John McCririck
in 2006.
Born	(1940-04-17) 17 April 1940 (age 72) Surbiton, Surrey, England
Nationality	English
Education	Harrow School
Alma mater	Victoria College, Jersey
Occupation	Horse racing pundit, journalist, broadcaster
Years active	1978, 1981–present
Employer	Channel 4
Spouse	Jenny McCririck (m. 1971) «start: (1971)»"Marriage: Jenny McCririck to John McCririck" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/John_McCririck)

John McCririck (born 17 April 1940) is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions but also for his old-fashioned style of dress and mannerisms. With his trademark deerstalker hat, tweed jacket and large sideburns, which he calls his wackers, he affects the part of either Sherlock Holmes or a well-dressed gamekeeper, and he happily acts the role of a country gentleman. He also uses the traditional tic-tac signals when commenting on odds before a horse race. His public comments have often been attended by controversy, and have occasionally been interpreted as derogatory and offensive, particularly towards women.^[1]

Career[link]

McCririck was educated at Victoria College, Jersey^[2] and Harrow School. He was originally a racing journalist with The Sporting Life and also wrote for Grandstand; he began his career as a television pundit on ITV's horse racing coverage in 1981 although he did appear in a debate about fox hunting on the ITV children's programme Saturday Banana in 1978. During 1984 and 1985, horse racing moved to Channel 4 as referred to as Channel 4 Racing. In 2002, Channel 4 launched its own digital television racing channel, attheraces, which was sold to BSkyB in 2003. He is famous for his outspoken opinions; in particular, he has risen to the defence of punters when he thinks they are being given bad value^{[clarification needed]}' and is highly critical of jockeys when he doesn't think they have ridden well. He is best known to American racing audiences for his annual appearance on the Breeders' Cup telecast, in which he invariably touts British horses over their American rivals. During the 2009 Breeders' Cup telecast on ESPN, McCririck said that Conduit had no chance to win the Turf, and that people betting on Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic were "giving your money away". Both horses proceeded to win in dramatic fashion.

In March 2008, Channel Four renewed McCririck’s contract though lessened his appearances by 50%. He claimed he had been made a part timer against his will.^[3] His obtrusive mannerism and hawkish temper can lead to hecklers and fans interfering with his broadcasts, parodying his style and appearance and simply trying to be in his vicinity. These events often lead to aggressive verbal retaliation from McCririck, in which he often utilises his famous catch phrase; "Toerags behave yourself".^{[citation needed]}

Beyond racing[link]

Celebrity Big Brother[link]

McCririck is a celebrity for more than just his racing opinions. In January 2005 he was a contestant in the third series of Celebrity Big Brother. He upset other contestants with trenchant and unpopular views on women, declining to join in tasks set for the contestants, walking around in his 'white' underwear and refusing to talk for three days in protest at not receiving the Diet Coke he had requested in the contestants' shopping. On Day 12 of the competition he became the second contestant to be evicted from the house after receiving fewer votes than fellow housemates.

Ultimate Big Brother[link]

John was a housemate in Ultimate Big Brother in August 2010, and was the first to be evicted with 50.6% of the vote, the closest in UK Big Brother history, with Coolio receiving 49.4% of the vote.

He now proclaims himself as "the Ultimate Big Brother Tosser".

John has spent a total of 16 days in the Big Brother house: 12 for Celebrity Big Brother 3 and 4 days for Ultimate Big Brother.

Wife Swap[link]

He refers to his wife Jenny as 'The Booby', and has been accused of frequent misogyny.^[4]

In Autumn 2006, McCririck and Jenny took part in Wife Swap alongside Edwina Currie and her husband (also called John). Currie strongly objected to McCririck's habits, which included eating his meals in bed and refusing ever to cook or drive the car. McCririck, meanwhile, objected strongly to Currie's removing the fuse from his television set, and at one point ordered her to "get out of my house!" Following up his appearance in Wife Swap he was on ITV's Loose Women, where he was booed off the stage because of his strong chauvinistic views. He also appeared on The Sharon Osbourne Show where Osbourne ended up throwing water over him, because of his behaviour and views on women.

Other TV appearances[link]

McCririck appeared on the 1991 Bullseye Game Show Christmas Special, winning the top prize for his chosen charity. He has also appeared in the Celebrity Poker Club television series, reaching the Grand Final of series one, won by Sir Clive Sinclair. In 2005 he appeared on the chat show Heads Up with Richard Herring to discuss his life, career and his love of poker and diet coke. He also starred in a short film drama, Tartan Smalls: Winning Streak (screened on CBBC and BBC Television), where he played himself. The satirical puppet show Spitting Image portrayed him as gibbering fool who was eventually put down in the manner of an injured racehorse.

McCririck was fooled by Chris Morris on the comedy series Brass Eye in 1997, becoming angered by a fictional report about a West End musical starring notorious serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.

He was the special guest for the first episode ("Travel") of Rich Hall's Fishing Show.

