Author: Emilia
John Torode is an Australian-British chef and television presenter best known for judging MasterChef on BBC One from its relaunch in 2005 until 2025. Born in Melbourne on 23 July 1965, he moved to the UK in 1991, built a career in Terence Conran’s restaurants, opened Smiths of Smithfield in London, and became a household name as one half of the MasterChef judging duo alongside Gregg Wallace. In July 2025, after 20 years on the show, the BBC and production company Banijay UK confirmed his MasterChef contract would not be renewed, following an upheld allegation that he had used racist…
Jenna Coleman is an English actress born on 27 April 1986 in Blackpool, best known for playing Clara Oswald in Doctor Who and Queen Victoria in ITV’s Victoria. After leading the BBC crime drama The Jetty in 2024 and returning as Johanna Constantine in the final season of Netflix’s The Sandman in 2025, she reunites with Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat in Channel 4’s new comedy drama Number 10, due late in 2026. As of October 2026, she is 40 years old. At a Glance: Jenna Coleman Full name: Jenna-Louise Coleman Born: 27 April 1986, Blackpool, Lancashire, England (age 40…
Carol Vorderman, 65, is the former Countdown maths expert who co-hosted the Channel 4 quiz show for 26 years, from its first episode in 1982 until she left in 2008. Born on 24 December 1960 in Bedford and raised in Prestatyn, north Wales, she went from a free-school-meals childhood to Cambridge at 17, then became one of Britain’s best-known television presenters. As of October 2026, she hosts the daily quiz podcast Perfect 10, co-hosts the Pride of Britain Awards, and has just received a BAFTA Cymru award for her contribution to television. At a Glance: Carol Vorderman Full name: Carol…
Vicky McClure is an English actress from Nottingham, born on 8 May 1983, best known for two career-defining police roles: Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC’s Line of Duty (2012–2021, with a seventh series announced in November 2025) and explosives officer Lana Washington in ITV’s Trigger Point (2022– ). She first broke through as Lol Jenkins in Shane Meadows’ This Is England (2006), winning the BAFTA for Best Actress in 2011, and was appointed MBE in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to charity. As of October 2026, she is 43, married to film director Jonny…
Jack O’Connell is an English actor from Derby who first became known as the reckless James Cook in E4’s Skins and has since built one of the most respected film careers of his generation — winning the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2015, playing Olympic runner and war hero Louis Zamperini in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, and, in 2025 and 2026, terrifying audiences as the vampire Remmick in Sinners and as Sir Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later and its sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Born on 1 August 1990 in Alvaston, Derby, he is 36 years old as…
Ncuti Gatwa is a Rwandan-Scottish actor best known for playing Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education and the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who. Born on 15 October 1992 in Kigali, Rwanda, and raised in Scotland, he became the first non-white actor cast as the Doctor when the BBC announced his casting in May 2022. He played the role for two series, in 2024 and 2025, and left in the series 15 finale, “The Reality War”, on 31 May 2025, when the Doctor regenerated into Billie Piper — although, as of October 2026, the BBC has still not confirmed whether Piper…
Pauline Collins was an English actress whose career ran from a West End debut in 1965 to a final film role in 2017, and who is best remembered for two roles: Sarah, the parlour maid in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, and Shirley Valentine, the Liverpool housewife she played on stage in London and New York and on screen in the 1989 film. For Shirley Valentine she won the Laurence Olivier Award, the Tony Award and the BAFTA for Best Actress, and she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Collins died in November 2025, aged 85,…
Tess Daly is an English television presenter best known for hosting Strictly Come Dancing for 21 years, from the show’s first series in 2004 until she stepped down at the end of 2025. Born Helen Elizabeth Daly on 29 March 1969 in Stockport, Cheshire, she is 57 years old as of October 2026. Before television she spent more than a decade as an international fashion model; since then she has added novelist, businesswoman and MBE to her roles. In May 2026, she and her husband of 22 years, presenter Vernon Kay, announced they were separating amicably. Her departure closed one…
Sam Thompson is a British television personality and radio presenter who won I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2023, hosts shows on Hits Radio, and co-hosts the Staying Relevant podcast with his best friend Pete Wicks. He first became known on E4’s Made in Chelsea, which he joined in 2013, and he has since built a presenting career across ITV, Channel 4 and radio — while speaking openly about his ADHD and autism diagnoses. As of October 2026, his most recent television work includes ITV’s prank show Celebrity Sabotage, which launched in March 2026, and a place in…
Stephen Mulhern is an English television presenter, magician and comedian best known, as of October 2026, as the host of ITV’s Catchphrase and the revived Deal or No Deal. Born on 4 April 1977 in Stratford, London, he built his career the long way round: first as a teenage magician and Butlin’s Redcoat, then as a children’s television presenter on CITV, and finally as one of ITV’s most dependable prime-time and daytime hosts. That staying power is the real story: he has moved from children’s television to talent-show spin-offs, Saturday-night segments and full game-show revivals, staying warm, quick and unflappable…