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Melanie Ann Sykes (born 7 August 1970) is an English television presenter and model.

Career[link]

Melanie Sykes was born to an English father and an Anglo-Indian mother. She first came to public attention as the bikini-clad girl in the Boddingtons beer advertisements with the broad "Northern" accent in the mid-1990s. Amongst other work during the decade, she also modelled for Berlei lingerie.^{[citation needed]}

After first reporting for The Big Breakfast, she has continued her television career, including stints on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and as presenter of Eastenders Revealed.^{[citation needed]} In 1999 Sykes presented Melanie Sykes' Southall Stories, a documentary for BBC2 on Asian culture in Great Britain. She has also hosted a variety of awards shows, including Miss World, the BAFTAs and the Q Awards, and presented her own radio show on Capital FM.^{[citation needed]}

Her television career stalled for a period, although she made a successful comeback as host of Today with Des and Mel (with Des O'Connor) in 2003. On 12 May 2006 ITV announced that the show would be one of a number to be axed in a "painful, but utterly necessary" move.^[1] Her other work for the ITV network includes prime-time shows The Vault, Celebrities Under Pressure, National Television Awards Party of the Year, and the British Soap Awards.

She appeared as a guest panellist on the ITV daytime chat show Loose Women in October and November 2005 and later returned as a guest anchor in October 2008 and May 2009.

Sykes presented The A List, a national radio chart show based on total sales, produced by Unique the Production Company at the studios of London's Heart 106.2. She left the show towards the end of 2006 and was replaced by Gail Porter.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, the book Blooming Beautiful: My Plan for Looking Great, Being Healthy and Surviving Hormonal Havoc, Throughout Pregnancy and as a New Mum, co-written by Sykes with Hilary Boyd, was published by Michael Joseph Ltd.^{[citation needed]}

In recent years she has been the face of Head & Shoulders shampoo in the UK, appearing in print and television advertising and the high street chain Matalan.^{[citation needed]} She has also appeared in advertisements for Morrisons, Wynsors World of Shoes and Churchill Insurance.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2006, Sykes filled in for Paul O'Grady when he took leave from The Paul O'Grady Show. On 8 May 2007 and 5 November 2007 she again presented the show when O'Grady took leave from the series, and yet again while O'Grady was ill from 15 April to 18 April and 22 April and later on 2 November 2008 with Des O'Connor. She has most recently^[when?] been seen as the presenter of the daytime series Gene Detectives for BBC One.^{[citation needed]} Sykes filled in for O'Grady once again on 8 April 2009.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008 she became a judge on The Sofa Factor for GMTV, where viewers send in short clips and the winner gets to present TV Pick of the Day plus win a trip to Las Vegas.

She was heard on BBC Radio 2 with Aled Jones sitting in for Steve Wright in the Afternoon on 22, 23 and 24 December 2008. In May 2010, she began co-hosting the BBC Radio 2 show Going Out With Alan Carr after the resignation of Emma Forbes.^[2] She continued on the show until it finished in March 2012.

In August 2011, she returned to daytime TV, presenting Let's Do Lunch With Gino and Mel, alongside Gino D'Acampo on ITV1. She co-hosts prime-time series Missing Millions, which started on 13 September 2011, alongside Paul Heiney on ITV1.^[3]

She posed naked for the December 2011 edition of men's magazine Esquire.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Sykes attended Mossley Hollins High School and studied A Level Religious Studies at Ashton Sixth Form College. She was a member of Ashtonian Brass Band along with her father, mother and two sisters, playing the baritone horn. She dated singer Matt Goss for five years and also went out with Max Beesley. She married Italian actor Daniel Caltagirone (b. 18 June 1972) in January 2001, and the couple had two children: Roman (born 2002) and Valentino Luca (born 21 July 2004). In July 2008 it was reported that the couple had split up, with Sykes having "grown apart" from Caltagirone, who had moved out of their Hampstead, London home.^[5] They divorced in June 2009.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Melanie Sykes at the Internet Movie Database
• The A List - The Definitive Artist Chart
• GM.TV - The Sofa Factor

Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh at a book signing
Born	Alan Fred Titchmarsh[1] (1949-05-02) 2 May 1949 (age 63) Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Broadcaster, gardener, novelist
Television	Gardeners' World Ground Force British Isles - A Natural History The Nature of Britain The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Spouse	Dr Alison Titchmarsh (m. 1975) «start: (1975-07-26)»"Marriage: Dr Alison Titchmarsh to Alan Titchmarsh" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Alan_Titchmarsh)
Children	2
Website
www.alantitchmarsh.com

Alan Fred Titchmarsh,^[1] MBE DL (born 2 May 1949)^[2] is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes. More recently he has developed a diverse writing and broadcasting career.

