Stephen Ashton Jones (born 16 March 1977) is a Welsh

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

from

Tylorstown Tylorstown (Pendyrus) is a village and community located in the Rhondda valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is neighboured by the villages of Blaenllechau, Ferndale, Penrhys, Pontygwaith and Stanleytown. History By th ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, who currently leads the presenting team on

Channel 4 F1 ''Channel 4 F1'', commonly abbreviated to ''C4F1'', is a British television programme dedicated to the coverage of Formula One motor racing and has been aired by the British broadcaster Channel 4 since 2016. Prior to 2019, half of the season's p ...

. He presented

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's teen schedule T4 from 2003 to 2010. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, he hosted the first series of ''

The X Factor USA ''The X Factor'' is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, which aired on Fox. Based o ...

''.

Early life

Jones was born in

, and currently resides in both

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Career

After starting his career as a model for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

''. Jones moved into presenting, fronting such programmes as '' The Pop Factory Awards'' with Liz Fuller and ''99 Things To Do Before You Die''. He then became a regular feature on

's weekend entertainment programme '' T4''. In 2006, he worked on

Transmission with T-Mobile ''Transmission'' (also known for sponsorship reasons as ''Transmission with T-Mobile'') is a British television programme broadcast on Channel 4, offering live performances and interviews of famous music artists, that ran for three series betw ...

with

XFM Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...

. In February 2009, Jones made his

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 (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

debut hosting ''

Let's Dance for Comic Relief ''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programm ...

'' with

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

, who was later replaced with

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcast ...

. In early 2009, he presented

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

's '' Guinness World Records Smashed'' with Konnie Huq. The same year, Jones began presenting the BBC TV quizshow '' As Seen On TV''. He also presented '' 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow'' for the channel, which aired in July 2010. In August 2009 and September 2013, he sat in for

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

. Jones has also done some acting. He had a small part in the film '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' and a minor role as himself in two episodes of the TV series '' Plus One''. In 2010, he had a small role in the film ''

It's a Wonderful Afterlife ''It's a Wonderful Afterlife'' is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay centres on an Indian mother whose obsession with marrying off her daughter leads her into the realm of serial murder. It was filmed primaril ...

''. Jones designed and modelled clothing for

Shop Direct Group The Very Group is a multi-brand online retailer and financial services provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head offices are based in the Speke area of the city of Liverpool, England. The brand was established in November 2005 as a r ...

's in-house brand 'Good Souls' for their 2010 Summer/Autumn ranges. On 22 October 2010, it was announced Jones would leave T4 after seven years as a presenter. His last show for the strand was T4 Stars Of 2010 on 21 November 2010. In 2010, Jones presented new game show, ''Drop Zone'', on

, in which eight teams faced a series of physical and mental challenges in six of the world's most exciting locations. It was originally announced in May 2011 that Jones would co-host ''

'' with

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the list of best-se ...

. However, Scherzinger was later promoted to the empty judge slot vacated by

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars ...

, and Jones was slated to present the show solo. In between filming the X Factor USA season one in

, Jones appeared as a guest on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...

'', where he talked about being a model, life in Los Angeles and working on ''The X Factor USA''. In December 2011, Jones presented '' A Night with Beyoncé'', a live music special on ITV. In January 2012, Jones announced that he had been dropped as presenter of ''The X Factor USA''. After much speculation, the show's creator

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and '' Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

stated that many changes would be made to the show for the second season. Season one judges

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograp ...

and

were also dropped from the show. In February 2012, Jones hosted '' Let's Dance for Sport Relief'' for the BBC in 2012 for the fourth series of the fundraising show. Jones said in a statement "The BBC, Let's Dance, and Alex Jones...three of my favourite things. I couldn't ask for a better show to come home to... I can't wait!". In 2014, Jones presented the

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 targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...

reality show '' Hair''. The programme was renewed for a second series in 2015, moving to

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

. For the second series, Jones was replaced by comedian Katherine Ryan. In 2014, Jones co-presented two series of the

cookery show '' Weekend Kitchen with Waitrose'' with

Lisa Snowdon Lisa Snowdon
7 May 2001, ''People'' (born Lisa Snawdon on 23 January 1972) is an English television an ...

, which aired every Saturday morning. In 2015, he presented ''Young, Free & Single: Live'' on E4. In 2016, Jones began presenting ''My Kitchen Rules: UK'', a daytime cooking game show for

. On 29 January 2016, it was announced that he would join

Goedele Liekens Goedele Maria Gertrude Liekens (born 21 January 1963 in Aarschot Aarschot () is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, ...

as co-host for

new series, ''

Sex Box ''Sex Box'' is a British television series. The first series was hosted by Mariella Frostrup. The series was produced by independent production company Clearstory and broadcast on Channel 4. The show's premise centres upon the idea that couple ...

''. It began on 4 April 2016. In March 2016, Jones was announced as the lead anchor of the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

coverage on

. He presents live races and highlight shows. In 2017, he co-presented ''Animal Rescue Live: Supervet Special'' for

with Noel Fitzpatrick. Jones presents the On the Marbles F1 Podcast with co-hosts Mark Webber and

David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...

Filmography

;Television ;Film

References

External links

X Factor profileT4 profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Steve 1977 births Living people British television presenters People from Tylorstown