Kirsten O'Brien
Encyclopedia
Kirsten O'Brien is an English
television presenter and stand-up comic.
She is known for presenting SMart
, and presented Smile
and Totally Doctor Who
alongside Barney Harwood
on CBBC
.
, Kuwait
, Nigeria
, Singapore
and England. Her Norwegian mother Karen died of cancer aged 52 in Redcar and Cleveland
just before O'Brien was confirmed a part in SMart, 1999. O'Brien has a younger brother, Tim.
and communications
at the University of Central England in Birmingham
, graduating in 1993. She got her first broadcast experience on the university's student radio station which led to her first job in 1995 at Tyne Tees Television
where she made her presenting debut on a children's science programme.
In 1996 she joined the team presenting the continuity links during the BBC's children's programming CBBC
. She stayed there for three-and-a-half years during which time she became best known for her partnership with arrogant puppet Otis the Aardvark
. Both O'Brien and Otis also co-presented with other people (and often solo). The 1997 Saturday morning spin-off Saturday Aardvark was entirely built around them. Puppeteer Dave Chapman
would often reduce O'Brien to tears of helpless laughter with his ad-libs.
O'Brien left the CBBC on-air presentation team in 1999 but is still a regular on children's TV and radio. She has co-hosted SMart and its spin-offs SMart On the Road
and SMarteenies
(for the pre-school CBeebies
channel). On radio she was one of the presenters of BBC 7
's Little Toe Radio Show.
In 2004 she played Peter Pan in pantomime. The same year O'Brien successfully took part in a lumberjack competition for the BBC series Bring It On. She performed a sketch show during the Edinburgh Fringe
in August 2006 entitled Lesley's Lunch Hour - Not During Lunch, And Not Quite An Hour along with double act partner Ruth Bratt. Then in 2007 she took her comedy show Kirsten O'Brien - Confessions of a Children's TV Presenter to Edinburgh.
Between 28 May and 15 June 2007, she co-presented Springwatch Trackers alongside Steve Backshall
. Transmitted live on BBC Two
from a farm in Devon
and repeated later in the day on the CBBC Channel
the show featured teams of boys and girls who were set a series of Tracker challenges.
She has been a guest on Stephen Merchant
's The Steve Show on BBC 6 Music
, Through the Keyhole
and several times on Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
.
O'Brien filmed "Kirsten's Topless Ambition", a documentary for BBC3 that aired on 28 April 2009, in which she was "facing a huge decision - whether to do what many other female presenters had done before her and take her clothes off for a lads' mag to try to clinch bigger, better presenting jobs and a more adult audience." Ultimately she only received one offer and opted against doing this and decided to perform more stand up comedy. She also stated on the show that she was ready to leave SMart
since Speight's death and felt it was not right to stay. Kirsten then stayed with CBBC to take over as host of game show Gimme a Break.
Kirsten took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
which aired on 2 January 2010.
From 2009-2010 she made appearances on the morning show GMTV
presenting on-location. On 19 February 2010 she and George Lamb
presented EastEnders
: The Aftermath where they interviewed members of the cast about the live 25th anniversary episode.
In 2010 O'Brien, along with actor and friend Will Mellor
, appeared in The World's Toughest Driving Tests, a driving challenge. They travelled the world mastering the biggest and hardest-to-drive vehicles to find out who is the better driver. In the first episode, aired February 2010, O'Brien won when she beat Mellor driving a Romanian TR-85
combat tank. She went on to take wins in the third and sixth episode. Three wins, together with a draw in the fifth episode meant that Kirsten was the overall winner of the series.
On 31 December 2010 she appeared on BBC1's Celebrity Mastermind
answering questions on Reeves and Mortimer (scoring 13) & 24 overall with 1 pass, coming third. She donated her fee to Teesside Hospice.
On 9 January 2011, O'Brien was spotted at the V&A Museum of Childhood
during filming of a secret new TV series
On 26 March 2011, O'Brien was a comperer for one of the Teenage Cancer Trust
shows at the Royal Albert Hall
at which Editors
headlined.
fan; she has been involved in charity work with the club, including the Premier League's
Creating Chances program. She has asthma
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television presenter and stand-up comic.
She is known for presenting SMart
SMart
SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart...
