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Helen Elizabeth Skelton (born 19 July 1983) is an English television presenter and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She co-presented the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

children's programme '' Blue Peter'' from 2008 until 2013, and since 2014 has been a presenter on ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

''. She also co-presented two series of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

programme '' Holiday Hit Squad'' alongside

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...

and Joe Crowley. She also presented the daytime series ''The Instant Gardener'' that ran for two series.

Early life

Skelton was born on 19 July 1983, in Carlisle,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, England, and brought up on a

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

in the village of

Kirkby Thore Kirkby Thore is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England (), in the historic county of Westmorland. It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. It includes the areas of Bridge End, in the southwest by t ...

. She attended its local Primary School, and then Appleby Grammar School, ultimately graduating from

Cumbria Institute of the Arts The Cumbria Institute of the Arts was a further and higher education institution in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. History Founded as the ''Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts'' in 1822, it proceeded as the ''Carlisle College of Art'', fro ...

, where she gained a BA degree in journalism. During her time at college, she worked as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

on '' Coronation Street'' and ''

Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...

.'' Skelton has said that if she was not a broadcaster, she would be a teacher. Her brother

Gavin Gavin is a male given name originating from Scotland. It is a variation on the medieval name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk" (or falcon). Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is an e ...

was a professional footballer and has also been a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

Career

Early career

After briefly working in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

, Skelton decided to concentrate on journalism. She worked in the newsroom at

CFM Radio CFM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Carlisle, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Cumbria and South West Scotland. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of ...

, and was involved with various programmes at

Border Television ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 service provided by ITV (TV channel), ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Anglo-Scottish border, England/Scotland border region, ...

, before becoming a breakfast presenter on

BBC Radio Cumbria BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cumbria. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in Carlisle. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 71,000 listener ...

in 2005, one of the youngest breakfast slot presenters on the BBC network at that time. She was then a reporter and occasional presenter on children's

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

programme '' Newsround'' and its weekend sports-based version, ''

Sportsround ''Sportsround'' is a weekly spin-off from CBBC children's news programme ''Newsround''. The sports magazine show was broadcast between 2005 and 2010, on Friday evenings at 6:30pm on CBBC Channel and on Saturday mornings on BBC Two at 7.25am. '' ...

''.

Television

Skelton was revealed as a presenter on '' Blue Peter'' on 28 August 2008, replacing

Zöe Salmon Zoe Salmon is a Northern Irish television presenter who hosted the children's television programme ''Blue Peter'' from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on ''Dancing on Ice'' in early 2009. She was the 1999 Miss Northern Irela ...

and becoming the 33rd presenter for the programme. In a challenge for the series, Skelton took an uncredited role in the BBC production of '' Merlin''. In August 2013, she announced her departure from the show; she was replaced by

Radzi Chinyanganya Munyaradzi Thomas Kingsley "Radzi" Chinyanganya (born 12 September 1986) is a British presenter and broadcaster. He co-presented the BBC children's TV programme ''Blue Peter'' from 2013 until 2019, and the ITV game show ''Cannonball'' in 2017 ...

. Skelton worked on other projects during her time on ''Blue Peter'', mainly correspondent-based; these included reporting from

the Championships, Wimbledon The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

. After her departure from ''Blue Peter'', Skelton became a presenter of live

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

football matches for the

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...

channel, as well as retaining her BBC reporter roles. She has occasionally presented segments of ''

'' since 2008, and also presented two series of ''Holiday Hit Squad'' in 2013/14 alongside

and Joe Crowley. In 2014/15, she presented the '' London Marathon Highlights'' show on the BBC. She was replaced by

Ore Oduba Ore Oduba (born 17 November 1986) is a British television and radio presenter who has also worked as an actor. He is best known for winning the fourteenth series of BBC One's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2016. He presented the CBBC news program ...

in 2016. In December 2012, Skelton took part in a Christmas Special edition of the

programme '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Since 2015, Skelton has co-presented daytime BBC One series ''The Instant Gardener'' alongside Danny Clarke. In early 2016, she presented '' Tonight: Kids V Career''. Skelton also hosted coverage of the 2016 European Swimming Championships with Mark Foster and Rebecca Adlington. She worked for the

...
at the 2016 Summer Olympics presenting swimming coverage alongside

Rebecca Adlington Rebecca Adlington (born 17 February 1989) is a British former competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle events in international competition. She won two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-metre freestyle and 800-metre ...