Early career[link]

Titchmarsh was born in Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of Bessie (née Hardisty), a textile mill worker, and Alan Fred Titchmarsh, Sr., a plumber.^[3] After leaving school aged 15, Titchmarsh went to work as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley Council in 1964, before leaving, in 1968 aged 18, for Shipley Art and Technology Institute (now Shipley College) to study for a City and Guilds in horticulture. Titchmarsh was a close family friend of Tom Kerridge, who went on to become his gardening advisor on shows such as Ground Force.

Titchmarsh went on to study at Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture for the National Certificate in Horticulture, before finally moving to the renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to study for a Diploma in Horticulture.^[4][5] After graduating, he stayed on at Kew, being employed as a supervisor and latterly a staff trainer, leaving to pursue a career in gardening journalism in 1974.^{[citation needed]}

Broadcasting[link]

His first few television appearances were on the long-running BBC television show Nationwide as a horticulture expert. This led to his being invited to present coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show for BBC television in 1983, something Titchmarsh has now hosted every year up to the present (2011).^[5] Titchmarsh also appeared on other BBC shows, such as Breakfast Time and Open Air, again as either a guest presenter or as a gardening expert, providing commentary and answering viewers' questions.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988, Titchmarsh was offered a slot on BBC Radio 2 hosting a gardening show with Gloria Hunniford called House In A Garden.^[6] In 1991 he was brought in to host the long-running Pebble Mill at One BBC television talk show, which he did until the show was cancelled in 1996. Also in 1991, he presented a 6-part series in which he followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims, travelling around Britain and Ireland in the process.^[7]

The cancellation of Pebble Mill at One in 1996 gave Titchmarsh the opportunity to move back towards his first love, gardening, and he took over as host of another long-running BBC television programme, Gardeners' World in the same year, the show being filmed in his own garden. In 1997, he took gardening to the masses with a popular BBC One television series, Ground Force, in which he and fellow presenters Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh would perform a makeover on a garden, Titchmarsh making full use of his horticultural skills when restocking the lucky gardens featured.^[5] The show has travelled as far as the United States and South Africa, where one episode saw the Ground Force team makeover Nelson Mandela's garden.^[8]

Alan Titchmarsh at the 2008 Gardeners' World Live Exhibition in the NEC.

Staying involved in gardening programmes after Gardeners' World, Titchmarsh has presented two series of How To Be A Gardener, his most recent gardening programme to date.

Away from gardening, Titchmarsh has had spells presenting Songs of Praise, and a series of programmes on BBC Radio 2 in which he played a selection of light classical music, and more recently a BBC nature documentary series, British Isles - A Natural History. In recent years he has done less television and radio and spent more time on his career as a novelist and renewed interest in writing gardening books (see below).

He has appeared in an advertisement for the Yorkshire Tourist Board in a series which included contributions from other Yorkshire-born celebrities including Brian Blessed, Melanie Brown, Darren Gough and Brian Turner, and occasionally does other voiceover work for advertisements. His recent voiceover work has extended to voicing the title character in Gordon the Garden Gnome, a cartoon series for the CBeebies channel.^[9] He hosted a follow-up series to British Isles - A Natural History entitled The Nature of Britain focusing on British plant and animal species. The series was broadcast in autumn 2007.^[10]

