Ulrika Jonsson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eva Ulrika Jonsson[1] (1967-08-16)16 August 1967 (age 57)[1] Sollentuna, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish, British |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, television presenter, journalist, novelist |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Television |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967)[1] is a Swedish-British television presenter and model. She became known as aTV-am weather presenter, and moved on to present theITV showGladiators, and later featured as a team captain on theBBC Two showShooting Stars.
After working as a secretary, Jonsson began her television career onTV-am in 1989, as a weather presenter onGood Morning Britain. From 12 September 1989, she was also the weather presenter for SwedishTV3, broadcasting from London. In 1991, she co-presented BBC One's short-lived daytime quiz showWho's Bluffing Who? with Richard Cartridge, and starred in the French film,The Annunciation of Marie (1991).
In 1992, she moved into mainstream presenting and played host to numerous shows including ITV'sGladiators,The National Lottery Draws – plus two major international broadcasts, theEurovision Song Contest in 1998 andMiss World in 1999. She also modelled for Playtex Lingerie during this period and was a team captain on the BBC TV quiz showShooting Stars. On the strength of her appearances inShooting Stars, Jonsson starred in a BBC TV special of her own in 1997. EntitledIt's Ulrika!, the show featured Jonsson singing and acting in comedy sketches written specially for her byShooting Stars hostsVic Reeves (under his real name ofJim Moir) andBob Mortimer, who both appeared in various supporting roles. The show was intended to act as a pilot for a possible future series, but ratings were only moderate and the show was not picked up for a series.
In 1997, Jonsson interviewed the then British Prime MinisterJohn Major for theBBC2 programmeThe Enormous Election.[2] In 1998, she interviewed the then Chancellor of the Exchequer,Gordon Brown, for her programmeUlrika in Euroland.[3]
She presentedEurovision Song Contest in 1998 when it was hosted in Birmingham, alongsideSir Terry Wogan; later that year she co-hosted theRoyal Variety Performance alongsideRonan Keating at theLyceum Theatre in London.[4] Following this, she co-hostedMiss World 1999 withMelanie Sykes at theOlympia Hall in London. Jonsson was booked to hostChannel 5's reality game showJailbreak in Autumn 2000 but had to pull out of the project due to health concerns over her newborn child. She was replaced as main host byCraig Charles.[5] Jonsson later presentedBBC One game showDog Eat Dog, broadcast from April 2001 to November 2002, andThe Joy of Text in June 2001 alongsideTerry Alderton.
In 2002, Jonsson presented the first series of ITV makeover showHome On Their Own, a show where children made alterations to their house (how they wanted the house to be) during the course of a weekend, while their parents went on holiday. Some of the home improvements included anAustin Powers room, individual doorbells for the children and a cinema living room. Jonsson did not return for the second series, which was hosted byTess Daly the following year.
In 2002, she was the subject of aChannel 4 documentary,Ulrika Jonsson: the Truth About Men. The programme featured a candid interview with Jonsson, received heavy press attention and attracted 2.8 million viewers.[6]
After intense media attention relating to events in her private life, Jonsson decided to return to Sweden. The Swedish television networkTV3 offered her the role as hostess of theMiss Sweden beauty pageant. She accepted the invitation. In March 2003, Jonsson was a contestant on the BBC'sComic Relief Does Fame Academy. In 2005, she appeared with four celebrities onChannel 4's daytime showCome Dine with Me. On 20 January 2007, she joined 10 celebrities to take part in theITV reality TV showDancing on Ice, where she was partnered withPavel Aubrecht. With previous skating experience in her native Sweden, Jonsson was expected to go far in the event but finished 9th after being beaten in the skate-off byKay Burley during week 3.
On 20 March 2007, she appeared in the confessional TV show,Ulrika: Am I a Sex Addict?, broadcast onChannel 4. The show charted Jonsson's personal journey to uncover the truth aboutsex addiction. She has appeared onBBC One'sWould I Lie to You? (2007). In March 2009, she appeared in the new ITV seriesPiers Morgan's Life Stories, each episode of which included a celebrity figure and a one-to-one interview withMorgan about their lives.[7]
In April 2009, it was confirmed that Jonsson would return toShooting Stars as team captain for a full series airing later that year.[8] She presented the new series ofBingoLotto, onVirgin 1 every Sunday night at 7 pm which started on 13 September 2009.[9]
Herdebut novel,The Importance of Being Myrtle, which focuses on relationships[10] was published by thePenguin Group on 1 September 2011.
In 2017, she reached the final ofCelebrity MasterChef.
