Jenni Falconer (born 12 February 1976) is a Scottish radio and television presenter best known for her roles on the ITV daytime show This Morning, where she is a regular travel reporter and is a stand-in host. Falconer presented the BBC One National Lottery Draws until 2013. She is currently a radio presenter for The Heart Network, presenting early breakfast on weekdays and Sunday breakfast.
Jenni Falconer | |
|---|---|
 Falconer at the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards | |
| Born | 12 February 1976 Glasgow, Scotland. |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Employer(s) | ITV, Heart |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Spouse | James Midgley (m. 2010) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
Falconer spent her formative years in Bishopbriggs and Milngavie, two towns on the outskirts of Glasgow.[2] After her family relocated to the South of England when she was seven, she was educated at the independent Abbey School and attended the University of Leeds in 1994 to study Spanish and Italian with minors in Latin, Geography and Management Studies. Whilst studying at university, she also launched her television career. She was offered a contract by ITV to make a documentary and a consumer show on the proviso that she left her studies.[citation needed]
Career
Television
Falconer made her television debut in 1994 as a contestant on Blind Date, and later presented BBC Scotland's Big Country, ITV's documentary series 3D and consumer show We Can Work It Out alongside Judy Finnigan and Jane Harvey. She hosted travel shows, Holiday and How to Holiday. She was the main co-host of Entertainment Today from its launch in 2000 until its end in July 2008 on GMTV.
Falconer's other work includes reporting on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in Australia for GMTV in 2003, 2004 and 2006, hosting The National Lottery Draws in September 2006 and hosting Cirque de Celebrité in October 2007. She also worked on a show about 24 for Sky1 24 in 24 which she suggested in the first place so she could meet Kiefer Sutherland.
In 2006, Falconer won the Sport Relief showjumping competition Only Fools on Horses riding an 8-year old 16 hands mare called J-Lo.
She hosted three series of Fantasy Homes By the Sea, which was broadcast around the world.
In 2009, Falconer was the host of the daytime quiz show Wordplay on Channel 5 (previously called Brainteaser).
Between 17 to 21 August 2009, Falconer was a guest presenter on STV's The Hour, with main anchor Stephen Jardine.
Falconer currently works as a travel reporter for This Morning. She also guest presented the show during Holly Willoughby's maternity leave from May to July 2011, sharing duties with Ruth Langsford and returned in 2013. Falconer is also an occasional stand-in presenter in This Morning's interactive "hub".
In January 2013, Falconer participated in the first series of the ITV's diving show Splash!, but was voted off by the judges. In August 2015, Falconer guest presented five episodes of Lorraine, standing in for regular host Lorraine Kelly.[citation needed]
Radio
On 14 March 2013, Global Radio announced that Falconer would join Heart to host the Sunday morning show from 6 to 8 am, replacing Jason Donovan who took a break from the network to tour in the musical Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.[3] She has since also presented the 4-6am slot during the weekdays.
Other work
In June 2009, Falconer was unveiled as the face and body of Adore Moi underwear range by Ultimo.
Filmography
- Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Country | Presenter | For BBC Scotland | |
| 3D | Presenter | ITV series | |
| We Can Work It Out | Co-presenter | ||
| Fantasy Homes by the Sea | Presenter | 3 series | |
| The National Lottery Draws | Presenter | In-rotation | |
| 2000–2008 | Entertainment Today | Co-presenter | Part of GMTV |
| 2006 | Only Fools on Horses | Competitor | Comic Relief show |
| 2009 | Wordplay | Presenter | 1 series |
| 2009 | The Hour | Guest presenter | 5 episodes |
| 2011— | This Morning | Various roles | |
| 2013 | Splash! | Contestant | |
| 2015 | Lorraine | Guest presenter | 5 episodes |
- Guest appearances
- Blind Date (1994) – Contestant
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks (22 October 2001, 24 December 2006) – Guest
- Celebrities Under Pressure (7 August 2004) – Contestant
- Hider in the House (2007) – Celebrity hider
- All Star Family Fortunes (8 December 2007) – Contestant
- School's Out (14 July 2007) – Contestant
- Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong (29 February 2008) – Guest
- Daily Cooks Challenge (8 April 2008) – Guest
- All Star Mr & Mrs (27 February 2010) – Contestant
- Ten Mile Menu (26 July 2010) – Participant
- The Cube Celebrity Special (21 November 2010) – Contestant
- What's Cooking? (16 April 2013) – Guest
- The Chase: Celebrity Special (23 November 2013) – Contestant
- Sport Relief's Top Dog (11 March 2014) – Team captain
- Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (9 August 2014)[4] – Contestant
Personal life
Falconer married James Midgley at Babington House in June 2010.[5] She gave birth to a daughter, Ella, in 2011.[6]
Charity
Since 2002, Falconer has been a celebrity patron of the charity Breast Cancer 2000.[7]
In 2012, Falconer took part in the London Marathon, raising money for CLIC Sargent. She finished with a time of 3 hours and 53 minutes.[8]
In the following two years, Falconer took part in the London Marathon, where she raised money for The Children's Trust charity. In 2014, she completed the marathon in 3 hours and 57 minutes.[9][10][11] Falconer was expected to take part in the 2015 London Marathon, raising money for Cancer Research UK.[12]
References
- ^ This Morning, 15 May 2011
- ^ Tibbetts, Graham (16 March 2001). "Love split put me on the road to telly fame; GMTV star Jenni on secret heartache". Mirror Group Newspaper=The Mirror. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ "Jason Donovan takes a break from Heart". Radio Today. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ "Tipping Point: Lucky Stars Episode 6 | presscentre". Itv.com. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Jenni Falconer Names Daughter 'Ella Rose'". Contactmusic.com. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Bull, Sarah (21 September 2011). "'Totally smitten' Jenni Falconer and James Midgley welcome first child, daughter Ella Rose". Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Our Patron". Breast Cancer 2000. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "London Marathon 2012 Celebrity Runners Times". Therunningbug.co.uk. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Money Giving | Fundraising | JENNI FALCONER LONDON MARATHON 2013". Uk.virginmoneygiving.com. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "jenni falconer - So I nailed the first half but burnt out in the". Officialjennifalconer.com. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Virgin Money Giving | Fundraising | JENNI FALCONER LONDON MARATHON 2014". Uk.virginmoneygiving.com. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ http://london-marathon.s3.amazonaws.com/vmlm2014/live/uploads/newsitems/pdfs/VMLM-2015-celeb-list-20-4-15.pdf