Other recent work included hosting a special edition of the Antiques Roadshow, entitled the 20th Century Roadshow, which focused on modern collectibles, performing in the Children's Party At The Palace for the Queen's 80th birthday, and being guest host of The Paul O'Grady Show while O'Grady was off for medical reasons. In January 2006, Titchmarsh was given a permanent slot on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday evenings with the show named "Melodies for you" consisting of light classical and popular music, following the traditional style of Sunday-night broadcasting on Radio 2. He left Radio 2 in August 2011. From January 2012 he will host a Saturday morning show on Classic FM.^{[citation needed]}

Since June 2007, he has been seen as host of The Great British Village Show, in which gardeners and cooks from all over Britain competed to be Britain's best at growing pumpkins, runner beans and tomatoes, and at knitting, baking cakes and making jam.^[10] He began his eponymous chat show for ITV, The Alan Titchmarsh Show in September 2007. He is currently featured in the in-store audio promotional material for the UK DIY chain B&Q.

Novelist[link]

Titchmarsh began writing fiction, and had his first novel, Only Dad, published in November 2001. A further six books have since been published (listed chronologically below).^[11] Running parallel to the fiction work, Titchmarsh published a new series of gardening guides, the How to Garden series (ghost-written), in April 2009. His most recent autobiographical work is Nobbut A Lad: A Yorkshire Childhood from October 2006, a follow-up to his first autobiography, Trowel & Error, published in 2002. Alan is currently writing When I Was A Nipper, which will be published on 30 September 2010.

Personal life[link]

Alan Titchmarsh Elm Tree Planting Ceremony in Westminster in 2011^[12]

Titchmarsh, in addition to his extensive television and writing work, is also trustee of his own charity, 'Gardens For Schools', and others, including 'Seeds For Africa'. His own charity helps fund gardens and green spaces in and around schools, while Seeds For Africa encourages sustainable vegetable gardening. The charity provides community groups with the tools, seeds and training they need to start their own vegetable gardens. This includes providing water installation and preparing the land. Away from horticulture, Titchmarsh is involved with the Cowes Inshore Lifeboat, where he is a patron,^[13] and with the National Maritime Museum, where he is a trustee.^[14]

Titchmarsh was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to horticulture and broadcasting,^[1] and made a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire in 2001.^[15] In 2004, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal Of Honour, the highest award the RHS can bestow.^[16] In 2007 he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Winchester. He was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony in April 2011.^[17][18] He served as High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight in 2008.^[19]

Titchmarsh has a wax statue at Madame Tussaud's. It was revealed on Series 2, Episode 6 of the TV panel comedy series Would I Lie To You? that his waxwork had to have its face cleaned twice a week to remove all the lipstick smudges on it.

He has been married to Alison since 1975 and they have two children.^[20][21]

Other projects[link]

As well as his broadcasting and literary projects Titchmarsh has capitalised on his strong brand with retail and merchandise projects. He has launched several of his own product lines including his own range of ‘Alan Titchmarsh’ gardening tools developed in conjunction with tool manufacturer Bulldog Tools. Titchmarsh has also teamed up with Digitalis Media to launch Gardeners' Heaven, the online retail arm of his website. Gardeners’ Heaven supplies Titchmarsh’s own tools as well as other popular gardening products.^[22][23]

List of books[link]

Non-fiction

• Alan Titchmarsh - The Nature of Britain, BBC Books, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-563-49398-3)
• Alan Titchmarsh - The Gardener's Year, 2005, (ISBN 0-563-52167-8)
• Alan Titchmarsh's Fill My Stocking, 2005, (ISBN 0-563-48862-X)
• The Complete How to Be a Gardener, 2005, (ISBN 0-563-52262-3)
• British Isles, 2005, (ISBN 0-563-52162-7)
• Nature of Britain, 2007, (ISBN 0-563-49398-4)
• The Kitchen Gardener - Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg, 2008, (ISBN 978-1-84607-201-7)
• How to Garden: Gardening in the Shade, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-395-3)
• How to Garden: Vegetables and Herbs, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-396-0)
• How to Garden: Container Gardening, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-399-1)
• How to Garden: Garden Design, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-397-7)
• How to Garden: Lawns, Paths and Patios, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-398-4)
• How to Garden: Pruning and Training, 2009, (ISBN 978-1-84607-400-4)
• How to Garden: Growing Fruit, 2010, (ISBN 978-1-84607-401-1)
• How to Garden: Flowering Shrubs, 2010, (ISBN 978-1-84607-402-8)
• How to Garden: Climbers and Wall Shrubs, 2010, (ISBN 978-1-84607-403-5)
• How to Garden: Greenhouse Gardening, 2010, (ISBN 978-1-84607-404-2)
• How to Garden: Perennial Garden Plants, 2010, (ISBN 978-1-84607-911-5)