He guest-starred in an episode ('Drama') of the Scottish sitcom Still Game as himself, appearing on television at a race, egging Winston (Paul Riley) on to go and gamble at "the bookies'".

He competed on the Weakest Link twice: once as a solo contestant on the 2005 Reality TV Special, and on the Celebrity Duos Special with his wife, Jenny. He was voted off in the first and second round respectively.

He presented Big Brother's Big Mouth from 3 July 2007 to 6 July 2007 alongside his wife and their Labrador dog, Copper.

McCririck appeared on an episode of Hell's Kitchen (season 3, episode 8) where he was kicked out of the restaurant at the hands of Marco Pierre White who described him as a "pig".

McCririck appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on 20 September 2007 to discuss the appeal of women over fifty, and was asked to leave after insulting Ingrid Dupre-Walsh in relation to her comments in the press about her sex life with ex-husband Chris Tarrant.[1] In 2010 McCririck won a Channel Four's idiot award for his appearance on the Alan Titchmarsh Show.

In September and October 2011, McCririck was a contestant on Channel 4's Coach Trip, where his habit of 'nose-picking' became a recurring joke on the programme.

Radio[link]

Recently appeared on Absolute Radio on Jo Russell's show where he announced that women who wear high heels have never picked a Grand National Winner

On 10 April 2010 John McCririck lost on his debut appearance on BBC Radio 5live's Fighting Talk.

Speech at Robin Cook's funeral[link]

On 12 August 2005, whilst giving a speech at Robin Cook's funeral, he denounced Tony Blair for not attending as he was on holiday snorkelling.

NewsTalk : British attitudes to the Irish[link]

In March 2010, McCririck spoke on Newstalk's The Right Hook. Asked for his opinion about British attitudes towards the Irish, McCririck accused Ireland of being a nation that was subsidised by Britain, France and Germany. His response was greeted with anger by many Irish listeners.

Politics[link]

During March 2010, McCririck stated he was a Conservative voter. He said "I've always voted Conservative - except for the Blair years ... I'm a Right-wing Tory."^[5]

Personal life[link]

He has been married to Jenny "The Booby" since 1971, In a recent interview with Channel 4 he said his all time favourite TV programme is Soldier Soldier.

He is a committed fan of the football club Newcastle United; when presenting he often wears items that have the Newcastle United badge on them.

Since the mid 1990s he and his wife live together in Primrose Hill, London.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Contact Details
• John McCririck at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview in The Guardian, July 4, 2001
• Channel 4 Horse Racing
• John McCririck profile at Biogs.com

Edwina Currie
Currie in 2009
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health
In office 18 September 1986 – 20 December 1988
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Mark Todd
Personal details
Born	(1946-10-13) 13 October 1946 (age 65) Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Ray Currie (div. 1997) John Jones (m. 2001)
Children	2
Residence	Chinley, Derbyshire
Religion	Judaism

Edwina Jones (born 13 October 1946), born Edwina Cohen and commonly known by her first married name, Edwina Currie, is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs. By the time Currie lost her seat in 1997, she had begun a new career as a novelist and broadcaster.

Early life[link]

Currie was born in South Liverpool, England to an Orthodox Jewish family and has identified herself as Jewish, although she has stated: "I find religious mumbo jumbo hard to swallow in any faith."^[1] A pupil at Liverpool Institute High School for Girls, Liverpool's Historic Canning area, she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne's College, Oxford University where she was taught by Gabriele Taylor; subsequently, she gained a MA in economic history from the London School of Economics.

Member of Parliament[link]

From 1975 until 1986, she was a Birmingham City Councillor for Northfield. In 1983, she stood for parliament as a Conservative Party candidate, and was elected as the member for South Derbyshire. Frequently outspoken, she was described as "a virtually permanent fixture on the nation's TV screen saying something outrageous about just about anything" and "the most outspoken and sexually interested woman of her political generation."^[2]

In September 1986, she became a Junior Health Minister. Among her comments over the next two years were - despite not being religious - that "good Christian people" don't get AIDS,^[3] that old people who couldn't afford their heating bills should wrap up warm in winter, and that northerners die of "ignorance and chips".^[4]

Currie was forced to resign in December 1988 after she issued a warning about salmonella in British eggs. The statement that "most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella"^[5] sparked outrage among farmers and egg producers, and caused egg sales in the country to rapidly decline.^[6] Although the statement was widely interpreted as referring to "most eggs produced", in fact it related to the egg production flock; there was indeed evidence that a mid-1980s regulation change had allowed salmonella to get a hold in flocks.^[7] There was particular anger in Northern Ireland where egg production is a significant part of the economy. At the Christmas party of the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland that year the featured dish was curried eggs. To make amends, in 1990, she began the National Egg Awareness Campaign. The controversy gained her the nickname 'Eggwina'. Long after the furore died down, in 2001, it was revealed that a covered up Whitehall report produced months after Currie's resignation found that there had been a "salmonella epidemic of considerable proportions".^[8]

In 1991, she was the first Conservative MP to appear on the BBC topical panel show Have I Got News For You. Currie appeared again two years later, in a special episode commemorating the release of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs, opposite fellow Liverpudlian (and Liverpool Institute alumnus) Derek Hatton.

