Alison Helen Lucy Cork (born 28 July 1963) is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 home expert, writer and broadcaster. She works extensively in TV, radio, publishing and journalism.

Publishing

Cork co-founded mail order publishing company Carnell Ltd with entrepreneur publisher John P Gommes. It published eclectic titles such as How to Talk To Your Cat and Vinegar, Honey and Lemon, Nature’s Medicine Chest. The Government Auction Handbook sold 200,000 copies in the space of a few months. In 1995, Cork wrote The Streetwise Guide To Renovating Your Home, based on her various experiences of renovating property and dealing with builders. Cork wrote Special Occasions in 2000, a book of recipes and creative ideas.

Broadcasting

Cork has worked as a presenter for Carlton Food Network

Carlton Food Network

Carlton Food Network was a British digital television channel, provided by Carlton Television, showing food and cookery programmes. It launched in September 1996, and closed in November 2001...

, restaurant critic for LBC Radio

LBC 97.3

LBC 97.3 is a London-based talk and phone-in radio station. It is one half of the latest incarnation of LBC, the news and speech service which was Britain's first commercial radio station when it went on air in October 1973...

, gardening expert for BBC Radio Wales

BBC Radio Wales

BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...

, food journalist on BBC Radio 4's  Food programme

The Food Programme

The Food Programme is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating and celebrating good food, founded by Derek Cooper and currently presented by Sheila Dillon....

, and as a travel correspondent on BBC Radio 4’s Breakaway. Cork’s first television series was The Christmas Show, for Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...

. In 1996 ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 commissioned Cork’s first network show, Home In The Country. Between 2001 and 2004, Cork presented a number of TV series, including Countdown To Christmas and Domestic Magic, both for Channel Five. She also appeared on The Wright Stuff

The Wright Stuff

The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....

. In 2005 Cork presented a 30-part series for ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 called Don’t Move, Improve, which saw her travelling the country with fellow presenter Michael Holmes

Michael Holmes (journalist)

Michael Holmes is a property expert and presenter of multiple property-based television shows on networks such as BBC1, Channel 4, Five, ITV, Channel 4, Discovery Real Time and UK Style...

. In the last five years, Cork has presented various home interest shows, including Homes & Property, 60 Minute Makeover

60 Minute Makeover

60 Minute Makeover is a British popular daytime home interior design television programme broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom.-Overview:...

and Help I Hate My House!. She was also a regular on London Tonight

London Tonight

London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...

and LBC

LBC 97.3

LBC 97.3 is a London-based talk and phone-in radio station. It is one half of the latest incarnation of LBC, the news and speech service which was Britain's first commercial radio station when it went on air in October 1973...

  As of 2011, Cork is the Homes presenter for ITV This Morning.

Journalism

In 2002, Cork began writing The Really Useful Column for the London Evening Standard

Evening Standard

The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

, offering advice on where to find the best products and services for the home. Since 2005, Cork has written a weekly column for the Daily Telegraph called Bargain Hunter, showing readers where to find the best deals and negotiating discounts on their behalf. She has also written homes and interiors columns and features for several national publications, including the Mail on Sunday, The Telegraph, The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, Daily Express

Daily Express

The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...

, Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

, Sunday Mirror

Sunday Mirror

The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...

, Period Living, Ideal Home

Ideal Home

Ideal Home is the title of a British home decorating magazine, published monthly by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary. Ideal Home is the best-selling homes magazine in the United Kingdom, and has a readership of over 1,005,000...

, Your Home and Home.

Online

In 2005, Cork founded homesandbargains.co.uk, a money saving website for the home. In 2006, she re-launched her tradesman’s website as problemsolved.co.uk, a nationwide directory of publicly recommended tradesmen.
In 2011 Cork has launched two furniture collections for Made.com. She insisted all the materials be sourced locally in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

Cork lives with her husband and two sons in Central London. The purchase of Cork’s Belgravia home was featured in the Telegraph under the headline “Belgravia or Bust”.

In 2010, Cork ran the London Marathon

London Marathon

The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

 in aid of the charity Shelter

Shelter (charity)

Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...

.

Television credits

Year	Programme	Channel
1994-6	Carlton Food Network	Carlton Carlton Television Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
1996	The Christmas Show	Westcountry Television Westcountry Television Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...
1997-8	Home In The Country	ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
1999	Home In The Country	Westcountry Television Westcountry Television Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...
2002	Countdown To Christmas	Five
2004	Domestic Magic	Five
2004-9	60 Minute Makeover	ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
2005-6	Don’t Move, Improve	ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
2007-8	Homes & Property	ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
2009-10	Help! I Hate My House	ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...