, and presented Smile
Smile (TV series)
Smile was a British Sunday morning children's programme created by production company Darrall Macqueen Ltd for CBBC. It first aired in 2002 and was originally shown on the CBBC Channel. It was moved to BBC Two to make way for Dick and Dom in da Bungalow. Although Dick and Dom finished in 2006,...
and Totally Doctor Who
Totally Doctor Who
Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series...
alongside Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.-Television:For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop , alongside Basil Brush.Previous work for CBBC included...
on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
.
Early life
As a result of her father's work as a civil engineer she spent her childhood moving from country to country, including spells in AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and England. Her Norwegian mother Karen died of cancer aged 52 in Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
just before O'Brien was confirmed a part in SMart, 1999. O'Brien has a younger brother, Tim.
Career
O'Brien studied mediaMedia studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
and communications
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
at the University of Central England in Birmingham
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
, graduating in 1993. She got her first broadcast experience on the university's student radio station which led to her first job in 1995 at Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
where she made her presenting debut on a children's science programme.
In 1996 she joined the team presenting the continuity links during the BBC's children's programming CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
. She stayed there for three-and-a-half years during which time she became best known for her partnership with arrogant puppet Otis the Aardvark
Otis the Aardvark
Otis the Aardvark was a puppet presenter on Children's BBC. Otis mainly presented the afternoon links on BBC One alongside the main CBBC presenters....
. Both O'Brien and Otis also co-presented with other people (and often solo). The 1997 Saturday morning spin-off Saturday Aardvark was entirely built around them. Puppeteer Dave Chapman
Dave Chapman
Dave Chapman is an English actor, television presenter, puppeteer and voice artist.-Career:Dave Chapman trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and The Jim Henson Company...
would often reduce O'Brien to tears of helpless laughter with his ad-libs.
O'Brien left the CBBC on-air presentation team in 1999 but is still a regular on children's TV and radio. She has co-hosted SMart and its spin-offs SMart On the Road
On the Road
On the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
and SMarteenies
SMarteenies
SMarteenies was a spin-off of the children's art programme SMart designed for pre-school viewers. It was shown on the CBeebies channel daily until its suspension in January 2008, following the death of presenter Mark Speight's fiancée Natasha Collins, and his subsequent suicide.The programme...
(for the pre-school CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
channel). On radio she was one of the presenters of BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
's Little Toe Radio Show.
In 2004 she played Peter Pan in pantomime. The same year O'Brien successfully took part in a lumberjack competition for the BBC series Bring It On. She performed a sketch show during the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
in August 2006 entitled Lesley's Lunch Hour - Not During Lunch, And Not Quite An Hour along with double act partner Ruth Bratt. Then in 2007 she took her comedy show Kirsten O'Brien - Confessions of a Children's TV Presenter to Edinburgh.
Between 28 May and 15 June 2007, she co-presented Springwatch Trackers alongside Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall is a British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV's "Deadly 60'. This series sees Backshall travelling the world in search of predators that are, "Not just deadly to me, but deadly in their own world"...
. Transmitted live on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
from a farm in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and repeated later in the day on the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
the show featured teams of boys and girls who were set a series of Tracker challenges.
She has been a guest on Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
's The Steve Show on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
, Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole was a British panel game, hosted by Sir David Frost where panellists are given a video tour of a mystery famous guest's property and attempt to identify them. As of 1996, it is produced by David Frost's own production company, Paradine Productions at The Leeds Studios , and has...
and several times on Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive is a British television show, first aired on BBC Three in July 2006. Devised by Paul Duddridge, it concerns the making of a comedy panel game show called Annually Retentive, themed around historical events, and hosted by Welsh comedian Rob Brydon...
.
O'Brien filmed "Kirsten's Topless Ambition", a documentary for BBC3 that aired on 28 April 2009, in which she was "facing a huge decision - whether to do what many other female presenters had done before her and take her clothes off for a lads' mag to try to clinch bigger, better presenting jobs and a more adult audience." Ultimately she only received one offer and opted against doing this and decided to perform more stand up comedy. She also stated on the show that she was ready to leave SMart
SMart
SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart...
since Speight's death and felt it was not right to stay. Kirsten then stayed with CBBC to take over as host of game show Gimme a Break.
Kirsten took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
which aired on 2 January 2010.