During the 1992 General Election campaign, Currie poured a glass of orange juice over Labour's Peter Snape shortly after an edition of the Midlands based television debate show Central Weekend had finished airing.^[9] Speaking about the incident later, Currie said "I just looked at my orange juice, and looked at this man from which this stream of abuse was emanating, and thought 'I know how to shut you up.' "^[9] Snape subsequently won £15,000 after Currie "falsely suggested in her memoirs that it happened after Snape had been 'drinking vodka in a club with cronies'."^[10]

After the 1992 General Election, she declined a request from prime minister John Major to take up a position as Minister of State for the Home Office.^[11]

In February 1994, she tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to lower the age of consent for male homosexual sexual acts to 16. This amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280, although a subsequent amendment resulted in the reduction of the homosexual age of consent from 21 to 18; final equalisation was achieved in 2000. Currie voted in favour of the Death penalty for murder in 1983, but against it in 1994.

In June 1994, she contested the European Parliament seat of Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, but lost the seat to Labour's Eryl McNally by 94,837 votes to 61,628 votes.

Currie lost her parliamentary seat in the 1997 General Election. For five years (1998–2003), she hosted a late-evening talk show on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie.

In October 2011, Currie took part in EurVoice, an event supported by the European Youth Parliament United Kingdom.^[12]

Other works[link]

Author[link]

Currie is the author of six novels: A Parliamentary Affair (1994), A Woman's Place (1996) She's Leaving Home (1997), The Ambassador (1999), Chasing Men (2000) and This Honourable House (2001). She has also written four works of non-fiction: Life Lines (1989), What Women Want (1990), Three Line Quips (1992) and Diaries 1987–92 (2002). She remains an outspoken public figure, with a reputation for being "highly opinionated",^[6] and currently earns her living as an author and media personality.

Media[link]

From the time she lost her seat in 1997, Currie has maintained a presence in the media. For five years an eponymous phone-in programme ran on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie.^[13] In 2002 she moved to HTV, presenting the television programme Currie Night until 2003. Since then, she has appeared in a string of reality television programmes, such as Wife Swap in which she and her second husband John swapped places with John McCririck and his wife, Jenny. She has also appeared in the reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, both in 2006.^[14] Currie was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory!. She won Celebrity Mastermind on 23 June 2004, specialising in the life of Marie Curie. She also won All Star Family Fortunes on 3 January 2009. She appeared in Channel 4's Come Dine With Me in February 2009 where she finished third. She made a second appearance on the show during Channel 4's "Alternative Election Night" coverage, with Rod Liddle, Brian Paddick and Derek Hatton as her competitors. She also appeared in James May's Show James May's Toy Stories where she helped him build a bridge made entirely out of Meccano in Liverpool.

[edit] Strictly Come Dancing

On 6 September 2011 it was announced that Currie would take part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing.^[15] On 10 September 2011 it was announced she would be dancing with Vincent Simone. She was the first dancer to be eliminated from the competition on 9 October 2011.

Personal life[link]

In 1972, Edwina Cohen married accountant Ray Currie in Barnstaple; they had two children and divorced in 1997. During this marriage Edwina Currie had the four-year affair with John Major, later Prime Minister, which she revealed in 2002. On 24 May 2001, in Southwark, she married retired detective John Jones whom she had met when he was a guest on her radio programme in 1999.^[16] Currie currently lives in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire.^{[citation needed]}

Affair with John Major[link]

Currie's Diaries (1987–92), published in 2002, caused a sensation, as they revealed a four-year affair with John Major between 1984 and 1988 while both were married to other people. The affair started while she was a backbencher and Major was the government whip in Margaret Thatcher's government. After Major's promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the relationship ended, but the two remained friends. Currie apparently ceased the affair when it became dangerous and impractical owing to the presence of bodyguards who had to be avoided.^[11]

After publication, John Major made a statement saying that he was ashamed of the affair and had privately revealed the matter to his wife. Currie admitted to having been in love with him for years after the end of the affair,^[17] and that he had been "the love of her life".^[18] However, only weeks after revealing the affair, she publicly criticised Major, accusing him of sexism and racism and of being "one of the less competent prime ministers".^[19]

The admission came after years of denial of any affair while in office and a successful libel action against playwright David Hare, who had said a sexually voracious murderer played by Charlotte Rampling in his film Paris by Night (1988) was an "Edwina Currie-like" figure. Currie had also produced several novels with explicitly erotic content - and political background - such as A Parliamentary Affair.^[6] Following publication of her diaries, Express Newspapers lawyers re-examined documents in a libel case to see if there was anything in the diaries which would allow them to reopen the case and recoup damages.^[20] In March 2000, Currie had been awarded £30,000 against them following a 1997 article entitled "How Edwina is now the vilest lady in Britain".^[20][21]

In October 1985, Currie had spoken harshly of Sara Keays, who had had an affair with Cecil Parkinson, calling her a "right cow"^[22] for writing about the affair and her consequent pregnancy and, she claimed, ruining Parkinson's career. She had gone on to say, "I feel very, very sorry for Cecil and his family. Most of my thoughts on Sara Keays are unprintable."^[23] In 1993, one of the key campaign slogans of John Major's time as Prime Minister, 'Back to Basics', had been widely seen as a call for a return to traditional values in sexual morality as well as in education, law and order.

