Steve Jones made his This Morning debut today. But do you remember his days on Channel 4 show T4?
Aimed at those in their teens and early twenties, T4 aired on Channel 4 and E4 at the weekends, and also on weekdays during the school holidays. Programming included Big Brother, 90210, The Big Bang Theory and Friends, and many of its presenters went on to some huge things.
But, where are all the T4 presenters now? From Dermot O’Leary to Ben Shephard to This Morning‘s newest presenter Steve Jones, let’s take a look.
Dermot O’Leary
Daytime fave Dermot, who presented T4 from 1998 to 2001, almost needs no introduction. One of the most well-known broadcasters in the UK, he’s currently best known for hosting ITV’s This Morning on Fridays, bank holidays and school holidays alongside Alison Hammond.
He also presented The X Factor from 2007 to 2018, apart from the 2015 season, and presented the National Television Awards from 2010 to 2019. He’s also done a lot of radio work over the years, and even released a children’s book in 2017. He married film producer Dee Koppang in 2012. They welcomed son Kasper in 2020.
Vernon Kay
Vernon presented T4 from 2000 to 2005, but in recent years has become better known for his work on ITV. In particular, he hosted All Star Family Fortunes between 2006 and 2015. He’s also been the mid-morning host on BBC Radio 2 since May 2023, and presents the live coverage for Formula E in English-speaking countries and territories. In November 2020, he entered I’m A Celebrity, and ended up finishing in third place on the show.
In 2003, he married fellow presenter Tess Daly, and they have two daughters together.
Ben Shephard
Another of the former T4 presenters who found plenty of fame on ITV, you’ll likely recognise him from Good Morning Britain, which he’s co-hosted since 2014. Ben, who was at T4 from 1999 to 2000, also hosted GMTV before it ended in 2010. From 2010 to 2019, he did a lot of work with Sky Sports, too.
Ben is also known for hosting game shows including Tipping Point – since 2012 – and Ninja Warrior UK – since 2015. Ben, who also does a lot of charity work and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for Comic Relief in 2009, married Annie Perks in 2004, and they have two sons together.
Steve Jones
Welsh hunk Steve worked on T4 for seven years, from 2003 to 2010. Since then, he’s presented a range of TV shows, including the first season of The X Factor USA. During his time on the show, he also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and that same year presented A Night With Beyonce on ITV.
Perhaps most notably, he currently fronts the presenting team on Channel 4’s Formula One coverage. And, of course, he’s just joined the This Morning line-up.
Jameela Jamil
Jameela was on T4 from 2009 to 2012, before she became the host of radio show The Official Chart and co-hosted The Official Chart Update with Scott Mills. She moved to the US in 2016, and had a main role in comedy series The Good Place as Tahani Al-Jamil from 2016 to 2020. She also hosts game show The Misery Index, and is a judge on HBO Max’s reality show Legendary.
In recent years, she’s been open about both mental and physical health, and often shares her political opinions. Since 2015, she’s been in a relationship with electronic musician James Blake.
Nick Grimshaw
Radio and TV star Nick started out co-presenting Sound on BBC Two and Freshly Squeezed on Channel 4, before joining T4 in 2010. He was there for two years, leaving in 2012 around the time he took over from Chris Moyles as host of Radio 1 Breakfast. He held this role until 2018.
Since 2014, he’s been noted for being one of the guest presenters on The One Show. And, he’s also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox. Nick, who lives in North London with his fiancé, dancer and model Meshach Henry, and their two dogs, was also a judge on The X Factor in 2015.
June Sarpong
TV star June hosted T4 from 2000 to 2007, even interviewing the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005. Since then, she’s hosted a range of shows on TV, including E4’s game show Your Face or Mine? and Channel 4’s dating game show Play It Straight.
From 2015 to 2016, June became a regular panellist on Loose Women, and went viral for an emotional speech she made about the death of her brother while on the show. She’s currently a panellist on the Sky News show The Pledge, and in November 2019 she became the BBC’s first Director of Creative Diversity.
Alexa Chung
Presenter and model Alexa began her career modelling for teen magazines. And in 2006, she was offered a role on Channel 4’s Popworld. Two years later, she became one of the main presenters on T4, but left Channel 4 and the UK a year later to move to the US. While at the channel, she also hosted Freshly Squeezed and Vanity Lair.
More recently, she launched her own YouTube channel in 2019, and in 2020 joined Queer Eye’s Tan France as co-host of Netflix fashion competition show Next In Fashion. In 2020, she opened up about her endometriosis diagnosis.
Simon Amstell
Another of the former T4 presenters, Simon is probably best known for hosting Never Mind the Buzzcocks from 2006 to 2009. However, he began his career on Channel 4. He co-hosted Popworld from 2000 to 2006, and his the final three years also presented T4.
Recently, he’s been working as a writer and director. Last year it was announced that he was writing and directing a new movie, Maria, while he published his first book in 2017. He’s also been working as a stand-up comedian, last touring across 2021-22. Simon lives in London, and he’s been in a relationship since 2012.
Miquita Oliver
Miquita – daughter of TV presenter Andi Oliver – co-hosted Popworld with Simon from 2001 to 2006, and presented T4 from 2006 to 2010. She left in 2010 after being suspended for allegedly insulting singer Kesha behind her back. Since then, she’s hosted shows on BBC Radio 1. And, she appeared on the BBC show 24 Hours in the Past.
She appeared with mum Andi on Celebrity Gogglebox in 2021 and 2022. Beginning last year the pair had their own show together, The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita. They began by visiting Antigua – Andi’s mother’s family is of Antiguan descent.
What about the others?
T4 had a whole load of presenters over the years, with some better known than others. Omar Gurnah, who hosted T4 from 1998 to 1999, is currently head of marketing at Beats, the electronics company owned by Apple, while Fran Lee, who presented at the same time, went behind the scenes in TV as a fashion stylist.
Margherita Taylor presented T4 from 1999 to 2001. Since then she’s presented competitions on shows including Good Morning Britain and Lorraine. And, she most notably presented Escape to the Country from 2016 to 2022. Matt Edmondson hosted T4 from 2011 to 2012, and went on to co-present The Xtra Factor in 2016. He married long-term girlfriend Bryony Emmett in 2013, and they have two daughters together.
Rick Edwards hosted T4 from 2007 to 2011, and he then joined the Channel 4 commentary team for the Paralympics in 2012. He married EastEnders actress Emer Kenny in 2016, and they had a son born in January 2023. Currently, he co-hosts BBC Radio 5 Live’s breakfast show.
Read more: This Morning viewers have already delivered their verdict on Steve Jones
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