Penny Smith
Encyclopedia
Penelope Jane Smith is an English
television presenter and newsreader
. She has worked on the breakfast TV show GMTV
, for Sky News
and for Classic FM
.
and the Rutland High School for Girls (became Rutland Sixth Form College, then Rutland College
) on Barleythorpe Lane in Oakham
. She was a fan of folk music
and regularly sang at folk clubs.
in 1977. After four years, she left to backpack through Central and South America and South East Asia where she reported and presented on a current affairs programme for Radio Television Hong Kong
. In 1984 she joined Radio Trent as a reporter/presenter and then worked for Central Television
as press officer for documentaries and drama. After that she co-presented the local evening news for Border Television
and after a year she co-presented Thames News
with Andrew Gardner
. Penny then moved to Sky News
before becoming a presenter on GMTV
in April 1993.
Penny has also presented Crime Net, Crime File and Crime Fighters for Carlton
, Crime Monthly and Most Wanted for LWT
, Going For A Song for the BBC
and 'Celebrity' for ITV
. She also co-presented the 1995 series of The Krypton Factor
alongside Gordon Burns.
In 2006 Smith starred in the BBC2 show Just the Two of Us. She sang with Curtis Stigers
and was eliminated on 3 March. She came fourth. She later appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks
in 2006, and several episodes of Have I Got News For You
. She also appeared in Garfield 2 when Garfield was watching television. In February 2009, she appeared on the ITV1
daytime programme Loose Women
as a panelist on occasion. She was asked to appear at the last moment because of snow blizzards in London
preventing some of the regular panellists from reaching the studio.
On 4 March 2010, it was announced Penny would leave GMTV
. Her final programme on GMTV was broadcast on 4 June 2010.
In August 2010 she appears as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three
.
Since September 2010 she has reviewed the newspapers on ITV's This Morning
and is a regular contributor on The Alan Titchmarsh Show
.
From 18 October 2010 Smith presented Market Kitchen: Big Adventure alongside Matt Tebbutt (weeknights at 7.00pm on the Good Food channel).
and articles in 'Essentials' magazine, Good Housekeeping
and Woman and Home.
She presented an opera show on Classic FM
. In July 2010 she will present Kiri Prize, a nationwide hunt to find an opera star on Radio 2
.
She has produced three yoga videos: "Penny Smith's Power Yoga", "Penny Smith's Essential Guide to Yoga" and "Penny Smith's Yoga Masterclass".
, but they divorced in 1987. She counts Rory Bremner
and Paul McKenna
amongst her ex-boyfriends. Since September 2001, Smith has been in a relationship with the actor Vince Leigh. In 2000 she was voted the 92nd sexiest woman in the world by readers of FHM
magazine.
She is good friends with Mariella Frostrup
and lives in Notting Hill
. Smith's passions are opera
, tennis
, hiking
and yoga
.
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...
television presenter and newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
. She has worked on the breakfast TV 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...
, for Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
and for Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
.
Early life
She attended Uppingham Primary School on Belgrave Road in UppinghamUppingham
Disambiguation: "Uppingham" is the colloquial name for Uppingham SchoolUppingham is a market town in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located on the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, about 6 miles south of the county town, Oakham.- History :A little over a mile to the...
and the Rutland High School for Girls (became Rutland Sixth Form College, then Rutland College
Rutland College
Rutland County College is a post-16 college, based mainly in Oakham, Rutland, England. It plans to move to new premises in September 2012....
) on Barleythorpe Lane in Oakham
Oakham
-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
. She was a fan of folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and regularly sang at folk clubs.
TV career
Penny began her career as a reporter and feature writer on the Peterborough Evening TelegraphPeterborough Evening Telegraph
The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, or ET as it is known locally, is the local newspaper for the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom...
in 1977. After four years, she left to backpack through Central and South America and South East Asia where she reported and presented on a current affairs programme for Radio Television Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. In 1984 she joined Radio Trent as a reporter/presenter and then worked for Central Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
as press officer for documentaries and drama. After that she co-presented the local evening news for Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
and after a year she co-presented Thames News
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...
with Andrew Gardner
Andrew Gardner (newsreader)
Andrew Gardner was a newscaster on Independent Television News in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1977. He was also one of the original presenters of News at Ten when it began in 1967....
. Penny then moved to Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
before becoming a presenter 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...
in April 1993.
Penny has also presented Crime Net, Crime File and Crime Fighters for 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,...
, Crime Monthly and Most Wanted for LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, Going For A Song for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and 'Celebrity' 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...
. She also co-presented the 1995 series of The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 19:00....
alongside Gordon Burns.
In 2006 Smith starred in the BBC2 show Just the Two of Us. She sang with Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...
and was eliminated on 3 March. She came fourth. She later appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
in 2006, and several episodes of Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
. She also appeared in Garfield 2 when Garfield was watching television. In February 2009, she appeared on the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
daytime programme Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
as a panelist on occasion. She was asked to appear at the last moment because of snow blizzards in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
preventing some of the regular panellists from reaching the studio.
On 4 March 2010, it was announced Penny would leave 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...
. Her final programme on GMTV was broadcast on 4 June 2010.
In August 2010 she appears as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three
3@three
3@Three is a topical TV live debate show on ITV. In the programme three topics are discussed each day at three o'clock by three rotating panellists. The first series of ten episodes aired on Monday-Friday between 2 August and 13 August 2010...
.
Since September 2010 she has reviewed the newspapers on ITV's This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
and is a regular contributor on The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot...
.
From 18 October 2010 Smith presented Market Kitchen: Big Adventure alongside Matt Tebbutt (weeknights at 7.00pm on the Good Food channel).
Other work
Smith has written for a number of national newspapers and magazines, including a beauty column for Femail in the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and articles in 'Essentials' magazine, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
and Woman and Home.
She presented an opera show on Classic FM
Classic FM
Classic FM may refer to:*Classic FM , a British classical music radio station**Classic FM TV, a British classical music television channel*ABC Classic FM, an Australian classical music radio station run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
. In July 2010 she will present Kiri Prize, a nationwide hunt to find an opera star on Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
She has produced three yoga videos: "Penny Smith's Power Yoga", "Penny Smith's Essential Guide to Yoga" and "Penny Smith's Yoga Masterclass".
Personal life
Smith married journalist Tony Birtley in May 1984 in GranthamGrantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, but they divorced in 1987. She counts Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
and Paul McKenna
Paul McKenna
Paul McKenna is an English hypnotist and self-improvement author.McKenna has written and produced books and multimedia products, hosted self-improvement television shows and presents seminars in hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, weight loss and motivation.-Career:Paul McKenna started in...
amongst her ex-boyfriends. Since September 2001, Smith has been in a relationship with the actor Vince Leigh. In 2000 she was voted the 92nd sexiest woman in the world by readers of FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
magazine.
She is good friends with Mariella Frostrup
Mariella Frostrup
Mariella Frostrup is a Norwegian-born journalist and television presenter, well known on British TV and radio, mainly for arts programmes. Her 'gravelly' voice was once voted the sexiest female voice on TV, and research to find 'the perfect voice' has indicated that Frostrup's voice is one of the...
and lives in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
. Smith's passions are opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
.
External links
- Penny Smith GMTV