From 2009-2010 she made appearances on the morning show GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
presenting on-location. On 19 February 2010 she and George Lamb
George Lamb (presenter)
George Martin Lamb is a Scottish-born British radio and TV presenter. He is the son of actor Larry Lamb.-Career:Lamb's radio career peaked with presenting his own daytime show on BBC Radio 6 Music for two years from October 2007 to November 2009, before being moved the early weekend mornings for 6...
presented EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
: The Aftermath where they interviewed members of the cast about the live 25th anniversary episode.
In 2010 O'Brien, along with actor and friend Will Mellor
Will Mellor
William "Will" Mellor is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks, Gaz Wilkinson in comedy, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps...
, appeared in The World's Toughest Driving Tests, a driving challenge. They travelled the world mastering the biggest and hardest-to-drive vehicles to find out who is the better driver. In the first episode, aired February 2010, O'Brien won when she beat Mellor driving a Romanian TR-85
TR-85
The TR-85 is a main battle tank designed for the armed forces of Romania. Based on the TR-77-580 , the TR-85 tank was developed from 1978 to 1985 and produced from 1986 until 1990. A modernization program was initiated in March 1994 in order to upgrade the TR-85 tanks to NATO standards...
combat tank. She went on to take wins in the third and sixth episode. Three wins, together with a draw in the fifth episode meant that Kirsten was the overall winner of the series.
On 31 December 2010 she appeared on BBC1's Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master...
answering questions on Reeves and Mortimer (scoring 13) & 24 overall with 1 pass, coming third. She donated her fee to Teesside Hospice.
On 9 January 2011, O'Brien was spotted at the V&A Museum of Childhood
V&A Museum of Childhood
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum , which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.-History:...
during filming of a secret new TV series
On 26 March 2011, O'Brien was a comperer for one of the Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The units are dedicated areas for teenage patients, who are involved in their concept and creation...
shows at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
at which Editors
Editors
Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
headlined.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–present | SMart SMart SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart... |
Herself | CBBC |
| 2002–2003 | SMarteenies SMarteenies SMarteenies was a spin-off of the children's art programme SMart designed for pre-school viewers. It was shown on the CBeebies channel daily until its suspension in January 2008, following the death of presenter Mark Speight's fiancée Natasha Collins, and his subsequent suicide.The programme... |
Herself | CBeebies |
| 2004 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan | Theatre Production |
| 2004 | Bring it On Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:In film and television:*Bring It On , a 2000 film about a high school cheerleading squad**Bring It On Again, a 2004 sequel**Bring It On: All or Nothing, a 2006 sequel... |
Herself | 1 episode |
| 2005–2007 | Smile Smile (TV series) Smile was a British Sunday morning children's programme created by production company Darrall Macqueen Ltd for CBBC. It first aired in 2002 and was originally shown on the CBBC Channel. It was moved to BBC Two to make way for Dick and Dom in da Bungalow. Although Dick and Dom finished in 2006,... |
Herself | CBBC |
| 2007 | Springwatch Trackers | Herself | 28 May-15 June 2007 |
| 2007 | The Fanbanta Football Show The Fanbanta Football Show The Fanbanta Football Show was an association football related television show that aired on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 12:05am in 2007. The show was created by the company of the same name, Fanbanta. Hosted by Joe Mace and Kirsten O'Brien, the show garnered a generally negative reaction during its... |
Herself | Football show for Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
| 2007 | Totally Doctor Who Totally Doctor Who Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series... |
Herself | Spin-off series of Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
| 2008–present | Help! Teacher is Coming to Stay | Herself | Game Show for CBBC |
| 2009 | Kirsten's Topless Ambition | Herself | Documentary BBC3 |
| 2009 | Britain's Most Embarrassing Parents | Herself | Documentary BBC3 |
| 2009–present | Gimme a Break | Herself | Game show for CBBC |
| unknown-to present | Big Toe Books | Herself | Story show for Radio 7 |
| 2009 | Total Wipeout Total Wipeout Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large... |
Herself | Celebrity Special Episode |
| 2009–present | GMTV GMTV GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end... |
Herself | |
| 2010 | The World's Toughest Driving Tests | Herself | Wins Series 4-3 |
| 2010 | The King is Dead | Herself |
Personal life
O'Brien plays tennis, and has taken part in swimming, abseiling and netball events for charity. She is a keen Middlesbrough Football ClubMiddlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
fan; she has been involved in charity work with the club, including the Premier League's
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
Creating Chances program. She has asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
.