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Fiona Phillips | |
|---|---|
 Phillips in 2015 | |
| Born | (1961-01-01)1 January 1961 (age 64) Canterbury,Kent, England |
| Alma mater | Birmingham City University |
| Occupation(s) | Television broadcaster, journalist, presenter |
| Employer | ITV (former) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Fiona Phillips (born 1 January 1961) is a British journalist, broadcaster and television presenter. She is best known for presenting theITV Breakfast programmeGMTV Today.
Phillips was born in Canterbury Hospital inCanterbury,Kent, the daughter of Phillip (died February 2012) and Amy (died May 2006).[1] Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub on Church Street in St Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School.[2] The family later moved toSouthampton where Phillips completed her schooling atMillbrook Community School. After leaving school, Phillips worked for a short time atMr Kipling's Bakery inEastleigh, near Southampton. Phillips graduated fromBirmingham Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) in English; she also undertook aPGCert in journalism.
Phillips started her career in independent radio working as a reporter for local stationsCounty Sound inSurrey,Hereward Radio andRadio Mercury inSussex.
Moving from radio to television several years later, she joinedBBC South East'sWeekend programme as co-presenter, before becoming a reporter withCNN News, later moving on to become the station's entertainment editor, producing, reporting and presenting CNN News' entertainment output.
Phillips has presented other programmes, including the celebrity lifestyle showOK! TV,Baby House andRoom to Rent, Carlton's entertainment guideGood Stuff, LWT's Friday evening entertainment showStart the Weekend, ITV'sSunday Night and theRich and Famous series. Phillips currently writes an opinion column in theDaily Mirror on Saturdays and works as anagony aunt inNew! magazine.
Phillips was a regular panellist onLoose Women in 2002, and was a guest anchor in 2004 and 2005. She returned toLoose Women as a guest anchor in March 2009 and again in March 2010.
In August 2010, she appeared as a panellist on the short-lived ITV chat show3@Three.[3]
She took part in the third series ofStrictly Come Dancing in 2005, with professional partnerBrendan Cole. The pair were voted out on Week 4 following several weeks of low scores.
Phillips had also been in the documentaryThe Killer in Me on 8 November 2007, a show that saw four celebrities agree to take a groundbreaking test that revealed the secret killers lurking in their genes. Phillips joined former England footballerJohn Barnes, political commentator and presenterAndrew Neil, and Heart FM DJToby Anstis who all found out their risk of developing 11 major diseases, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.
Phillips is a regular reporter for the BBC One consumer affairs programmeWatchdog. On 19 March 2015, Phillips presentedThe Truth About...Sugar and on 2 June 2016, she presentedThe Truth About...Healthy Eating. Both programmes aired onBBC One.
In 1993, Phillips joinedGMTV as entertainment correspondent and was promoted toGMTV/Reuters Television'sLA correspondent in December 1993. For over two years Phillips provided daily and weekly reports and covered a number of big news stories including theMichael Jackson alleged child molestation case, theLA earthquake, the firstO.J. Simpson trial, thedeath of Diana, Princess of Wales and theOscars. She also interviewed some of theindustry's biggest stars such asLeonardo DiCaprio,Clint Eastwood,Brad Pitt andMel Gibson among others.
From 1997 to 2008, she was the main anchor onGMTV, presentingGMTV Today every Monday to Wednesday. On 28 August 2008, Phillips announced that she was to leave her role as main anchor onGMTV for family reasons.[4] She presented her final show on 18 December 2008.[5]
Phillips returned toGMTV in 2010 in its last series, guest presenting onGMTV with Lorraine.
Since September 2010, she has regularly guest presented theITV Breakfast programmeLorraine (successor ofGMTV with Lorraine).
Shevoiced the character of Katie Current in the UK release ofShark Tale (2004).[6]
Phillips hosted a show onSmooth Radio in the 2–5 pm slot every Sunday, starting from Easter Sunday, 23 March 2008,[7] until 2009 when she left the station.
She also stood in forSimon Mayo onRadio 5 Live from 30 March to 3 April 2009.
Phillips has been married to Martin Frizell since 1997 and they have two children.[8] Frizell is the editor ofThis Morning.[9]
Phillips is a supporter ofChelsea F.C.,[10] although she followed her home town club,Southampton F.C. when she was younger.[11]
Philips has reported to have been avegetarian for over twenty years.[12] However in 2015, she commented, "I'm mainly vegetarian, but I have fish maybe once a month if my body feels it needs it."[13]
In July 2023, Phillips revealed that she had been diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease in 2022.[14]
Phillips is a supporter of theLabour Party. She said she had been offered a job in November 2007 as public health minister in theadministration of Gordon Brown, as well as apeerage. Phillips said she declined due to her responsibilities to her two small children.[15] She attended the2009 Labour Party Conference in Brighton, where she introduced an address by theHome SecretaryAlan Johnson.[16][17] She was a panellist on BBC One'sQuestion Time in June 2009.[18]
Phillips is a patron of the anti-racist organisationHope Not Hate, which has the slogan "Celebrating Britain's diverse society".[19] In August 2014, Phillips was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian opposingScottish independence in the run-up to September'sreferendum on that issue.[20]
Phillips is one of the judges of theDaily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, and for presenting theGMTV Emergency Services award. She has also been one of the judges for the Children of Courage awards. From 15 October 2007, she reported from Geita, North Tanzania, for one week to visit Neema, a 13-year-old girl who Phillips has been sponsoring, and her family, friends and local schools.[21]
On 13 March 2008, Phillips, whileAge Concern Ambassador, presented the Age Concern Grandparent of the Year 2008, which took place in theHouses of Parliament.[22] She has continued as an Ambassador for the successor charityAge UK.[23]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–2008 | GMTV | Various presenting roles | |
| 2002, 2004–2005, 2009–2010 | Loose Women | Panellist and guest anchor | |
| 2005 | Strictly Come Dancing | Contestant | |
| 2007 | The Killer in Me | Contributor | |
| 2009 | The Wright Stuff | Guest presenter | |
| 2010 | GMTV with Lorraine | Guest presenter | |
| 3@Three | Regular panellist | ||
| 2010–2012, 2015–2016 | Lorraine | Guest presenter | 59 episodes |
| 2015 | Watchdog | Reporter | |
| The Truth About...Sugar | Presenter | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | The Truth About...Healthy Eating | Presenter | 1 episode |
| Panorama: Pension Rip-Offs Exposed | Presenter | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | The Truth About...Stress | Presenter | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Ryanair: Britain's Most Hated Airline | Presenter |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Shark Tale | Katie Current | UK voiceover |
In 1996, Phillips was nominated for theRoyal Television Society Interview of the Year Award.[citation needed]
On 7 November 2007, Phillips received an Honorary Master of Arts degree fromSouthampton Solent University, for "being a person distinguished in eminence and by attainments".[citation needed]
On 21 July 2011, Phillips received an Honorary Fellowship fromCardiff University.[24]
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