Biographies

• Trowel and Error, Hodder & Stoughton 2002 (ISBN 0-340-76542-9)
• Nobbut A Lad : A Yorkshire Childhood, Hodder & Stoughton 2006 (ISBN 0-340-83117-0)
• Knave of Spades, Hodder & Stoughton 2009

Fiction Works

• Only Dad, Simon & Schuster Ltd 2001 (ISBN 0-7434-7846-0)
• The Last Lighthouse Keeper, Simon & Schuster Ltd 2004 (ISBN 0-7434-7845-2)
• Mr MacGregor, Simon & Schuster Ltd 2004 (ISBN 0-7434-7847-9)
• Animal Instincts, Simon & Schuster Ltd 2004 (ISBN 0-7434-7848-7)
• Rosie, Simon & Schuster Ltd (ISBN 0-7434-3010-7)
• Love and Dr. Devon, Simon & Schuster Ltd (ISBN 0-7432-0771-8)
• Folly, Hodder & Stoughton 2008 (ISBN 0-340-93685-1)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official home page
• BBC Nature Presenter Biography
• Alan Titchmarsh at the Internet Movie Database
• The Alan Titchmarsh Show on itv.com
• Alan Titchmarsh on Classic FM

Des O'Connor, CBE (born Desmond Bernard O'Connor on 12 January 1932) is an English comedian and singer. A former talkshow host, he was the presenter of the long-running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years. He has also recorded thirty-six albums and has had four top-ten singles, including a number one hit with I Pretend.

Biography[link]

O'Connor was born on 12 January 1932 in Stepney, East London to Maude (née Bassett) and Harry O'Connor. O'Connor has a sister, Patricia, who is one year his junior. He wrote in his autobiography, Bananas Can't Fly!, that he is probably the only O'Connor ever to have had a Bar Mitzvah. He was evacuated to Northampton during World War II and was briefly a professional footballer with Northampton Town.^[1] After completing his National Service in the Royal Air Force, he worked as a shoe salesman before entering show business. Before his break in television, his first theatre appearances were in variety, where he appeared in venues throughout the country.

On stage he has starred at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the Sydney Opera House, The O'Keefe Centre, Toronto and has made over 1,000 solo appearances at the London Palladium.^{[citation needed]}

He has worked with many personalities of the day, from rock and pop stars, actors and TV performers, to politicians, princes, to luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Adam Faith, Sean Connery, Liberace, The Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Tony Blair, and members of the Royal Family.^{[citation needed]}

He has toured with Buddy Holly (during Holly's 1958 stay in England) and Jason Donovan.

He was the very first special guest on the second - and most popular - incarnation of the long-running TV guest show This Is Your Life.^[2]

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.^[3]

Marriages[link]

1. Phyllis Gill (married 1953, divorced 1959); 1 daughter, Karen O'Connor ^[4]
2. Gillian Vaughan (married 1960, divorced 1982); 2 daughters, TJ O'Connor, Samantha O'Connor ^[4]
3. Jay Rufer (married 1985, divorced 1990); 1 daughter, Kristina O'Connor ^[5][4]
4. Jodie Brooke Wilson (married 16 September 2007); 1 son Adam O'Connor ^[6][4]

Television work[link]

Des O'Connor has starred in a mainstream TV show in almost every year since 1963, a feat that only one other television personality has achieved worldwide (US game show host Bob Barker, who hosted mainstream television shows from 1956 until 2007, with 1966-1972 being in syndication). In 2001, he was presented with the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards for his contributions to television.

