Emma Freud | |
|---|---|
 At theMontclair Film Festival, 2016 | |
| Born | Emma Vallencey Freud (1962-01-25)25 January 1962 (age 63) London, England |
| Education | Queen's College school |
| Alma mater | Royal Holloway College |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenter,cultural commentator |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingScarlett Curtis |
| Parent(s) | Sir Clement Freud June Flewett |
Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator.
Freud was born inLondon on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcasterSir Clement Freud (1924–2009) andJune Flewett, known as the actress Jill Freud. She is the great-granddaughter of psychoanalystSigmund Freud. Her younger brother isMatthew Freud, and her uncle was the painterLucian Freud. Her father's family were Jewish refugees.
Freud was educated in London at the all-femaleQueen's College school, attendedBristol University andRoyal Holloway College.
At 13, she performed at the Queen's Theatre (now calledSondheim Theatre) in theWest End as the daughter of Vincent Price inJean Anouilh'sArdèle,[1] and at 17 she toured Europe withMike Oldfield as a backing singer on hisTubular Bells tour.
At 24, she co directed at theRegent's Park Open Air Theatre, featuringRalph Fiennes in his first role out of drama school.[2]
From 1986, Freud co-presentedLWT'sThe Six O'Clock Show. In 1987 she presented a chat show,Pillow Talk, in which she interviewed guests as part ofLWT's late-night strandNight Network.
In 1990 and 1991, Freud presented two series ofPlunder,[3] a BBC2 chat show in which she interviewed guests includingSpike Milligan,Harriet Harman andJoanna Lumley, and co-hosted theBAFTA Craft Awards withKenneth Branagh. Freud also presented three seasons of the BBC2Edinburgh Nights[4]. On Channel 4 Freud hosted two series ofThe Pulse, three series ofThe Media Show[5] and presented theTurner Prize[6] in 1992.
For three seasons she fronted the arts showTheatreland. In 2014, she appeared on a celebrity edition ofThe Great British Bake Off forComic Relief, and was declared a star baker.[7]
In 1988, she was one of the launch presenters ofBBC Greater London Radio 94.9fm, where she presented the weekday 10am–12pm programme, produced byChris Evans.
In 1993, Freud was invited by BBC Radio 1's new controllerMatthew Bannister to reinvent the lunchtime programme. From January 1994, she appeared on a permanent basis every weekday between 12pm–2pm, presenting a mix of music, interviews and interactive news features.[citation needed]
Since 1986, she has worked for BBC Radio 4 – as a regular co-host on the Saturday miscellany showLoose Ends, as well as hostingMidweek[8] andOne to One.[9] In 2019, Freud interviewed authorDavid Sedaris for BBC Radio 4 in a 3-hour feature looking back at his life's work.[10]
Since 1992, Freud has worked with her husband,Richard Curtis, as either script editor or co-producer on his various films and programmes. These includeFour Weddings and a Funeral,Notting Hill,Bridget Jones's Diary,Love Actually,The Boat That Rocked,The Girl in the Café,About Time,The Vicar of Dibley, andYesterday.[citation needed]
Freud has written forThe Telegraph,The Guardian andRadio Times. She currently has a column inLuxx Magazine forThe Times.[11]
Since 2015 she has been a monthly columnist forBBC Good Food, writing about international food culture and interviewing chefs while she cooks one of their signature dishes. These includeYotam Ottolenghi,Rick Stein,Mary Berry,Stanley Tucci,Nigel Slater,Asma Khan,Michel Roux andNigella Lawson.[12]
For six years Freud hosted the national and international broadcasts forNational Theatre Live. Since 2009 she has chaired many Platform performances at the National Theatre – interviewing actors, writers and directors includingSir John Mortimer, SirNicholas Hytner andBryan Cranston.[citation needed]
She has chaired at festivals and live events – including interviews withAl Pacino,Graham Norton,Mary Berry,Nadiya Hussain andClaudia Winkleman.[citation needed]
She has presented theEmma Freud Talks To... strand at theCheltenham Literary Festival – speaking to guests includingSir David Attenborough,Bill Nighy,Helena Bonham Carter,Sir Lenny Henry, andBono.[citation needed]
Freud has worked forComic Relief since 1992 – starting with stuffing envelopes, rising to Executive Producer ofRed Nose Day. Together withRichard Curtis, she has helped raise money for projects tackling poverty across the UK and internationally.
From 2004 to 2005, she was a co-creator ofMake Poverty History and theLive 8 concerts.[citation needed]
She was awarded anOBE for services to the charitable sector in 2011.
She is a patron of Suffolk Libraries.[13]
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