Charity[link]

In 2004 she took part in a sponsored cycle ride across Poland, near to the area where ancestors of hers lived, for Marie Curie Cancer Care.^[24]

In 2005 in her role as a patron of the British Heart Foundation she championed a campaign to raise awareness of the effect of heart disease on women.^[25]

In May 2007 the patient charity MRSA Action UK announced Currie as their patron.^[26] Edwina Currie was quoted by the media championing the campaign against hospital superbugs.^[27]

In November 2011 she accepted the position of President of the Tideswell Male voice Choir.^[28]

Discography[link]

As part of the 2009 TV Show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Currie teamed up with Declan Donnelly and two other celebrities to release a cover version of the Wham hit song, "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)". Her daughter, Debbie, had previously released a single.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Edwina Currie
• Extracts from her diaries
• Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics: biography
• Major and Currie had four-year affair, BBC News Online, 28 September 2002
• Edwina Currie at the Internet Movie Database

Fay Weldon CBE (born 22 September 1931) is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.

Biography[link]

Weldon was born in Birmingham, England to a literary family, with both her maternal grandfather, Edgar Jepson (1863–1938), and her mother Margaret writing novels (the latter under the nom de plume Pearl Bellairs, alter-ego of the eponymous character in Aldous Huxley's short story, "Farcical History of Richard Greenow"). Weldon spent her early years in Auckland, New Zealand, where her father worked as a doctor. At the age of 14, after her parents' divorce, she returned to England with her mother and her sister Jane – never to see her father again. While in England she attended South Hampstead High School.

She studied psychology and economics at St Andrews, Scotland but returned to London after giving birth to a son. Soon afterwards she married her first husband, Ronald Bateman, who was a headmaster 25 years her senior^[1] and not the natural father of her child, and moved to Acton, London. She left him after two years, and the marriage ended.^[1]

In order to support herself and her son, and provide for his education, Weldon started working in the advertising industry. As Head of Copywriting at one point she was responsible for publicising (but not originating) the phrase "Go to work on an egg". She once coined the slogan "Vodka gets you drunker quicker". She said in a Guardian interview^[2] "It just seemed ... to be obvious that people who wanted to get drunk fast, needed to know this." Her bosses disagreed and suppressed it.

At 29 she met Ron Weldon, a jazz musician and antiques dealer.^[3] They married and had three sons, the first of whom was born in 1963. It was during her second pregnancy that Weldon began writing for radio and television. A few years later, in 1967, she published her first novel, The Fat Woman's Joke. For the next 30 years she built a very successful career, publishing over twenty novels, collections of short stories, films for television, newspaper and magazine articles and becoming a well-known face and voice on the BBC. In 1971 Weldon wrote the first episode of the landmark television series Upstairs, Downstairs, for which she won a Writers Guild award for Best British TV Series Script. In 1980 Weldon wrote the screenplay for director/producer John Goldschmidt's television movie Life for Christine, which told the true story of a 15-year-old girl's life imprisonment. The film was shown in prime-time on the ITV Network by Granada Television. She also wrote the screenplay for the 1980 BBC miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. In 1989, she contributed to the book for the Petula Clark West End musical Someone Like You. In a 1998 interview for the Radio Times Weldon claimed that rape "isn't the worst thing that can happen to a woman if you're safe, alive and unmarked after the event."^[4] She was roundly condemned by feminists for this assertion.

In 1996, she was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.^[5]

In 2000 Weldon became a member of the Church of England and was confirmed in St Paul's Cathedral, which was perhaps appropriate because she states that she likes to think that she was "converted by St Paul".^[6]

In 2006 Weldon was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University in West London: "A great writer needs a certain personality and a natural talent for language, but there is a great deal that can be taught – how to put words together quickly and efficiently to make a point, how to be graceful and eloquent, how to convey emotion, how to build up tension, and how to create alternative worlds."

During her marriage to Ron Weldon, the couple visited therapists regularly. They divorced in 1994, after he left her for his astrological therapist who had told him that the couple's astrological signs were incompatible.^[1] She subsequently married Nick Fox, a poet who is also her manager, with whom she currently lives in Dorset.^[1][3]

Weldon serves together with Daniel Pipes as the most notable foreign members of the board of the Danish Press Freedom Society (Trykkefrihedsselskabet).

