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Christine Bleakley
Born	2 February 1979 (1979-02-02) (age 31)[1] Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Television Presenter
Known for	The One Show

Christine Bleakley (born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish television presenter who co-presents BBC One's The One Show with Adrian Chiles, and a former contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Early life and career

Christine Bleakley was born in Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland to mother Mina and father Frederick, a musician, in 1979.

Bleakley started her television career as a runner and then trained to become a floor manager whilst studying for her A-Levels at Bloomfield Collegiate School in Ballyhackamore, Belfast. She continued to work at BBC NI whilst studying for a politics degree at Queen's University, Belfast. She did not complete her degree course, however, instead moving into television work full time.^[2]

Broadcasting career

Bleakley began her career in media at Belfast Citybeat as a news reader and presenter. From 1995 - 1997,^{[citation needed]} she was one of the station's original presenters alongside Stephen Nolan, Chris Buckler and Stuart Robinson. She then moved into television with BBC Northern Ireland hosting a wide variety of shows. Her biggest solo series was called Sky High which saw her flying around Northern Ireland in a helicopter in 2004. A weekly entertainment show called First Stop followed, while big one-off shows like Would You Pass The 11+ and Children in Need allowed her to develop her presenting skills. She also took part in a cookery show, "Spill the Beans".

Outside Northern Ireland, she co-hosted the BBC Two talent show Let Me Entertain You and since August 2007 she has been the co-host of The One Show on BBC One.^[3]

She is a patron of the CineMagic children's film festival^[4] and is Northern Ireland ambassador for The Prince's Trust.^[3]

Bleakley appeared as a celebrity panellist on the 26 August 2009 edition of Shooting Stars.^[5] She also appeared as a panellist on the comedy show Would I Lie To You? on 7th September 2009.^[6]On the 26th of February 2010 she appeared on Chris Moyles quiz night, coming second.

Strictly Come Dancing

Bleakley took part in the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Matthew Cutler.^[7]

She danced the Foxtrot (27/40), the Quickstep (26/40), the Samba (30/40), the Paso Doble (22/40), the American Smooth (29/40), the Jive (31/40), the Waltz (34/40), the Cha Cha Cha (27/40), the Tango (28/40) and the Salsa (30/40). Bleakley left on 30 November after Rachel Stevens beat her in the dance off.

Sport Relief

On 12 March 2010, Bleakley successfully water-skied across the English Channel in a time of one hour and 40 minutes.^[8]

Personal life

Bleakley is in a relationship with footballer Frank Lampard.^[9]

References

External links

• Profile of Christine Bleakley from BBC The One Show
• Christine's trip to Uganda BBC Comic Relief footage
• Photos of Christine's trip to Uganda BBC Comic Relief
• Photos of Christine on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing
• Christine Bleakley at the Internet Movie Database