Jennifer Elizabeth Valentyne (née Peck, born May 31, 1967) is a Canadian television personality. Her longest running role was on Breakfast Television in Toronto for 23 years where she went from being a weather specialist to hosting the "Live Eye" and being the stand in co-host. From 2016 to 2020, she had various positions on Corus Entertainment properties, first as the host of The Bachelor & The Bachelorette Canada After Show on W Network (2016-2017), as co-host on Derringer in the Morning on Q107 in Toronto (2017-2019), and co-host of the Toronto edition of Global News Morning (2019-2020).
Jennifer Valentyne | |
|---|---|
 Valentyne at Breakfast Television Viewer Appreciation Day 2008 | |
| Born | May 31, 1967 |
| Occupation(s) | Television and radio personality |
| Years active | 1992-present |
| Spouse | Greg Valentyne |
Education and career edit
Valentyne graduated from David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute[1] and earned a Radio and Television Broadcasting Diploma from Toronto's Centennial College. She began work at City Toronto in 1987, as an intern and then a graphics operator with MuchMusic. In the early 1990s she appeared as "The Prize Queen" on Speakers Corner and hosted 30-second spots called "MuchHappenings". In 1992 she became a regular as the "Singing Weathergirl" on Breakfast Television, where she worked doing "Live Eye" segments and as a fill-in co-host until her position was eliminated in April 2016.[2][3]
She is a former Toronto Argonauts cheerleader and has posed as the Toronto Sun's Sunshine Girl. She is also a singer-songwriter. She sings jazz standards and originals; she sings on BT Holiday Favourites, a CD released by City Toronto in 2007.[4]
Valentyne moved to Corus Entertainment where she became the host of The Bachelorette Canada & The Bachelor Canada After Show on W Network in 2016 and 2017.[5][6] From February 2017 until February 2019 she was co-host on Derringer in the Morning on Corus-owned Q107.[7]
In March 2019, Valentyne moved to Corus-owned Global News Toronto as a morning co-anchor.[8] Valentyne was laid off by Corus in August 2020.[9]
In May 2022, Valentyne announced, through a video posted to social media, that she had filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) alleging gender discrimination by a previous employer.[10] Corus subsequently acknowledged that it was party to a process involving Valentyne and the CHRC, and announced that it had put Derringer in the Morning on hiatus pending the results of an external investigation.[11]
Personal life edit
She is married to Greg Valentyne, a freelance producer/camera operator and founder of Heroes Beer. They have two children, Jackson and Georgia Valentyne.[12]
References edit
- ^ "Profile Updates: Grads in the Broadcast Media", Thomson Tradewinds Spring 2012, David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute, p. 3 (pdf), retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ Jenny Yuen, "Breakfast Television splits with Jennifer Valentyne", Toronto Sun, April 3, 2016.
- ^ Greg David, "Jennifer Valentyne exits Breakfast Television Toronto", TV, eh?, April 1, 2016.
- ^ BT Holiday Favourites, OCLC WorldCat, retrieved July 30, 2017.
- ^ "The Bachelorette Canada After Show", W Network.
- ^ John Doyle, "How low will The Bachelorette Canada go?", The Globe and Mail, September 12, 2016, updated September 18, 2016.
- ^ Andrej Ivanov, "Jennifer Valentyne joins Q107's 'Derringer in the Morning' show", Toronto Star, February 14, 2017.
- ^ "Global News Morning Toronto Launches March 4 With Exciting New Host Team". Corusent.com. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Revolving Door". Broadcast Dialogue. August 12, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (May 24, 2022). "Jennifer Valentyne files gender discrimination complaint with Canadian Human Rights Commission". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (May 24, 2022). "Q107's Derringer in the Morning on hiatus pending external investigation". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ Jillian Cecchini, "Lights, camera, action! — true love blossoms on set", Post City Toronto, August 29, 2012.
External links edit
- Jennifer Valentyne at Breakfast Television, archived May 7, 2013.