Kate Silverton

Kate Silverton
Born Kate Silverton
(1970-08-04) 4 August 1970
Waltham Abbey, Essex, England
Education University of Durham
Occupation Journalist, Television Presenter
Years active 1992–present
Notable credit(s) BBC Breakfast
BBC News at One
BBC News Summary
BBC Weekend News
BBC News at Ten
BBC News Channel
BBC World News
GMT
Spouse(s) Mike Heron (m. 2010)
Children 2

Kate Silverton (born 4 August 1970) is an English journalist, currently employed by the BBC.[1] Generally a relief presenter for the BBC, Silverton can be seen regularly presenting the BBC News at One, BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, and BBC Weekend News, as well as making occasional appearances on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News.

Biography

Early life and education

Silverton was born in Waltham Abbey in Essex, England, the daughter of Terry Silverton, a black-cab driver turned registered hypnotherapist[2] and Patricia Silverton, who now heads her daughter's company. Silverton has two sisters, Claire and Amy. Silverton attended West Hatch High School in Chigwell, Essex, where she was a junior swimming champion. She also competed in the triathlon.[3] She was a Girl Guide and gained the Queen's Guide Award.[4]

Silverton graduated from Durham University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, having previously studied Arabic and Middle Eastern history for a year.[5] Silverton went to Zimbabwe with Raleigh International, spending her gap year working for them in Egypt and Lebanon.[6]

Early career

Silverton worked for a London-based bank before becoming a journalist. She trained with the BBC, working on Look North news before becoming a reporter and presenter at Tyne Tees Television.

She was a panellist on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff. She also featured on The Heaven and Earth Show, Big Strong Boys,[7] and Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live, before joining BBC News.

In 2003, Silverton allegedly hit Rod Liddle, the former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, during a pilot for a new political show. Liddle said: "I made a stupid comment about the disabled which Kate rightly took exception to."[8][9]

BBC News

Main article: BBC News

From 2005 until December 2007, Silverton was a presenter on BBC News 24 and also a regular relief presenter for BBC Breakfast.

In December 2007, Silverton was named as the presenter of the BBC News (8 p.m. summary) - a 90-second round up of the news shown on BBC One, which she presented for two months. She presented the BBC News at One from February to August 2008, whilst main presenter Sophie Raworth was on maternity leave.[10]

In August 2010, BBC Scotland apologised to viewers after Silverton swore at the end of a news bulletin on live television. Viewers in Scotland were the only ones who heard the words. A spokesman for BBC Scotland said: "Kate thought she was off-air at the time. The microphones hadn't been faded down and the mistake only went out in Scotland."[11]

In October 2011, Silverton took maternity leave and returned to the News at One in April 2012. Until May 2012, she was the deputy presenter of the BBC News at One,[12] presenting on Mondays and when main presenter Sophie Raworth was unavailable. Sian Williams later took over this role. Silverton returned to the deputy role in October 2013 to cover for Sian Williams' leave however Williams later left the BBC.

Sliverton returned to the BBC News in July 2015 but was seconded to BBC Radio 4. She returned from her secondment in April 2016.

Other BBC projects

On 1 April 2008, alongside the historian Dan Snow, she presented live coverage of the celebrations held at RAF Fairford for the 90th Birthday of the Royal Air Force.[13] In 2008, Silverton joined the presenting team for Big Cat Diary on BBC One.[14] She co-presented coverage of New Year Live aboard HMS Belfast in London on 31 December 2008 on BBC One with Nick Knowles.[15]

In April 2009, she appeared as a mentor in the BBC Two series The Speaker, offering her advice on good storytelling and public speaking.[16]

In May 2009, she presented a documentary called 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep, which looked at different ways to deal with insomnia.[17]

From 2010, she presented the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live, running from 09:30 to 11:00.[18]

In June 2012, Silverton interviewed Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who called for a halt to the killing of rhinos for their horns in Africa.[19]

Other opportunities

In February 2008, Silverton revealed in an interview in The Independent newspaper that she had been offered a main presenter role for the relaunch of 5 News in 2007 which she declined.[20]

Philip Hayton incident

In September 2005, Silverton drew media attention when her BBC News 24 co-newsreader Philip Hayton, who had worked for the BBC for 37 years, resigned his position six months into a year's contract, citing issues of "incompatibility" with Silverton.[21] The Daily Telegraph, without substantiation and quoting an unnamed 'insider', reported that Hayton turned to Silverton during a break and said "I don't like you".[22]

The Daily Mirror quoted another BBC 'insider' as saying that Silverton is "...pushy beyond belief. Behind her big superficial smile she can be a really aggressive, manipulative monster who always gets what she wants."[3] Hayton merely cited "incompatibility" with Silverton as his reason and when his managers refused to move Silverton to another time slot, he left. Silverton was in the peculiar position of having to go through the morning's paper review live on air the morning the story broke, avoiding any discussion of the story and chiding her new co-anchor when he looked to refer to it.[22] Hayton said that he left the BBC "without bitterness or rancour".[22]

However, several figures spoke up for Silverton. Jon Sopel, a fellow BBC News 24 presenter, who was Silverton's co-anchor at News 24 for several months, commented on the incident saying: "She's warm and friendly. With Kate, what you see is what you get - she's bright, lively, talented and vivacious. I like and trust her. Yes, she's ambitious... but aren't we all?"[3]

