (2009) – Participant
*''
Crimewatch Roadshow
''Crimewatch Live'' (previously known as ''Crimewatch Roadshow Live'' or simply ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' and originally as ''Crimewatch Daily'') is a British television programme produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit Cymru Wales, that recon ...
'' (2009–present) – Presenter
*''Remembrance Week'' (2010) – Presenter
*''
Get Your Own Back
''Get Your Own Back'' was a British children's television game show created by Brian Marshall. Each episode staged a contest between teams of children – attempting to score as many points as possible – and their respective adults – attemp ...
'' (2011) – Co-presenter
*''
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 ...
'' (2011) – Participant
*''Cop School'' (2011) – Presenter
*''Neighbourhood Blues'' (2011) – Presenter
*''Frontline Police'' (2012–?) – Presenter
*''
Hero Squad
''Hero Squad'' was a children's television programme that aired on the CBBC Channel from 2012 - 2013. It followed six children around the UK that were trained up by the various emergency services around the UK, who then took part in a staged res ...
'' (2012–present) – Presenter
*''Crime Scene Rescue'' (2013) – Presenter
*''
Splash!'' (2013) – Participant
*''British Police Murdered on Duty'' (2016) – Narrator
*''Ill Gotten Gains'' (2016) – Co-presenter
*''Christmas City'' (2016) – Presenter
*''The All New Monty - Who Bares Wins'' (2019) – Participant
*''
Richard Osman's House of Games
''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show produced by Banijay (owners of Endemol Shine UK), a branch of Remarkable Television for the BBC. The show is hosted by Richard Osman. It is played on a weekly basis, with four "celebri ...
'' (2020) – Participant
*''Frontline Fightback'' (2021–present) – Narrator
*''
Morning Live
''Morning Live'' is a "topical live series" that airs at 9:15 am on weekdays on BBC One.
Series overview
History
''Morning Live'' first broadcast in October 2020 as a 40-part series to connect with viewers' real-life concerns and to offer tr ...
presenter/expert''
*''Scam Interceptors'' (2022) – presenter
*''Car Crime: How Safe Is Your Car?'' (2022) – Presenter
References
External links
Rav WildingOfficial website
*
PresentersBBC Crimewatch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilding, Rav
1977 births
Living people
Anglo-Indian people
English people of Mauritian descent
English television presenters
Metropolitan Police officers
People from Canterbury
People educated at Fulston Manor School