Laura Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Laura Hamilton is a British
television presenter who participated in Dancing on Ice
2011 finishing in second place.
, she turned down an offer to study Law and Psychology at university, for a one-year contract at Channel 4
television as a runner making tea for Dermot O'Leary
.
She gained enough experience to leave and left Channel 4 after her contract ended.
She then began working as a freelance Assistant Floor Manager, in doing so, she worked on a variety of productions including Top of the Pops
, The Buckingham Palace Jubilee Celebrations, The Games, T4
, Party in the Park
, Robbie Williams
at Knebworth
and Big Brother
. Hamilton then went on to work as a 2nd/3rd Assistant Director on TV shows such as Family Affairs
, The Bill
, and films including Harry Potter and Stardust with the skills she acquired previously. Overall, she worked behind the camara for 4 years in assistant roles before her first on-screen TV debut.
She has also worked for many production companies and broadcasters including ITV
, Channel 5, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network
and Boomerang
.
for CITV
which she played for two and a half years until the show ended in 2006. She had appeared alongside Aston Merrygold
from JLS
on Fun Song Factory. She also appeared in the films Dead Man's Cards
in 2006 and Magicians
in 2007. She was also the face of Citibank
for their European campaign.
In 2006, Hamilton became the female face of kids TV channel Nickelodeon
, and has presented Nickheads
, Slime Across the UK, ME:TV (LIVE) for the channel. She has also presented the Nickelodeon UK Kids' Awards on MTV, with McFly
in 2007, and Dannii Minogue
in 2008.
In March 2008, Hamilton started guest presenting on GMTV
’s Toonattik
. She was involved in the Endemol
-produced The Bratz
Design Academy in late 2008 where children got to become fashion designers and design a dress that she wore to an awards ceremony.
On 18 December 2010, Hamilton was revealed as one of the 16 celebrities to participate in ITV1's flagship show, Dancing On Ice
in 2011.
On 4 October 2011, Hamilton appeared on the Channel 5 show Real Food Family Cook Off as a guest judge alongside Ainsley Harriott
.
to present the Xtra Factor 2011. She decided to quit her job with Nickelodeon to move away from children's television. Most recently, she presented the new series of Fort Boyard
for ITV
now called Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge to air in early 2012. The show was filmed on location in La Rochelle between 9–15 July 2011 consisting of two 10 x 30’ series'. It also aired on Disney XD
in the US from October 17, 2011 to November 7, 2011 and will be rolled-out globally after it's UK airing. She is hosting alongside American actor, Geno Segers
.
On 24th August 2011, it was announced in Hello magazine that Laura is a new presenter, joining the team of Channel 4's award-winning show A Place in the Sun.
with Canadian professional Colin Ratushniak. They were top of the leaderboard four times during the competition; week 1 with a score of 16.0 out of 30, week 6 with a score of 25.5 out of 30, week 7 with a score of 25.5 out of 30 and week 9 with a score of 28.5 out of 30.
In week 9 of the competition, Laura captained a team in the 'team challenge'. The judges decided her group's performance was the better of the two and thus, every skater in her team had their points doubled, therefore Laura and Colin's score for week 9 was 57.0 out of a possible 60.
They were only the fourth couple in Dancing on Ice
history to achieve a perfect score of 30.0 out of 30.0 when they performed their favourite routine to 'I'm So Excited
' in the Final. They came second place overall. She also took part in Dancing on Ice: The Tour
2011 along with Ratushniak.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
television presenter who participated in Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
2011 finishing in second place.
Early career
After gaining A-Levels at Dartford Grammar School for GirlsDartford Grammar School for Girls
Dartford Grammar School for Girls is a grammar school specializing in science, mathematics and computing that is located at Shepherds Lane , Dartford, Kent, England...
, she turned down an offer to study Law and Psychology at university, for a one-year contract at 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...
television as a runner making tea for Dermot O'Leary
Dermot O'Leary
Dermot O'Leary is an English television and radio presenter. He established himself as a presenter of Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4 before moving on to The X Factor on ITV. O'Leary has also presented on the BBC and has his own radio show on BBC Radio 2...
.
She gained enough experience to leave and left Channel 4 after her contract ended.
She then began working as a freelance Assistant Floor Manager, in doing so, she worked on a variety of productions including Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, The Buckingham Palace Jubilee Celebrations, The Games, T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
, Party in the Park
Party in the Park
Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities in England and Wales, typically in large parks during the summer.-Leeds' Party in the Park:...
, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
at Knebworth
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the...
and Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
. Hamilton then went on to work as a 2nd/3rd Assistant Director on TV shows such as Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, and films including Harry Potter and Stardust with the skills she acquired previously. Overall, she worked behind the camara for 4 years in assistant roles before her first on-screen TV debut.
She has also worked for many production companies and broadcasters including 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...
, Channel 5, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
and Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
.