Bibliography[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Books[link]

• The Fat Woman's Joke (1967)
• Down Among the Women (1971)
• Female Friends (1975)
• Remember Me (1976)
• Little Sisters (1977)
• Praxis (1978)
• Puffball (1980)
• The President's Child (1982)
• The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983)
• Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen (1984)
• The Shrapnel Academy (1986)
• The Heart of the Country (1987)
• The Hearts and Lives of Men (1987)
• Leader of the Band (1988)
• The Cloning of Joanna May (1989)
• Darcy's Utopia (1990)
• Affliction (1994)
• Growing Rich (1992)
• Life Force (1992)
• Splitting (1995)
• Worst Fears (1996)
• Big Women (1997)
• My Mother said (1998)
• Godless in Eden (1999)
• Rhode Island Blues (2000)
• The Bulgari Connection (2001)
• Mantrapped (2004)
• She May Not Leave (2006)
• The Spa Decameron (2007)
• The Stepmother's Diary (2008)
• Chalcot Crescent (2009)
• Kehua! (2010)

Weldon published an autobiography of her early years, Auto da Fay (an allusion to auto da fe), in 2002.

Criticism and Reviews of Weldon's Work[link]

Chalcot Crescent[link]

• Guinness, Molly (12 September 2009). "Family album". The Spectator 311 (9446): 37–38. http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/5316806/family-album.thtml. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 

Notes[link]

References[link]

• My mother said (1998)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fay Weldon

• http://www.redmood.com/weldon/ created by Jan Hanford
• Guardian interview and review of What makes women happy (2006 )- She describes her near-death experience and spiritual journey from atheism to belief in God.
• http://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/4-fay-weldon.aspx Fay writes candidly about having her knee replaced at 80, and her fears prior to the operation.

Sharon Osbourne
Osbourne at the Concert Industry Consortium conference at the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, California, February 2007.
Born	Sharon Rachel Levy (1952-10-09) 9 October 1952 (age 59)[1] Brixton, South London, England[2]
Residence	Jordans, Buckinghamshire
Occupation	Media personality, music manager, businesswoman,[3] talk show host, author
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Ozzy Osbourne (m. 1982) «start: (1982-07-04)»"Marriage: Ozzy Osbourne to Sharon Osbourne" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Sharon_Osbourne)
Children	Aimee Osbourne (born 1983) Kelly Osbourne (born 1984) Jack Osbourne (born 1985)
Parents	Don Arden Hope Shaw
Website
SharonOsbourne.com

Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Arden, originally Levy; born 9 October 1952)^[2] is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne.

She came into public prominence after appearing in The Osbournes, a reality television show that followed her family's daily routine. Osbourne later became a judge on the talent shows The X Factor and America's Got Talent. Her autobiography, Extreme, has sold in excess of two million copies.^[4]

After the success of The Osbournes and The X Factor, hosting her own chat shows and securing advertising contracts, Osbourne was ranked as the 25th richest woman in Britain on the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List.^[5] Sharon and husband, Ozzy Osbourne, are currently ranked as the 724th richest people in Britain with an estimated joint wealth of £110 million.^[6] Sharon Osbourne is credited with reviving her husband's heavy metal career by founding the summer Ozzfest tour.^[7] She currently lives in California and is one of five co-hosts of the daytime series, The Talk, where she discusses controversial topics and contemporary issues. The Talk premiered on 18 October 2010. BBC announced she is expected to host a syndicated daytime version Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2012.

Early life[link]

Osbourne was born Sharon Rachel Levy in Brixton, London,^[2] the daughter of music promoter and rock and roll entrepreneur Don Arden^[8] (born Harry Levy), and his wife Hope Shaw, an Irish Catholic.^[9] Osbourne is the wife and manager of Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, and together they have three children, Aimee, Kelly, and Jack Osbourne. After colon cancer claimed Osbourne's friend, Reagan Erin Marcato, in July 2002, she told the BBC that she had adopted Marcato's 18-year-old son Robert,^[10] but she denied legally adopting him five years later when he was sent to live with his father after a nervous breakdown.^[11] Robert had been a school friend of Aimee and Kelly for six years.

Music manager[link]

Sharon met future husband Ozzy Osbourne at the age of 18 while working for her father, Don Arden, who managed Black Sabbath.^[7] When Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, she took over his management from the Arden organisation^[7] and then started to date Ozzy.^[7] Sharon coordinated the recruitment of a technically gifted backing band (Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, and Lee Kerslake) for the recording of The Blizzard of Ozz and, by engaging proven songwriters, helped Ozzy launch what became a highly successful solo career. It was rumoured that Sharon employed some of her father's tactics where one promoter was kneed in the groin after failing to produce due payments, and that she single-handedly ruined a company's computer system after they sold illegal merchandise.^[7]

Ozzfest[link]

