Julia Michele Bradbury (born 24 July 1970) is an English journalist and television presenter, employed by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. She is best known for presenting a series of outdoor walking programmes across multiple TV channels in addition to co-presenting the

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

programme '' Countryfile'' with Matt Baker from 2004 until 2014. She also presented ''

Watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watchdog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet U ...

'' (2005–2009) and '' Planet Earth Live'' (2012) for the

and '' Take on the Twisters'' (2013), ''The Wonder of Britain'' (2015) and ''Britain's Best Walks'' (2017) for ITV. She has a website called ''The Outdoor Guide'', which is run by her sister Gina. In 2021, they launched The Outdoor Guide Foundation, raising money to donate outdoor kit to state primary schools and make the outdoors more accessible to all.

Early life

Bradbury's father Michael Bradbury, a

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

-born, steel and engineering industry marketing director and Greek mother were in the Republic of Ireland when Bradbury was born. The family returned to Britain, where she grew up in an old rectory and attended primary school in Edith Weston,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, followed by King Edward VII School in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, where her father worked for

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

and her mother ran a fashion business. Bradbury attended acting classes, and took part as a child in the Crucible Theatre's stage production of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'', starring Joanne Whalley and Paula Wilcox.

Career

Early career

Bradbury started as a television presenter with Chrysalis TV, followed by L!VE TV, before making the transition in 1996 from cable TV to terrestrial with

GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...

as its Los Angeles correspondent. Bradbury also worked as a co-host on ''Top Gear'' during the 1990s. Alongside Tim Vine, Bradbury was the first presenter on Channel 5 when the channel launched on 30 March 1997 with a countdown from the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

BBC

Bradbury and co-host Arkin Salih hosted the BBC's ''Are We Being Served?'', which examined customer service in the UK and ran for six programmes in the summer of 2006. The show later received strong criticism from comedian

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian and actor, famed for his quick wit. Mack’s better known work includes creating, writing and starring in sitcom ''Not Going Out'', and featuring ...

when he named it as "the most evil programme ever made" during his appearance on ''

TV Heaven, Telly Hell ''TV Heaven, Telly Hell'' is a comedy television show on Channel 4, presented and produced by Sean Lock. The format is similar to ''Room 101 (British TV series), Room 101'', with guests discussing their likes and dislikes of items on television ...

''. From 2008 to 2011, Bradbury presented four series of ''Kill It, Cook It, Eat It'' on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

. The first series concentrated on commercially farmed animals such as chickens, pigs, sheep and cattle. The second series featured hunted wild game such as ducks, rabbits, deer and grouse. The third series focused on fast food; a group of six people went through the process of killing, cooking and eating animals. The fourth series focused on how animal products from the first series are used outside of the meat trade. Bradbury was joined by young consumers to uncover the animal origins of many of western society's favourite things as body parts were transformed from abattoir to shop display. From 2 March 2009, Bradbury temporarily stepped down from BBC One's ''

'' following allegations in the press concerning irregularities in her

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic A ...

frequent flyer account. Anita Rani stepped in to co-present the show with Nicky Campbell. On 15 April 2009, Bradbury was cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, and it was confirmed that she would return to present ''Watchdog'', which she did on 20 April 2009. It was incorrectly reported in several newspapers at the time that Bradbury had to repay £20,000 worth of

Air Miles Air Miles is a group of loyalty programs operated by different companies in each region where the brand operates - the programs are available in Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Points are earned on purchases ...

– in fact her account (and several others) had been tampered with by an employee who was later arrested and charged. In April 2009 it was announced that Bradbury would present the relaunched primetime '' Countryfile'' with Matt Baker. Anne Robinson returned to ''Watchdog'' after an eight-year absence. In August 2007, Bradbury presented ''Ultimate Britain – Climbing'' on

, with rock climber Tim Emmett. Bradbury's lifetime ambition to be a "real" rock climber was achieved when the pair successfully ascended

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

's Commando Ridge, Crackstone Rib in the

Llanberis Pass The Llanberis Pass (; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom o ...