In 2021, she took part in Channel 4'sCelebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. She was the second contestant to leave the series but on medical grounds not as the weakest participant.[11]
On 27 October 2021,Channel 4 announced Jonsson would be taking part in the tenth series ofCelebs Go Dating, alongsideAbz Love,Ryan-Mark Parsons, Miles Nazaire,Chloe Brockett, Nikita Jasmine,Marty McKenna and Jessika Power. The series began airing in January 2022.[12]
In January 2009, Jonsson took part inChannel 4'sCelebrity Big Brother.[13] She eventually won with 57% of the final vote during the final on 23 January.[14][15] As results were announced to the contestants, Jonsson said "Oh my god, that's bonkers."[16]
She had been nominated by housemates for eviction on each occasion, firstly by 'head of house'Terry Christian and then by other housemates, but survived the public vote on five occasions. Jonsson eventually progressed to the finals night, as the only woman left, afterLa Toya Jackson was evicted by public vote on Day 20.[17] Before her entry into the house, various newspapers had reported that Jonsson had negotiated a £175,000 payment, nearly eight times as much as some of the other celebrities. Jonsson commented "It is singularly the weirdest experience of my entire life and I've had quite a weird life."[18]
Jonsson once again entered the Big Brother house on 24 August 2010 forUltimate Big Brother, reaching the final and finishing seventh.
Jonsson wrote in her autobiography[19] that an unnamed television presenter had raped her earlier in her television career.Matthew Wright named (apparently accidentally)John Leslie as the alleged perpetrator on his television showThe Wright Stuff. Jonsson made no public comment on Leslie's naming and did not cooperate with police over the matter. Police investigated Leslie but never charged him with the alleged offence.[20]
Jonsson has been married three times and has four children. She is aManchester Unitedfan.[21]
She married cameraman John Turnbull in 1990. They moved toCookham Dean inBerkshire the following year.[22] They have one son (born 1994). They divorced in 1995.[23]
Jonsson subsequently dated footballerStan Collymore.[24] In June 1998, during the1998 World Cup, Collymore issued a public apology after he was violent towards Jonsson during an argument in aParis bar.[24] Soon after the end of her relationship with Collymore, she began dating German hotel manager Marcus Kempen.[25] They have one daughter (b. 2000).[25] Jonsson's relationship with Kempen ended soon after the birth.[23]
In April 2002, Jonsson confirmed reports that she had had an affair withSven-Göran Eriksson, then-manager ofEngland's football team, who had a long-time girlfriend. She stated that her relationship with Eriksson had recently ended.[26][27] She was given the job as a columnist for theNews of the World newspaper in 2003, in which she regularly commented on Eriksson's private life. Her column was dropped in 2007,[28] a year after Eriksson resigned as England manager. It was announced in 2011 that she had taken legal proceedings against the newspaper alleging that an investigator hadhacked into her mobile phone.[29]
While presentingMr. Right in 2002, Jonsson met Lance Gerrard-Wright, a contestant on the show. They subsequently began a relationship.[30] They married in August 2003. They have one daughter (born 2004).[23] They divorced in October 2006.[30]
Jonsson married her third husband, American advertising executive Brian Monet, in March 2008. They have one son (born 2008). In April 2019, it was announced that they had divorced. She toldBest magazine that they had tried to salvage their relationship with counselling but failed.[31]
In 2019, she went on the dating showFirst Dates Hotel and began dating her match on the show, Paul.[32]
In 2021, Jonsson was announced as a cast member inE4'sCelebs Go Dating which began airing in January 2022.[12]
In 2022, Jonsson stated that she had had a number of same sex experiences, "most certainly borne out of sexual desire."[33][34]
| Year | Programme | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1989–1992 | Good Morning Britain | Weather presenter |
| 1992–2000 | Gladiators | Presenter |
| 1993, 1995–1997, 2002, 2008–2011 | Shooting Stars | Team captain |
| 1998 | Eurovision Song Contest | Co-presenter |
| Royal Variety Performance | ||
| 1999 | Miss World 1999 | |
| 2000 | Techno Games | Presenter |
| 2001 | The Joy of Text | |
| 2001–2002 | Dog Eat Dog | |
| 2002 | Home On Their Own | |
| Miss Sweden | ||
| 2007 | Dancing on Ice | Contestant |
| 2009 | Celebrity Big Brother | Housemate |
| 2010 | Ultimate Big Brother | |
| 2017 | Celebrity MasterChef | Contestant |
| 2019 | First Dates Hotel | |
| 2021 | Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins | Contestant |
| 2022 | Celebs Go Dating | Contestant |
| Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing | Guest |
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Annunciation of Marie | Violaine Vercors |
| 2004 | Bob the Builder: Snowed Under | Jana von Strudel (voice) |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest presenter (withTerry Wogan) 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Celebrity Big Brother UK Winner Series 6 (2009) | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