Adrian Moorhouse Adrian David Moorhouse MBE (born 24 May 1964) is an English former competitive swimmer who dominated British swimming in the late 1980s. He won the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Since t ...

, Andy Jameson and Mark Foster. In October that year, Skelton guest presented five editions of ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

'' on ITV, plus further five in February 2017. She also co-presented two editions of ''Walks with My Dog'' on

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

in 2017; in the same year, Skelton returned to host the swimming coverage on the BBC during the 2017 World Aquatics Championships with Adlington and Foster. Skelton appeared in

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip ''Antiques Road Trip'' (also known as ''Celebrity Antiques Road Trip'') is a BBC television series produced by STV Studios. It was first shown on BBC Two from 2010 to 2012, and has been shown on BBC One since 2013. This show is not to be conf ...

(series 8 episode 14) with her friend and ex-co-presenter

. From 24 September 2022, Skelton competed in the twentieth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'', partnered with professional dancer Gorka Marquez. On Saturday 22nd October Skelton danced the Charleston with professional partner Gorka Marquez on 'Strictly Come Dancing' to the Blue Peter theme tune as a part of the celebrations of BBC's 100th Anniversary. Skelton, jointly achieved top leader position on week 7 of 'Strictly Come Dancing' for her Jive, on Saturday 5 November. She easily made it through week 8, by dancing the Salsa, on the 12 November competition evening, to reach Blackpool's heralded Extravaganza scheduled for 19 November 2022.

Writing

Skelton's first novel, ''Amy Wild: Amazon Summer'', was published in May 2015.

Radio

Skelton hosts a weekly slot on BBC Radio 5 Live on Sundays from 3pm to 6pm and acts as temporary co-host on BBC Radio 5 Live Drive Time with Tony Livesey. From 14 August 2022, Skelton will replace

Laura Whitmore Laura Whitmore (born 4 May 1985) is an Irish media personality and model based in London. She was a video jockey for MTV in 2008, and has since presented television shows, such as ''This Morning'' (2014), '' Survival of the Fittest'' (2018) ...

in presenting BBC Radio 5 Live's new-look morning show, every Sunday between 10am-12pm.

Challenges

Wheelchair dance contest challenge

In December 2008, Skelton entered and won the

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Open Dance Competition with a 16-year-old

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

user as her partner, defeating 100 other dancers.

Ultra marathons

In April 2009, Skelton became only the second woman ever to finish the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n ultra marathon. She completed the run in 23 hours and 45 minutes – just 15 minutes under the time limit of one day. She told '' Newsround'': 'It was a gruelling experience, but one I'll never forget. There were tough times but also amazing times.' Skelton has also completed the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

on three occasions; 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Kayaking the Amazon

In early 2010, Skelton kayaked the entire length of the

River Amazon The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

for Sport Relief 2010. She kayaked on a solo journey from

Nauta Nauta is a town in the northeastern part of Loreto Province in the Peruvian Amazon, roughly south of Iquitos, the provincial capital. Nauta is located on the north bank of the Marañón River, a major tributary of the Upper Amazon, a few miles ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

on 20 January, to

Almeirim Almeirim () is a city and a municipality in Santarém District, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,376, in an area of 222.12 km². The city proper had a population of 10,520 in 2001. History There are vestiges of mid-Paleolithic to Meso ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 28 February. She achieved two entries in the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

: the longest solo journey by kayak, and the longest distance in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman.