, and the Old Man of Stoer. That year, Bradbury also presented ''Wainwright Walks'' on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, in which she followed the mountain routes of the renowned fell walker and guidebook author

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalking, fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial ...

. The series was later repeated on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

and ran for two series. Her appearance in this and the ''Railway Walks'' series earned her the title of "Walking Man's Totty". On 20 July 2009 her series ''Coast to Coast'' started on BBC Two. In 2010, Bradbury went to South Africa and embarked on a series of ''South Africa Walks'' as part of ''South Africa season'' for the BBC during the 2010 World Cup. In December 2010, she presented another walking-themed series, ''Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust'' on BBC Four in which she explored Germany and its

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

through a series of walks across the country. The series was repeated on BBC Two in January and February 2011. In May 2011, she presented ''Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury''. Another walking programme, ''Julia Bradbury's Icelandic Walk'', aired on 11 May 2011 on BBC Four. Her challenge was to walk the 60 kilometres of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

's most famous hiking route, which includes the newest hills on Earth. This route ends at

Eyjafjallajökull Eyjafjallajökull (; "glacier of (the mountain) Eyjafjöll"), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano wi ...

, the volcano whose copious eruptions of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...

brought air traffic across Europe to a standstill in April 2010. She also presented a new series in May 2011, following the routes of some of the UK's canals. From November to December 2011, Bradbury presented a series called ''That's Britain!'' with Nick Knowles, focusing on the good, the bad and the ugly in Britain. She presented with

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

a four-part BBC One documentary series ''The Great British Countryside'', which began in February 2012. She has co-presented (with

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

) a programme about the wildlife of different countries called '' Planet Earth Live'' in 2012, which has aired on BBC One. In 2013, Bradbury co-presented the BBC One show ''Fightback Britain'' with

Adrian Simpson Adrian James Simpson, (born 24 April 1971) is an English television presenter, presenting on Sky News on the overnight programme. Simpson was born Carshalton, Surrey, he started his television career as a presenter on the BBC's ''Top Gear (19 ...

and the BBC One show ''Keeping Britain Safe 24/7'' with Matt Allwright. On 3 March 2014, it was announced that Bradbury would be leaving '' Countryfile'' and the

completely later in the year before joining ITV full-time after doing odd jobs for them in the past. In 2016, she took part in the third series of

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, 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 Dire ...

's '' Famous, Rich and Homeless'' programme.

ITV

She presented '' Wish You Were Here...?'' for ITV.Julia Bradbury
Womenspeakers.co.uk In 2013, Bradbury co-presented the two-part ITV series ''Mystery Map'' with Ben Shephard. In the same year, she presented teatime quiz show '' Take On the Twisters'', a summer replacement for '' The Chase''. In 2015, Bradbury presented an ITV primetime series called ''The Wonder of Britain''. In 2016, Bradbury began presenting her own eight-part ITV series ''Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury''. A book, ''Unforgettable Walks'', was published alongside the series. Beginning in January 2017, Bradbury presented ''Britain's Best Walks'' for ITV. In 2018, she co-presented a one-off programme called ''Britain's Favourite Walks: Top 100'', as voted for by the public.

Ore Oduba Ore Oduba (born 17 November 1985) is a British television and radio presenter who has also worked as an actor. From 2008 until 2013, he presented the CBBC news programme '' Newsround''. In 2018 he hosted the game show ''And They're Off!'' in a ...

co-presented. In 2019 she presented ''Australia with Julia Bradbury'' and ''My £10K Holiday Home'', a new primetime ITV series. In Episode 4 of ''Australia with Julia Bradbury'' she famously said "You won't find that on Wikipedia" when told by indigenous Australian Neville Poelina that putting a vegetable or fruit under one's armpit is a good way to find out whether or not it's safe to eat. On 10 January 2020, she presented the first of a new ITV series entitled ''The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury''.

