KONNIE HUQ

'Konnie Huq' (Bengali: কনি হক, pronounced "Huck"; born 17 July, 1975) is an English television presenter who is best known for being a presenter of ''Blue Peter'' since 1997.

Contents

Biography

''Blue Peter''

Other television work

Comic Relief

''The Tube''

References

External links

Biography

Huq's parents moved to England from Bangladesh in the 1960s, and she was born and grew up in Ealing, London, with her two sisters, Rupa and Nutun. She was educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School in London where she was two years above fellow CBBC colleague Angellica Bell, and Robinson College, Cambridge, where she obtained a 2:1 in Economics. She was a member of the 13th Ealing (St. Stephen's) Girl Guide Company.
In 1989, at the age of 14, Huq was a guest on ''Blue Peter'' with the National Youth Music Theatre, where she sang a solo. In 1992, ahead of the upcoming general election, Huq interviewed Labour leader Neil Kinnock for the children's programme ''Newsround''.
In 1997, several months prior to joining ''Blue Peter'', Huq presented Five's early morning children's programme ''Milkshake!''

''Blue Peter''

Huq currently presents the BBC children's television show ''Blue Peter'' and became its first Asian presenter when she joined on 1 December 1997. (At the time, Huq was regarded as being its 25th presenter, but the subsequent acknowledgment of Anita West as a former presenter, in 1998, means Huq is now the programme’s 26th host.) She is currently the fourth longest running ''Blue Peter'' presenter of all time and its second longest-running female host after Valerie Singleton.
One of Huq's most memorable early moments on ''Blue Peter'' was going to Bangladesh, and visiting members of her extended family whom she had not seen in a long time. In the show's 2004 "Summer Expedition" to India, Konnie became an extra in a Bollywood film, and practised dancing alongside its stars. For the programme's 2004 "Welcome Home" appeal, she made an emotional visit to Angola on behalf of ''Blue Peter'', in the hope of reuniting children with the families they had been separated from due to war.
Huq dated ''Blue Peter'' co-presenter Richard Bacon and remained his girlfriend after he was sacked from the show in 1998. However, in August 2006, Bacon announced publicly that the relationship was over.
She has presented with Stuart Miles, Katy Hill, Romana D'Annunzio, Richard Bacon, Simon Thomas, Matt Baker, Liz Barker, Zöe Salmon, Gethin Jones and Andy Akinwolere.
In March 2007 she apologised to viewers after a competition on the show was faked, saying "We'd like to say sorry to you because when this mistake happened, we let you down."^[1] She was later reported as saying that this event contributed to her decision to leave the show. ^[2][3]
On the May 31, 2007, Huq announced that she would be leaving ''Blue Peter'' in early 2008.^[1]. By that time though, she will have been the longest running female host ahead of Valerie Singleton.^[5]
She was accused of political bias by the BBC in August, 2007, by attending a pro-cycling event with politicians. Her agent went ahead with this event despite the BBC telling him not to.

Other television work

Between 2002 and 2004, Huq co-presented the CBBC Channel's ''UK Top 40''. More recently, she made her debut as a news presenter on the BBC Asian Network, in a series of documentaries on a new radio current affairs programme called the ''Asian Network Report''.
In early 2004 Huq was briefly a presenter for ''Top of the Pops''. She appeared on the CBBC series ''M.I.High'' as herself in the episode "The Big Freeze" broadcast on 22 January 2007. She presented GMTV's coverage on New York Fashion Week on the week of 10 September 2007.

Comic Relief

In 2005, she took part in BBC One's reality TV show ''Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'', in aid of Comic Relief, and was the third contestant to be voted off, after her rendition of Kim Wilde's Kids in America. She also travelled to Uganda and met orphan children, on behalf of Comic Relief, and is currently a celebrity ambassador for the British Red Cross.

''The Tube''

On 15 September 2006 Huq became one of the presenters of ''The Tube'' on Channel 4 Radio^[6] working with production company UKoneFM. The first show was broadcast on 3 November^[7].

References

1. ''Blue Peter'' editor leaves job
2. I Quit Over BP Kon
3. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a62191/blue-peter-presenter-left-due-to-scam.html
4. ''Blue Peter'' editor leaves job
5. Blue Peter's Konnie Huq to leave
6. Presenters
7. ''Tube'' returns on Channel 4 Radio

External links

★ Konnie Huq’s ''Blue Peter'' video blog

★

★ Asians in Media article on new Asian Network Report