A series of high selling albums and world tours followed through the 1980s, eventually bringing about Ozzy's popularity. In 1996, Sharon created the Ozzfest summer touring festival.^[7] It went on to become a regular rock occasion and celebrated a 10th anniversary in 2006. By 2007, the ticket prices had reached £76 ($150)^[12] and Osbourne announced that the tickets would be free to allow more people the opportunity to attend the concert. Ozzfest grossed $20 million each year^{[citation needed]}. Prior to the founding of Ozzfest, Sharon approached Lollapalooza, another rock festival, to request that Ozzy play at that year's festival, only to be rejected and told that Ozzy was "uncool" and too drugged up. It was then that she decided to launch her own festival.^[7] Controversy ensued when she pulled the plug on Iron Maiden's set three times in one performance. She also harassed the singer, Bruce Dickinson and threw eggs at the band.^[13]

Sharon Osbourne Management[link]

In light of her success managing Ozzy, Sharon branched out into managing other acts by creating Sharon Osbourne Management. The new company, with Sharon as its sole employee, managed artists such as Gary Moore, Motörhead, Lita Ford, The Smashing Pumpkins,^[7] and Coal Chamber. She co-managed a band called Cube, with Cud guitarist Mike Dunphy. Cube were signed to Polydor Records but had limited success. She has also turned down career guidance requests from Fred Durst, Guns N' Roses, and Courtney Love.^[7]

Television career[link]

[edit] The Osbournes

Osbourne gained celebrity status as one of the stars of MTV's reality show, The Osbournes, which followed her family's daily life and had a national audience. As the person who negotiated with MTV to screen the show, she is often credited with bringing about her husband's emergence from heavy metal icon into mainstream celebrity. The show began airing in early 2002, and when, in July 2002, Osbourne was diagnosed with cancer, she insisted that filming should continue. The final episode of the show aired in the US on 21 March 2005. MTV's British affiliate has been airing the show since 2003. The show brought MTV its highest ratings ever in both America and Britain.^[14]

The Osbournes' Beverly Hills home (made famous on the show) has since been sold and the Osbournes have taken up residence in another home in Beverly Hills. Her Beverly Hills home was later seen in The X Factor during series two. The show saw that Osbourne was responsible for the livelihood of 12 dogs and employs a dog walker named Cherie. From the mid 1990s until the end of The Osbournes in 2005, she was primarily based in Los Angeles with the rest of her family. Osbourne earned an estimated £11.5 million from The Osbournes.^[5]

[edit] The Sharon Osbourne Show (US version)

In 2003 Osbourne became the host of her own television talk show, The Sharon Osbourne Show, which was syndicated to various US channels and also shown in the UK on Sky One. The show was meant to be a reflection of her personality and home life – similar to her reality show but with the inclusion of guest interviews and performances. During the episodes, she conducted some of her interviews on a giant bed.

However, the ratings were never successful^[15] and critics panned her inability to perform the basic tasks required of a talk show host, such as reading cue cards and conducting interviews. The show was cancelled in early 2004 after one season.^[16]

[edit] The X Factor

Osbourne was a judge and mentor on the UK's The X Factor every year, from 2004 through to 2007. In the first series she mentored the 16–24s and chose Roberta Howett, Cassie Compton and Tabby Callaghan to represent her in the live rounds of the show. The best placed of these was Tabby, who finished third overall. The final was contested between Simon Cowell's act Steve Brookstein and Louis Walsh's act G4, with Steve winning. Osbourne's outburst against Steve on the night of the final is widely credited with helping him to win,^[17] although according to her autobiography he was well ahead at all stages of the voting.

In the second series she mentored the 25-and-overs, and selected Andy Abraham, Brenda Edwards, Chico Slimani and Maria Lawson to contest the final rounds. Andy Abraham finished in second place to Louis Walsh's act Shayne Ward. During this series, the judges were again required to bring the selected candidates to their homes. Osbourne chose her Beverly Hills home as a suitable location, which saw Osbourne inviting her neighbours and husband Ozzy Osbourne to attend live performances by the candidates. During Chico's performance, he jumped into her functioning fountain with a live microphone, and proceeded to splash water.

Osbourne also appeared in the spin-off show The X Factor: Battle of the Stars. She was not required to choose her celebrity singing contestants but was selected to manage the 16–24s which were made up of Nikki Sanderson, Matt Stevens and Michelle Marsh. During the show, with Osbourne being a close friend of Victoria Beckham, she engaged in a feud with contestant Rebecca Loos,^[18] due to her recent claim of having an affair with David Beckham.^[19] Osbourne insulted Loos after one of her performances saying, "You should try doing tomorrow's performance with your knickers on because it will help warm up your voice. You have a very bad vibe that comes from you."^[20] After the incident, it took a lot of persuading to convince Loos to stay in the competition after being publicly humiliated.

In series three of The X Factor in 2006, she was mentoring the 25-and-overs, and selected Ben Mills, Dionne Mitchell, Robert Allen and Kerry McGregor. Kerry and Dionne were voted out in a double elimination on 28 October, Robert was voted out on 18 November and Ben was voted out on 9 December, sending Osbourne out of the competition. During the filming of the third series, Osbourne lived at the Dorchester Hotel in central London.

