Michael Paul Underwood (born 26 October 1975) is an English television presenter, best known as a children's TV presenter on

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 ...

and

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

. He can be seen as a fifteen-year-old in an episode of ''

The Crystal Maze ''The Crystal Maze'' is a British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, based upon his format for the French game show '' Fort Boyard'', and produced for Channel 4. The programme focuses on teams of contestants, a mixed group of men and women, ...

'', then presented by

Richard O'Brien Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...

. He presented the primetime ITV series '' Let Me Entertain You'' in 2014 and was a reporter for '' Real Stories with Ranvir Singh''.

Career

Underwood attended Weston Favell Academy in Northampton; he later graduated from the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

's Rolle College,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

with a BEd (Hons) in Drama & Performance. Before winning a six-week

presenting contract on 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 ...

television gameshow ''Whatever You Want'' (broadcast on Saturday 24th April 1999), Underwood had previously made it to the last four in interviews for the ''

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 ...

'' vacancy subsequently filled by Simon Thomas. Underwood was an entertainment correspondent for the

ITV Breakfast ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited (previously known as ''GMTV, GMTV Limited'') is the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November ...

programme ''

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 ...

'' from 2005 until 2008. In 2006, Underwood duetted with ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' contestant

Andy Abraham Andrew Abraham (born 17 July 1964) is a British singer. He was the runner-up in the The X Factor (British series 2), second UK series of TV talent show ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2005 to Shayne Ward, and also represent ...

on the Christmas single, " December Brings Me Back To You". Underwood competed in the 2008 series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'', partnered by professional skater Melanie Lambert. However, he pulled out of the series following a broken ankle in the run-up to the third show. They took part in the show the following year for the fourth series. Underwood presented on

Heart FM Heart is a network of thirteen independent adult contemporary radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming, although only the stations in Scotland and Wales still have their own shows. Ten of the s ...

from April 2013, filling in with Zoe Hanson. He left this role in December 2013. In early 2014, he presented the ITV entertainment series '' Let Me Entertain You'' on Saturday nights. Underwood was a reporter on the ITV series '' Surprise Surprise'' until 2015 and ''Real Stories with Ranvir Singh'' until 2016. He has been a stand-in entertainment reporter on '' Good Morning Britain'' multiple times. He is a reporter on the Channel 5 series ''Do the Right Thing with Eamonn and Ruth''. He appeared in the music video for

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits on the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of the Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

's single "Too Many People". In 2020, due to lack of work he announced that he was to retire from presenting and had become a teacher. However he returned to presenting shortly after and is currently the host of the Channel 4 daytime show 'Tool Club'. As of September 2024, Michael announced on LinkedIn that he was happy to be starting a new full-time position as a Key Stage (KS)2 Form Teacher, at King’s College School, Wimbledon. However, he will continue to present his weekend morning show 10am - 2pm on Virgin Radio Chilled. Underwood joined digital station Virgin Radio Groove for its weekend line-up in the 10am-2pm slot after fronting Virgin Radio's 500 Words: Black Lives Matter children's writing competition alongside his wife

Angellica Bell Angellica Bell (born 24 March 1976) is a British television presenter, television and radio presenter, best known for her presenting on CBBC between 2000 and 2006. She is also known for providing occasional cover on ''The One Show'' and for c ...

Personal life

Underwood married his former

co-star

in New York City in December 2010. They have a son and a daughter.

Filmography

;TV presenting * ''Whatever You Want'' (1999) * ''

'' (1999–2002) – Continuity presenter * ''The Make Shift'' – Presenter * ''

'' (2002–2003) – Continuity presenter * ''The White Knuckle Tour'' – Presenter * '' The Big Bang'' (2002–2003) – Presenter * ''

Eliminator Eliminator may refer to: People and characters *The Eliminators (band), a band which covered " The Saint" from '' Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain, Volume 1'' *The Eliminators, a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of John Kronus and P ...

'' (2003–2004) – Presenter * '' Starfinder'' (2003–2004) – Presenter * ''

Jungle Run ''Jungle Run'' is a British children's television game show that aired on CITV as part of the ITV network from 10 September 1999 to 29 November 2006. It is similar to shows such as '' Fort Boyard'' and '' The Crystal Maze''. The show has had t ...

'' (2003–2006) – Presenter * '' Ministry of Mayhem'' (2004) – Presenter * '' Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005: British Final'' presenter (also in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) * ''

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the third edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged 8 to 15. On 26 November 2005, the contest was broadcast live from the Trixxo Arena, Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium, in a ...

'' – Commentator * '' British Soap Awards: The After Party'' (2006, 2009–10) – Presenter * '' ITV2 Celebrity Daredevils'' – "SAS Training" * ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Showbiz Reporter'' (2005) – Showbiz reporter * ''

'' (2005–2008) – Entertainment correspondent * '' Bingo Night Live'' (2008) – Presenter * ''

Live from Studio Five ''Live from Studio Five'' was an early-evening British magazine programme produced by Sky News for Channel 5. It was presented by Kate Walsh and a lineup of co-presenters. It featured interviews and discussions on topical issues, emphasizing sh ...

'' (2010) – Guest presenter * '' The Zone'' (2010) – Co-presenter * ''

OK! TV ''OK! TV'' is an early evening magazine programme which was broadcast on Channel 5 between 14 February 2011 and 16 December 2011. It was a brand extension of celebrity title ''OK! Magazine''. It replaced the former magazine and discussion sh ...

'' – Guest presenter * '' Let Me Entertain You'' (2014) – Presenter * '' Surprise Surprise'' (2014–2015) – Reporter * ''Real Stories with Ranvir Singh'' (2015–2016) – Reporter * '' Good Morning Britain'' (2016–2017) – Stand-in entertainment reporter * ''Do the Right Thing with Eamonn and Ruth'' (2018–2019) – Reporter *''Tool Club'' (2021) - Presenter (pilot episode only) ;Other TV work * ''

'' (1990) – Team captain * ''

Hollywood 7 ''Hollywood 7'' (known as ''S Club 7 in Hollywood'' in the United States) is the third series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7 and the second television series shot in California. The programme was shown every week ...

'' (2001) – Pizza Delivery Boy * ''

'' (2008, 2009) – Contestant * '' All Star Mr and Mrs'' (2009) – Contestant, with

* '' The Door'' (2010) – Contestant * ''

Born To Shine ''Born to Shine'' is a 2011 ITV entertainment programme which featured "micro-celebrities" who learn a new skill taught to them by talented children to raise money for charity. The show was presented by Natasha Kaplinsky. It was won by Jason Manf ...

'' (2011) – Contestant * ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as ''MasterChef Goes Large' ...

'' (2012) – Contestant * ''

Celebrity Mastermind ''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. ''Celebrity Mastermind'' began in 2002 as a one-off special hosted by Magnus Magnusson, the original host of the main ...

'' (2012) – Contestant

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Michael 1975 births Living people Alumni of the University of Plymouth Black British television personalities English television presenters People from Northampton People educated at Weston Favell Academy English people of Ghanaian descent