Rod Liddle, who was allegedly hit by Silverton in 2003,[8] nevertheless defended his former co-presenter. Liddle said: "Kate is intelligent, attractive and has strong opinions. She is far cleverer than Hayton. There are plenty of very stupid women at the BBC but she isn't one of them. Philip probably needs to work on an island where there are no women. She was absolutely lovely, good fun, professional, intelligent and devoid of the usual afflictions of TV presenters - narcissism and greed."[23]

Personal life

Silverton married Mike Heron, a former Royal Marine, at Fleet Street's St Bride's Church on Saturday 18 December 2010.[24]

On 5 November 2011, Silverton gave birth to a baby girl at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London.[25] Her baby daughter was eventually conceived naturally, after four unsuccessful cycles of IVF. After losing an ovary during an operation to remove a cyst at the age of 29, Silverton had been told that she was unlikely to get pregnant naturally.[26] She later described her pregnancy as a "miracle".[27]

On 25 January 2014, at the age of 43, Silverton announced that she was pregnant with her second child. She used her Twitter account to break the news, stating: "Mike and I are very happy to share that Clemency is set to become a big sister this summer."[26] Their second child, a son, was born on 26 June 2014.[28]

Silverton is 5 ft 10in tall. She has spoken of suffering from embarrassment when she was younger because of her big size nine feet.[29]

Cosmetic surgery lawsuit

In January 2008, Silverton sued a clinic after an allegedly botched cosmetic surgery procedure for treatment of acne scars. Silverton said that the procedure caused a severe skin reaction and she had to take two weeks off work after the treatment. The lawsuit filed for unspecified monetary damages.[30]

References

  1. "Newsroom spat forces BBC anchor to quit". The Daily Telegraph. London. 26 September 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  2. Walden, Celia (8 May 2009). "Kate Silverton: now it's her turn to make the news". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Webster, Nick (3 October 2005). "Attractive, ambitious and very scary". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  4. "The Centenary of Guiding". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  5. "Kate Silverton joins the Big Cat team". BBC. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  6. Paton, Maureen (17 February 2009). "I Love the Idea of Being a Mum". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  7. Jury, Louise (2 June 2006). "Viewers put off their breakfast by BBC presenter's psychedelic blouse - Media - News". The Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  8. 1 2 Macgregor, Fiona (27 September 2005). "Here is the news ... I cannot work with that woman, so I quit". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  9. "And finally: I can't stand my co-host". Daily Mail. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  10. "Kate Silverton to present news bulletin - Silverton's official website". Katesilverton.com. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  11. Stewart, Stephen (15 August 2010). "BBC presenter Kate Silverton's 'bloody' big gaffe - heard only in Scotland". Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  12. Kate Silverton - BBC Press Office profile
  13. "DOCUMENTARY: Royal Air Force: Celebrating 90 Years". Daily Express. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  14. "BBC: Big Cat Live 2008". BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  15. "BBC One: New Year Live". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  16. "BBC: The Speaker". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  17. "BBC One - 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep". BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  18. "Radio 5 Live's new-look weekend line-up revealed". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  19. "Prince William hits out at rhino poachers". BBC News. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  20. Silverton Interview The Independent
  21. "BBC newsreader quits over 'clash'". BBC News. 26 September 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 Alleyne, Richard (28 September 2005). "Chemistry as Silverton clicks with new partner". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  23. Adam Sherwin "Personality clash drives newsman from BBC", The Times, 27 September 2005.
  24. Bull, Sarah (18 December 2010). "Nothing can stop us now! Beaming Kate Silverton braves the snow as she marries Mike Heron in a fairytale wedding". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  25. "'She has big lips and big feet like her mummy': Kate Silverton gives birth to a baby daughter". Daily Mail. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  26. 1 2 Sawer, Patrick (25 January 2014). "Kate Silverton announces second pregnancy with 'thumbs up' scan". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  27. Thomas, Liz (23 January 2012). "Kate Silverton and the baby she calls 'my miracle'". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  28. Silverton, Kate (28 June 2014). "Twitter". London. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  29. Silverton, Kate (20 December 2011). "The misery of being Mrs Big Foot: Newsreader Kate Silverton (size nine) says it can make life agony". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  30. Raby, Mark (28 January 2008). "BBC anchor sues over facial surgery for HDTV makeover". Tgdaily.com. Retrieved 27 September 2010.

External links

Media offices
Preceded by
Natasha Kaplinsky
Main Presenter of BBC News 8pm summary
2007 - 2008
Succeeded by
Ellie Crisell
Preceded by
Ben Brown
Main Saturday Presenter of BBC Weekend News
2009 - present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Louise Minchin
Deputy Presenter of BBC News at One
2009 - 2012
Succeeded by
Sian Williams
Preceded by
Sian Williams
Deputy Presenter of BBC News at One
2013 - present
Incumbent
Preceded by
New Post
Main Relief Presenter of BBC News at One
2012 - 2013
Succeeded by
Simon McCoy
Preceded by
Mishal Husain
Main Sunday Presenter of BBC Weekend News
2013 - present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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