Osbourne was criticised for her outbursts on the show, where before a live show in series three she reportedly spoke out against Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter Chris Tarrant, who was in the show's audience prior to filming. Tarrant had made a joke about Ozzy Osbourne to which Sharon Osbourne took offence, but most of her outburst focused on criticising Tarrant's recent infidelity to his wife Ingrid from whom he was in the process of separating.^[21] It was rumoured that Simon Cowell, fellow judge and creator of the show, was displeased with her performance in series three, and was thinking of replacing her and Louis Walsh for the next series.^[22] However, it was confirmed that Osbourne had been contracted to return for the fourth series of the show.^[23]

She then appeared in the fourth series as of 18 August 2007 along with judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and the new judge, Dannii Minogue.^[24] She mentored the girls category during the show and subsequently chose Alisha Bennett, Emily Nakanda and Kimberley Southwick to represent her in the live rounds of the competition.^[25] In the first week of the live finals on 20 October, two of Osbourne's acts were in the bottom two. Osbourne responded by saying "What I did was no good - and I think I'm going home now."^[26] and she refused to play a role in the decision about which act should be eliminated. Kimberley Southwick was then voted out by a majority of the other three judges,^[26] while Osbourne claimed that she was quitting the show.^[26] However on The Paul O'Grady Show aired on 23 October 2007 Osbourne confirmed she would return on the next episode and stated that it is part of her personality to say things in the heat of the moment and not to contrive anything that she says. Two weeks into the live shows, a number of happy slapping videos of Emily Nakanda appeared in the media, apparently showing her beating another teenage girl.^[27] This led to Nakanda being withdrawn from The X Factor due to the media attention the videos brought.^[28] On 17 November Alisha Bennett was voted out of the competition, leaving Osbourne with no acts half way through the competition.^[29]

On 6 June 2008 it was announced in a statement on behalf of Osbourne that she has decided to step down as an X Factor judge after four series on the show.^[30] The statement read "Sharon would like to thank the wonderful British public for their enormous support during what's been an exciting ride. She would also like to take this opportunity to thank Simon Cowell and ITV while wishing them all the best for the next series."^[31] A spokesman from ITV commented "She has been a tremendous judge and mentor on the programme, but we respect her wish to leave and wish her the very best."^[32] Osbourne was replaced by Cheryl Cole.

During an interview on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, broadcast on 22 February 2009, Osbourne admitted that the reason for her departure from The X Factor was her relationship with Dannii Minogue.^[33] She stated "I didn't enjoy working with her at all and didn't fancy the prospect of spending six months sitting next to her."^[34]

In September 2010 Osbourne made a return to The X Factor at the Judges' Houses round of series 7 where she assisted Louis Walsh pick the 3 contestants that will continue to the live rounds in the Over 28s category.^[35]

[edit] The Sharon Osbourne Show (ITV)

In 2006, UK TV network ITV commissioned a new Sharon Osbourne chat show, initially to be called Mrs Osbourne Presents, but eventually just named The Sharon Osbourne Show. Osbourne signed a deal with ITV for a reputed £2 million.^[36]

The show began on Tuesday 29 August 2006, and was scheduled to run for six weeks in the 5 pm weekday timeslot. The premiere episode proved a close competition as the show received 1.9 million viewers with 17% share – 400,000 viewers (and 3% share) ahead of Richard & Judy on Channel 4. Her second show attracted 2.1 million viewers.^[37]

However, ratings appeared to decrease after Channel 4 moved its game show Deal Or No Deal, hosted by Noel Edmonds, into the timeslot, with Sharon managing 1.2m viewers compared to Deal Or No Deal's 2.9m.^[38] Channel 4's The New Paul O'Grady Show returned on Monday 25 September 2006 with 2.3 million viewers compared to Osbourne's 1.6 million.

[edit] America's Got Talent

Osbourne joined the judging panel on the second season of America's Got Talent, along with Piers Morgan and David Hasselhoff, replacing the singer Brandy.^[39]

The season premiered in the United States on 5 June 2007. In her first episode, Osbourne came into a conflict with Piers Morgan when she felt he judged a child contestant too harshly. She threatened to leave the show in the middle of filming, saying "I didn’t sign up for this", but was talked out of it. The incident was shown on air.^[40] Osbourne has since stayed with the show for its third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons, and is now the show's longest serving judge.

[edit] Rock of Love: Charm School

Osbourne hosted the second season of Rock of Love: Charm School with co-hosts Riki Rachtman and Daniella Clarke on VH1. Sharon had a physical altercation on 13 December 2008 with contestant Megan Hauserman on the reunion special for the show after Megan made derogatory statements about Sharon's husband, Ozzy. Hauserman reportedly filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department^[41][42] and has since filed a lawsuit against Osbourne, claiming battery, negligence and infliction of emotional distress.^[43] In 2011 Osbourne reached an settlement with Hauserman.^[44]

[edit] Osbournes: Reloaded

In July 2008 Fox announced that the Osbourne family would be hosting a new variety show titled Osbournes: Reloaded (working title was Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous).^[45] The show started filming at CBS Studios in Hollywood in December 2008 before a live audience. The show premiered in March 2009.^[46] Fremantle Media North America is producing the show.^[47] The show was cancelled after its premiere episode.