Nigel Evans Nigel Martin Evans (born 10 November 1957) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ribble Valley (UK Parliament constituency), Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire si ...

, the

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

, tabled an

Early Day Motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House a ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

after her Amazon challenge:

Tightrope walking

Skelton walked a 150-metre

tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

between chimneys at Battersea Power Station, 66 metres above ground, to raise money for

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

on 28 February 2011. ''Blue Peter'' created two specials about her walk.

South Pole

In 2012, Skelton raised more money for Sport Relief by becoming the first person to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

using a bicycle. The bike was custom built for her trip, with wide tyres. She also used skis and a kite to help her pull a sled containing 82 kg of supplies. Skelton covered by

kite ski Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in ...

, 103 by bike and 68 by

cross-country ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. She is also the first person to claim a world record for the fastest 100 km by kite ski, in seven hours 28 minutes, which was set during the trip. ''Guinness World Records'' commentated on the award, saying: 'We are aware of explorers who have achieved longer distances, but Helen Skelton’s application was the first that ''Guinness World Records'' had received specifically for the 100-kilometre distance.' ''Blue Peter'' also made five six-episode specials for this event.

Helen's Magnificent 7

In April 2013, wanting to inspire ''Blue Peter'' viewers to do something to support

, Skelton took on seven challenges set by Comic Relief while breaking one world record. She called this series of challenges her "Magnificent 7", a reference to the 1960

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film ''Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

'': * Rugby Kick – failed * Performing In Two Shows In One Night – succeeded * Flying With the Red Arrows – succeeded * Photo Shoot – succeeded * Rope Bridge – succeeded * Longest Line of Bunting – succeeded (at the time, a World Record) * Coin Toss – failed

Sport Relief

In March 2018, Skelton took part in a celebrity boxing match defeating Camilla Thurlow via unanimous decision after three 2-minute rounds for the

...
's

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...

Personal life

In December 2013, Skelton married

England national rugby league team The England national rugby league team represents England in international rugby league. The team, largely formed from the Great Britain team which also represented Wales and Scotland, is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League. ...

player

Richie Myler Richard David Myler (born 21 May 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Leeds Rhinos in the Betfred Super League. He is a member of the Ireland squad for the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup, having d ...

, and gave birth to their first child, a boy, on 19 June 2015. After Myler joined the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from outs ...

club, they moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in September 2015. He currently plays for the Yorkshire club

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

. Their second son was born in April 2017 and their first daughter was born on 28 December 2021. Skelton announced via her Instagram account 25 April 2022, that she and Myler were no longer a couple, as he had left the family home. It was later revealed on Instagram that his new girlfriend, heiress, Stephanie Thirkill, was pregnant with their first child.

Filmography

;Television

Guest appearances

*'' What's Cooking?'' (2013) – Guest *''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' (2013) – 'Dictionary Corner' guest *'' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (2013) – Contestant *''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show '' Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 t ...

'' (2015) – Contestant *'' Blue Peter'' (2015) – Guest *''

The TV That Made Me ''The TV That Made Me'' is a daytime television show, presented by Brian Conley. It was first broadcast on BBC One from 3 August 2015 to 1 April 2016. Format Brian Conley journeys through the world of television with various celebrities as they ...

'' (2015) – Subject *''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

'' – Contestant *''

Sunday Brunch ''Sunday Brunch'' is a British television programme presented by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It is broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings and features cookery and interviews with celebrity guests. Format The programme began on 25 ...

'' (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019) – Guest

References

External links

*
''Helen Skelton''
(BBC Radio 5 Live) {{DEFAULTSORT:Skelton, Helen 1983 births Living people Alumni of the University of Cumbria BBC Radio 5 Live presenters Blue Peter presenters English radio presenters English television actresses English television presenters Kayakers Newsround presenters People from Carlisle, Cumbria English expatriates in France British women television journalists British women radio presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters BT Sport presenters and reporters People educated at Appleby Grammar School