Move to on-screen Television and Film
Her first break in front of the camera came as ‘Melody’ in the popular pre-school show Fun Song FactoryFun Song Factory
Fun Song Factory is a British preschool children's show on CITV aimed at youngsters. It was one of the first songs-based shows to be filmed in front of a live audience of children , and is similar to Australian shows such as 'The Wiggles' and 'Hi-5'.It was originally created in 1994 by Will Brenton...
for CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
which she played for two and a half years until the show ended in 2006. She had appeared alongside Aston Merrygold
Aston Merrygold
Aston Iain Merrygold is a singer with boy band JLS who were the runner ups to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in the United Kingdom in 2008.-Early life:...
from JLS
JLS
- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...
on Fun Song Factory. She also appeared in the films Dead Man's Cards
Dead Man's Cards
Dead Man's Cards is a 2006 British underworld drama starring Paul Barber and James McMartin. When Tom suffers a bad eye injury his boxing career comes to an end, and his marriage begins to suffer...
in 2006 and Magicians
Magicians (film)
Magicians is a 2007 British comedy film released on 18 May 2007. It stars comic duo Robert Webb and David Mitchell as stage magicians Karl and Harry respectively. The two magicians compete together in a magic competition, despite their personal differences...
in 2007. She was also the face of Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
for their European campaign.
In 2006, Hamilton became the female face of kids TV channel Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (UK & Ireland)
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
, and has presented Nickheads
Nickheads
Nickheads is a daily interactive show presented by Mark and Laura, airing every weekday from 4pm up to 6pm. Nickheads is broadcast daily on Nickelodeon UK. During Nickheads there are crazy games where viewers must try and guess the outcome via the sky remote...
, Slime Across the UK, ME:TV (LIVE) for the channel. She has also presented the Nickelodeon UK Kids' Awards on MTV, with McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
in 2007, and Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
in 2008.
In March 2008, Hamilton started guest presenting on 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...
’s Toonattik
Toonattik
Toonattik was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, ITV Breakfast . It began on 5 February 2005 and ran until New Year's Day 2011....
. She was involved in the Endemol
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
-produced The Bratz
Bratz
Bratz is an American line of fashion dolls and merchandise manufactured by MGA Entertainment. Four original 10" dolls were released in 2001 - Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...
Design Academy in late 2008 where children got to become fashion designers and design a dress that she wore to an awards ceremony.
On 18 December 2010, Hamilton was revealed as one of the 16 celebrities to participate in ITV1's flagship show, Dancing On Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
in 2011.
On 4 October 2011, Hamilton appeared on the Channel 5 show Real Food Family Cook Off as a guest judge alongside Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott is a British celebrity chef and television presenter.-Early career:Trained at Westminster College of Catering, Ainsley obtained an apprenticeship at Verrey's restaurant in the West End and later worked as a commis chef...
.
Recent Work
In Early 2011, amongst a few others, she was in discussions with Simon CowellSimon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
to present the Xtra Factor 2011. She decided to quit her job with Nickelodeon to move away from children's television. Most recently, she presented the new series of Fort Boyard
Fort Boyard (TV series)
For the fortress see Fort Boyard Fort Boyard is a French game show created by Jacques Antoine that was first broadcast in 1990 and is popular to this day...
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...
now called Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge to air in early 2012. The show was filmed on location in La Rochelle between 9–15 July 2011 consisting of two 10 x 30’ series'. It also aired on Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
in the US from October 17, 2011 to November 7, 2011 and will be rolled-out globally after it's UK airing. She is hosting alongside American actor, Geno Segers
Geno Segers
Geno Segers is a voice, stage and television actor best known for his role as Mason Makoola in the Disney XD television series Pair of Kings. Segers also guest starred in Zeke and Luther.- Early life :...
.
On 24th August 2011, it was announced in Hello magazine that Laura is a new presenter, joining the team of Channel 4's award-winning show A Place in the Sun.
Dancing on Ice
Hamilton took part and came second place in the 2011 series of popular ITV show Dancing on IceDancing on Ice (series 6)
The sixth series of Dancing on Ice started on 9 January 2011 and ended on 27 March 2011 on ITV. Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby return as hosts whilst Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return to mentor the celebrities...
with Canadian professional Colin Ratushniak. They were top of the leaderboard four times during the competition; week 1 with a score of 16.0 out of 30, week 6 with a score of 25.5 out of 30, week 7 with a score of 25.5 out of 30 and week 9 with a score of 28.5 out of 30.
In week 9 of the competition, Laura captained a team in the 'team challenge'. The judges decided her group's performance was the better of the two and thus, every skater in her team had their points doubled, therefore Laura and Colin's score for week 9 was 57.0 out of a possible 60.
They were only the fourth couple in Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
history to achieve a perfect score of 30.0 out of 30.0 when they performed their favourite routine to 'I'm So Excited
I'm So Excited
"I'm So Excited" is a song by American recording artists The Pointer Sisters. The track, written by The Pointer Sisters and Trevor Lawrence, was originally released in 1982 and saw a re-release in 1984. It is considered to be one of the group's signature songs.-Background:The song appeared...
' in the Final. They came second place overall. She also took part in Dancing on Ice: The Tour
Dancing on Ice: The Tour
Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice: The Live Tour is a nationwide tour in the United Kingdom. It began in 2007 following the success of the two series of smash-hit television series Dancing on Ice.-General information:...
2011 along with Ratushniak.