[edit] The Talk

Sharon Osbourne cohosts The Talk, which is a talk show that premiered 18 October 2010. This decision came after CBS cancelled the soap opera As The World Turns. The show is similar to The View and seeks to address motherhood and other contemporary issues.^[48]

In July 2011 Osbourne and some of her fellow "The Talk" panelists were criticised for their conduct when discussing the story of Catherine Kieu. Osbourne described Kieu's cutting off of her husband's penis and then throwing it in the garbage disposal as "quite fabulous", also laughing about the crime along with a number of other panelists.^[49] On 19 July Osbourne discussed her behavior, stating "she was sorry she offended people" and that she "did not condone genital mutilation". However, the sincerity of this apology is debatable, as she was laughing during it.^[50]

In December 2011, Osbourne explained the untold story on the dismissals of her former co-hosts, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete, from The Talk on an episode of The Howard Stern Show, stating: "Some people dont really know who they are. And you have to know who you are when you're in something like this. You can't pretend to be something you're not. You have to know your brand. You can't be all things to everyone." Additionally, Osbourne commented on the failure to let Remini and Peete know why they were let go, stating "Why should we call them to discuss?"^[51][52] In March 2012, a heavily publicized Twitter dispute ignited between Remini and Osbourne when Remini fired back at Osbourne for her comments on The Howard Stern Show. In response to questions from her Twitter followers, Remini tweeted: "Ask Sharon. She had us fired," and "Sharon made it happen and i guess ppl who still watch her make it happen? Sharon thought me and Holly were "Ghetto", (her words) we were not funny, awkward and didn't know ourselves... Haters Gon' Hate. True. But, Haters have the balls to say they "Hate"...not call themselves your friend. she had us fired all the while calling me and holly her friend. heartbreaking. Yes. she had us fired she told howard stern. explains why she never called us back." In response, Osbourne tweeted: "I had absolutely nothing to do with her departure from the show & have no idea why she continues to take to Twitter to spread this false gossip. Leah knows that I have never been in the position to hire or fire anyone on the show. That being said, my only wish is that Leah would just stop all this negative, unprofessional and childish behavior. It's been seven months...it's time to move on. Leah is a very talented actress and I only wish her happiness and success. I know that better things are to come if she can just get beyond this negativity." Remini tweeted back that she had no intention of keeping quiet and that Osbourne: "just wants publicity out of this. If someone wants me to stop, they should call a lawyer and tell them what I am NOT telling the truth about. We can go from there." In an additional tweet on the matter, Remini wrote: "I will not respond to Sharon BUT only to say this, IF she wanted to clear it up she has my number & has had ALL this time and didnt use it. Not even to say she was sorry. So to Sharon I say... Well done Sharon, you won. I will move on now as you suggested. And so should u. Be at Peace."^{[53][54][55][56][57]}

Media appearances[link]

On January 2003, Osbourne and the rest of her family hosted the 30th Annual American Music Awards.^[58][59] The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by both Ozzy and Sharon. Additionally, the night was met with some controversy, as critics panned their hosting and presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.^[60]

In January 2005, she was contracted to feature in a television advertising campaign for UK supermarket chain, Asda and later in 2007, Osbourne became the new face of Galabingo when she was featured in television advertisements promoting the gambling website.^[61] She has co-hosted one of the Royal Variety Performances with Jonathan Ross. Osbourne appeared in Days of our Lives, It's a Boy Girl Thing and has also provided a voice for a character in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.^{[citation needed]}

On Friday 15 June 2007, Osbourne guest hosted The Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr. Osbourne also made a cameo appearance on 23 June 2007 in an episode of the science fiction series Doctor Who. The episode "The Sound of Drums" saw her appearing in a spoof party political broadcast, which featured testimonials from British celebrities such as Osbourne and the band McFly showing their support for Mr Saxon to become Prime Minister.^[62] Osbourne has appeared frequently on Children in Need in order to raise money for charity.^{[citation needed]}

On 20 February 2008, Sharon Osbourne co-hosted the 28th edition of the BRIT Awards at Earls Court in London, along with her husband and daughter Kelly.^[63] During the awards Sharon Osbourne caused controversy and sparked complaints by calling Vic Reeves, who was presenting one of the awards, a "piss head" and a "bastard" after he appeared to be drunk, although he claimed that he was having trouble reading the autocue.^[64] On 22 August 2008, Sharon Osbourne took part in the 2008 MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival in Scotland.^[65]

On 3 November 2009, Osbourne was in studio at Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's "The Opie & Anthony Show" where she caused some controversy by stating that Susan Boyle looked "like a slapped ass" and that God "hit her with the fucking ugly stick."^[66][67]

Also in 2009 Sharon had a brief cameo in the music video of Simple Plan's Save You as a cancer survivor.