Notable shows hosted by Des O'Connor:

• The Des O'Connor Show (1963–1971)
• Des O'Connor Entertains (1974–76) - A variety show with guest stars, featuring singing, dancing and comedy sketches.
• Des O'Connor Tonight (1977–2002) - A celebrity chatshow that also featured music and comedy.
• Take Your Pick (1992–98)
• Today with Des and Mel (2002–06) - A live afternoon chat and light entertainment show co-hosted by Melanie Sykes. On 12 May 2006, ITV announced that the show would be one of a number to be axed in a "painful, but utterly necessary" move.^[7]
• Countdown (2007–08) - On 2 January 2007, Des O'Connor took over from Des Lynam as co-presenter (with Carol Vorderman) of Channel 4's long-running quiz show Countdown. He left the show in 2008 to spend more time on theatre and entertainment-based projects; his co-host Carol Vorderman has also since left.^[8]
• The One and Only Des O'Connor (2012) - An upcoming one-off chatshow. It will host Paul O'Grady, Katherine Kelly, Robert Lindsay, Melanie Sykes and more. It will be hosted on ITV. ^[9]
• He appeared in a 2008 Tesco Christmas advert singing 'The Christmas Song'.
• Des O'Connor also appeared as a guest on the Morecambe And Wise show. He was the butt of many a joke or jibe by Morecambe, being referred to as "Des - short for 'desperate'", and "Death O'Connor". One famous line, sung to the tune of 'Crazy Words - Crazy Tune' was, "Roses are red, violets are blue, Des can't sing, we know that's true !".

Singing career[link]

O'Connor has had a successful career as a singer, recording thirty six albums,^[10] five of which reached the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. His singing ability has been mocked frequently, notably by British comedians Morecambe and Wise over many years and, more recently, Ricky Gervais.^{[citation needed]} O'Connor has always taken criticism in good humour, even appearing with Morecambe and Wise on their 1975 Christmas Show in a sketch that mocked him. He got his own back on the 1976 Christmas Show when he was in the firing squad at the end of the main sketch.

In 1969, thirteen of his variety hours were sold to NBC in the United States, as a summer replacement for the network's Kraft Music Hall. This series was broadcast in more than forty countries and was seen by 200 million people worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Compilations[link]

• Just For You - 20 Special Songs (Warwick) (1979)
• Remember Romance - 20 Great Love Songs (Warwick) (1980)
• Now - 16 Classic Songs (Telstar) (1984)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Des O'Connor at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Des O'Connor website

William Hanson
Born	William Hanson (1989-09-02) September 2, 1989 (age 22) Bristol, England, UK
Nationality	English
Education	University of Manchester (2008-2011) [1] Clifton College (1996-2008)[2]
Occupation	Etiquette Consultant & Social Commentator
Employer	The English Manner
Home town	Bristol
Website
williamhanson.co.uk

William Hanson is an etiquette consultant, social commentator and broadcaster, based in Manchester and who has been hailed by Sky News as 'the UK's leading consultant in etiquette & protocol'^[3][4] He rose to prominence with the tag 'Britain's youngest manners and etiquette expert'.^[5] He has taught at various schools and organisations, has advised businesses, and has featured in and contributed to numerous media.

In October 2008, he teamed up with easyMobile to launch a mobile phone manners guide.^[6] Hanson has also worked with Fox's Biscuits.^[7]

Hanson has commented on various issues ranging from fake tans to the credit crunch. He is a tutor for the international protocol and hospitality consultancy firm 'The English Manner'.^[8]

In November 2008, Hanson filmed for the Australian version of Ladette to Lady^[9] However, he quit filming two days early due to concerns with the production's integrity. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Hanson stated that the programme is 'detrimental to promoting good manners and etiquette'.^[10]

William is also a voiceover artist, represented by Them Management.^[11]

In June 2010, the broadcaster Anne Diamond wrote on her Twitter "Bright young man to watch: I reckon I have savvy for these things... And he's a talent that will out. William Hanson. Great interviewee".^[12]

In April 2011, he appeared on Russell Howard's Good News and directed Russell on how to behave around the royal family, repeatedly, and comically, failing many times, much to William's annoyance as Russell used slang and inappropriate language (i.e. "Slam It").

On Thursday 26th January 2012, William helped set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Curtsey Relay in 5 Minutes^[13].

References[link]