Channel 5

From 1997, she anchored ''Exclusive!'' for Five (now Channel 5).My Life In Media: Presenter Julia Bradbury
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 29 October 2007 With Tim Vine, she presented the launch of Channel 5 in 1997.

Radio

Bradbury has also presented on radio for BBC London 94.9, and Radio 5 Live. She crossed NUJ picket lines to present Radio 5 Live's breakfast programme on 15 July 2011. She presented the programme with Ian Payne who also broke the strike.

Books

*''Julia Bradbury's Railway Walks'' (7 October 2010) *''Canal Walks'' (3 March 2011) *''Julia Bradbury's Wainwright Walks'' (1 November 2012) *''Julia Bradbury's Wainwright Walks: Coast to Coast'' (20 March 2013) *''Unforgettable Walks'' (9 February 2017) *''Walk Yourself Happy'' (14 September 2023) *''Hack Yourself Healthy'' (4 September 2025)

Personal life

Bradbury lives in

and West London. In summer 2006, Bradbury was treated for

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

. Her long-time partner Gerard Cunningham works in property and is father to her three children. Bradbury was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, and in 2021 had a single

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have ...

to remove a 6 cm tumour. Bradbury is an ambassador for several charities including the Pink Ribbon Foundation, The Outdoor Guide Foundation, Bowel & Prostate Cancer, and

Keep Britain Tidy Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London. History Keep Britain Tidy was originally set up by a conf ...

. In 2009, she competed in the Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge with her sister, Gina Fox, raising £7,000 towards the £105,000 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support. Later that year, she travelled from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

with ''Countryfile'' co-star Matt Baker in the BBC's '' Around the World in 80 Days'' in aid of ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

''. Bradbury was president of the Friends of the Peak District from 2008 until 2016 (remaining as a vice-president) and she is vice-president of the CPRE in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

. In April 2010 she became president of the

Ramblers The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

. Bradbury works with the British Heart Foundation to encourage people to exercise more. She is an ambassador for the

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...

. In October 2013, she became president of the Camping and Caravanning Club. This made her the first woman to hold the post.

Awards and honours

On 14 November 2013, Bradbury was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

Filmography

Television

Guest appearances

*'' Just the Two of Us'' (2007) – Contestant *'' Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' (2009) – Contestant *'' Around the World in 80 Days'' (2009)Around the World in 80 Days
BBC One, 15 November 2009 – Participant *'' The Paul O'Grady Show'' (2009, 2013) – Guest *'' The Magicians'' (2011) – Guest *'' The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' (2011, 2012, 2013) – Guest *'' Daybreak'' (2013) – Guest *'' The Agenda'' (2013, 2014, 2016) – Guest *'' Loose Women'' (2013) – Guest *''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'' (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) – Guest *'' Sunday Brunch'' (2013, 2016) – Guest *'' Countdown'' (2014) – "Dictionary Corner" guest *'' This Morning'' (2015) – Guest *'' The Saturday Show'' (2016) – Guest *''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' (2016, 2018) – Guest *'' Good Morning Britain'' (2016, 2018) – Guest *''The Superhumans Show'' (2016) – Guest

DVDs

* ''Wainwright Walks'' Series 1 – presented by Julia Bradbury (2007) * ''Wainwright Walks'' Series 2 – presented by Julia Bradbury (2008) * ''Julia Bradbury's Railway Walks'' (2009) * ''Wainwright Walks: Coast to Coast'' (2009) * ''The Julia Bradbury Collection'' (2009) * ''German Wanderlust with Julia Bradbury'' (2010) * ''South Africa Walks''South Africa Walks With Julia Bradbury (DVD)
BBC Shop, 7 June 2010 (2010) * ''Julia Bradbury's Canal Walks'' (2011) * ''Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury'' (2016) * ''Britain's Best Walks with Julia Bradbury'' (2017)

References

External links

*
Lake District Walks – Julia Bradbury On The Coast To Coast Walks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, Julia 1970 births Living people People from Rutland People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield English television presenters English people of Greek descent Walkers of the United Kingdom