Katie Lorna Thistleton is an English

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and radio presenter, journalist and author, best known for her work across

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

and previously

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

. She currently co-hosts Radio 1's Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie, having previously been host of ''

Life Hacks A life hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a p ...

'' and ''The Official Chart: First Look'' alongside

Vick Hope Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British television and radio presenter, journalist and published author. Hope hosts the BBC Radio 1 drivetime show ''Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie'' with Katie Thistleton and ...

Early life

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Thistleton attended Droylsden High School for Girls. Thistleton graduated from the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

with a degree in English and Creative Writing along with fellow presenter Lauren Layfield, before qualifying as a NCTJ certified journalist after studying at News Associates, Manchester. Thistleton previously worked for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

Pennine Care

mental health trust A mental health trust provides health and social care services for people with mental health disorders in England. There are 54 mental health trusts. They are commissioned and funded by clinical commissioning groups. Patients usually access th ...

Career

Television

Thistleton is best known for her work presenting in CBBC HQ, hosting the live 'bits in between the shows'. She has done this since she was headhunted for the job in 2013 whilst working behind the scenes for CBBC as a PA and Researcher. She hosts the ''CBBC Book Club'' on the ''

'' channel. The ''Book Club'' role has seen Thistleton interviewing many leading authors, including

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and later for his comedy partnership w ...

, Debbie McGee, Cressida Cowell, Jeff Kinney,

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is an English children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster, activist, and academic, who is a professor of children's literature in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths ...

, Holly Smale, and

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (' Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for tackling realistic topics such as adoption and divorce. Since her debut novel in 1969, ...

. Thistleton has also appeared on a variety of ''CBBC'' shows, including '' All Over the Place'', ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'', '' Jedward's Big Adventure'', ''

The Dog Ate My Homework ''The Dog Ate My Homework'' is a British children's panel show hosted by Lauren Layfield. It was first broadcast on 17 January 2014 and was originally hosted by the comedian Iain Stirling. The show is produced by CBBC Productions Scotland ...

'', and ''

Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up ''Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up'' (also called ''Sam & Mark's Big Wind-Up'' for repeat compilations featuring just the pranks and ''Sam & Mark's Big Christmas Wind-Up'' for Christmas specials) is a British children's entertainment series aire ...

''. In March 2019, Katie Thistleton announced she would be leaving CBBC to focus on new projects. Her last day was on 29 March. Away from children's television, Thistleton has also appeared on '' Celebrity Eggheads'', '' Celebrity Mastermind'', and ''

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 ...

''. In December 2024, she came third in a celebrity edition of '' PopMaster TV'', behind fellow BBC radio presenters

OJ Borg Oliver James Borg D'Anastasi (), known as OJ Borg (born 4 April 1979), is a British radio and television presenter employed by the BBC. Career Radio Since May 2018, Borg has presented BBC Radio 2's weekday overnight programme 12–3am. He also ...

and Bob Harris.

Literary roles

In addition to her televised literary work, Thistleton has hosted author events organised by publishing houses, including Hachette,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, and

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

. Thistleton has been a regular at

literary festival A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings ...

s, including the Edinburgh Literary Festival and

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

. She has also judged The Blue Peter Book Awards and The Royal Society Young People's Book Prize.

Mental-health ambassador and counsellor

Thistleton has worked to raise

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

awareness. She has been an ambassador for the mental health charities ''Young Minds'' and ''Place2Be.''

Radio

From May to December 2017, Thistleton hosted

's ''

The Surgery ''The Surgery'' was a British radio show that aired on BBC Radio 1 weekly from 1999 to 2017. It was most recently hosted by Katie Thistleton and Doctor Radha Modgil, prior to its merger in November 2017 with a new show entitled '' Radio 1's ...

'' alongside Radha Modgil. Thistleton hosted ''

'' and ''The Official Chart: First Look on Radio 1'' alongside

from 2017 to 2024, as well as her show on Friday and Saturday mornings from 2022 to 2024. Thistleton regularly co-hosted ''Going Home with Vick and Jordan'' on

when either Hope or

Jordan North Jordan Levi North (born 14 February 1990) is a British radio DJ and television presenter from York, England. Since April 2024, he has been the host of ''Capital Breakfast'', and formerly hosted lunchtime and drivetime shows on BBC Radio 1. In ...

was absent. When North left the station, she joined the show permanently alongside Hope and

Jamie Laing James Laing (Help:IPA/English, /ˈleɪŋ/ ; born 3 November 1988) is an English presenter, television personality and investor. He is the founder of the confectionery company Candy Kittens and is best known for appearing on the reality televisi ...

, with the show being renamed to ''Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie''. She has also anchored Radio 1's live coverage of Radio 1's Big Weekend, Glastonbury, Boardmasters and Leeds and Reading Festival.

Book

Thistleton's debut book – ''Dear Katie: Real Problems, Real Advice'' – was published by the

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

in February 2018.

Personal life

On 30 October 2024, Thistleton announced live on Radio One that she was expecting a baby with her husband Alex.

References

External links

''Radio 1's Life Hacks - Adapt the World''
(BBC Radio 1)
''Going Home on Radio 1''
(BBC Radio 1) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thistleton, Katie Living people 21st-century English writers Alumni of the University of Salford BBC Radio 1 presenters English children's television presenters English women journalists English women radio presenters English women television presenters Mass media people from Manchester Writers from Manchester Year of birth missing (living people)