Saira Khan
Encyclopedia
Saira Khan is a British television personality and was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.
's Temper Your Temper, a programme dealing with anger management, and lifestyle show Desi DNA
. She has presented several documentaries for the BBC and ITV
, as well as appearing as a guest on a variety of shows such as Ready Steady Cook
. She currently (2008) hosts the BBC children's programme Beat the Boss
and presented an edition of the BBC's Money Programme
about entrepreneurial mothers. She is a columnist for the Daily Mirror, a regular panelist for BBC Radio 5 Live
and has appeared on a number of other stations including BBC Radio 4
and the BBC Asian Network
. She has also written a self-help book, P.U.S.H. For Success. In 2006 she set up a new campaign called OUR SAY to campaign for local and national referenda on issues of major public interest. Khan also runs her own baby-products business called miamoo, and an orienteering business called "West Is East".
Khan also appeared in Mastermind Celebrity Edition where she came 4th.
Saira Khan currently presents Trade Your Way to the USA
shown on BBC1 and children's television channel CBBC
.
in Azad Kashmir
, Pakistan
to England in 1965.
At home they spoke only Urdu
and Pahari
with her mother not speaking any English. Her parents were eager for her to have an arranged marriage
but could not find a match – "My parents were from an arranged marriage and wanted the same for me. My mother would invite young men to the house and get me to serve them tea on a tray. I didn't fancy any of them. It was just like East Is East
."
Khan went to Brighton Polytechnic and then on to the University of Nottingham
Her father died from a heart attack in 1998 while visiting relatives in Kashmir – "I was absolutely devastated. For the first time I felt really alone."
in 2002 Khan met the man who later became her husband: Steve Hyde. "I knew instantly that Steve was the one," said Khan. "I had a mental tick-list of what I wanted in a person. It was never about the looks although of course he is a handsome man. He was career-minded and I never wanted to be hanging around with a lazy slob. Keeping fit was a big part of his life, and mine, and he liked a hot curry. He ticked all my boxes." Her mother however was initially opposed to the union. "I never introduced Steve as a boyfriend," said Khan. "She was furious at first but she's come round. I was the first girl in my family to marry outside the culture.". Steve now runs one of London's leading online marketing agencies; Push http://www.pushgroup.co.uk/
In 2008 Khan gave birth to a baby boy, Zachariah. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis
. In March 2011, she adopted a baby girl, Amara, from the Edhi Orphanage in Karachi, Pakistan.
Television career
Khan has since become a regular face on British TV. In 2006 she presented on the BBCBBC
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...
's Temper Your Temper, a programme dealing with anger management, and lifestyle show Desi DNA
Desi DNA
Desi DNA is a British television show on the BBC covering Desi art, culture and entertainment, currently broadcasting its fifth series in 2008....
. She has presented several documentaries for the BBC and 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...
, as well as appearing as a guest on a variety of shows such as Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
. She currently (2008) hosts the BBC children's programme Beat the Boss
Beat the Boss
Beat the Boss is a BBC TV programme in the UK, presented by Cameron Johnson and previously Saira Khan.Two teams, one kids team named "The Bright Sparks", and one adult team named "The Big Shots", have to create a product that will appeal to the kid's market...
and presented an edition of the BBC's Money Programme
The Money Programme
The Money Programme is a finance and business affairs television programme on BBC2.It was first broadcast on 5 April 1966 and presented by "commentators" William Davis, Erskine Childers and Joe Roeber. At this time David Attenborough was the controller of BBC2...
about entrepreneurial mothers. She is a columnist for the Daily Mirror, a regular panelist for BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
and has appeared on a number of other stations including BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
and the BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
. She has also written a self-help book, P.U.S.H. For Success. In 2006 she set up a new campaign called OUR SAY to campaign for local and national referenda on issues of major public interest. Khan also runs her own baby-products business called miamoo, and an orienteering business called "West Is East".
Khan also appeared in Mastermind Celebrity Edition where she came 4th.
Saira Khan currently presents Trade Your Way to the USA
Trade Your Way to the USA
Trade Your Way to the USA is a childrens' reality television gameshow that is presented by The Apprentice Series 1 runner-up Saira Khan. The show is about young traders aged between eleven and fourteen attempting to negotiate and haggle when buying in order to get the best deals when selling...
shown on BBC1 and children's television channel 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...
.
Parents and her early life
Khan's parents emigrated from the city of RawalakotRawalakot
Rawalakot , is a city in Azad Kashmir, and is the capital of Poonch Division and Poonch District. It is in a saucer-shaped valley at an elevation of 1,615 metres ....
in Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to England in 1965.
At home they spoke only Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Pahari
Pahari languages
The Pahari languages are a geographic group of Indic languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal in the east to the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the west.-Classification:The Pahari languages fall into three groups:*Eastern, consisting...
with her mother not speaking any English. Her parents were eager for her to have an arranged marriage
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
but could not find a match – "My parents were from an arranged marriage and wanted the same for me. My mother would invite young men to the house and get me to serve them tea on a tray. I didn't fancy any of them. It was just like East Is East
East is East (film)
East Is East is a 1999 British black comedy/drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Lancashire, in 1971...
."
Khan went to Brighton Polytechnic and then on to the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
Her father died from a heart attack in 1998 while visiting relatives in Kashmir – "I was absolutely devastated. For the first time I felt really alone."
Marriage and personal life
While working at United BiscuitsUnited Biscuits
__FORCETOC__United Biscuits is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of the BN biscuits, McVitie's biscuits, KP Nuts, Hula Hoops, The Real McCoy's crisps, Phileas Fogg snacks, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets...
in 2002 Khan met the man who later became her husband: Steve Hyde. "I knew instantly that Steve was the one," said Khan. "I had a mental tick-list of what I wanted in a person. It was never about the looks although of course he is a handsome man. He was career-minded and I never wanted to be hanging around with a lazy slob. Keeping fit was a big part of his life, and mine, and he liked a hot curry. He ticked all my boxes." Her mother however was initially opposed to the union. "I never introduced Steve as a boyfriend," said Khan. "She was furious at first but she's come round. I was the first girl in my family to marry outside the culture.". Steve now runs one of London's leading online marketing agencies; Push http://www.pushgroup.co.uk/
In 2008 Khan gave birth to a baby boy, Zachariah. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
. In March 2011, she adopted a baby girl, Amara, from the Edhi Orphanage in Karachi, Pakistan.
External links
- OUR SAY campaign website - this link cannot be found - Feb 2009
- Saira Khan Official Site
- Beat the Boss (BBC Press Office)
- MediaAmbitions : Saira Khan
- Woman's Hour: Saira Khan
- 60 SECONDS: Saira Khan Metro
- Interview in Marie Claire
- Pushy Saira's aiming for business success
- icBerkshire 'I'm an entrepreneur - not an apprentice'