Andrea McLean
Encyclopedia
Andrea McLean is a Scottish
television presenter who shares the role of anchor on ITV's Loose Women
and is a former GMTV
weather girl.
, McLean and her sister were raised in Trinidad and Tobago
in the Caribbean. The family then moved back to Scotland
when she was 15, but later settled in Leicester
. She describes her unique accent as a cross between Scottish and Caribbean which at times can be heard quite strongly, despite living in England
since the early nineties.
McLean studied for her BA Hons in Modern Studies at Coventry University
, and later gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Periodical Journalism. She then took a gap year
in Cairns
, Australia
.
, and worked as a weather reporter for Talk Radio. In 1997 she worked on Channel 5's daily talk show Espresso as one of the programme's panelists.
In June 1997, McLean joined GMTV
as a weather presenter. Her bubbly personality and journalistic training brought her to the attention of various producers, resulting in her presenting shows such as Our House
(series 1) for UKTV Style
, and as a guest panellist on Loose Women
for ITV
.
In January 2006, McLean took part in ITV's reality television
ice-skating competition Dancing on Ice
, with professional skating partner Doug Webster. She was eliminated in Week 3. McLean and fellow ex-contestant Andi Peters
then presented the weekday fan show Dancing on Ice Extra for the rest of the show's run.
McLean filled in for Loose Women's guest host Jackie Brambles, when Brambles went on maternity leave. In July 2008, it was announced that McLean would quit working on GMTV to focus on her role on Loose Women, to share the permanent host job with Brambles. Brambles left the show on 7 August 2009, Kate Thornton
took her place as the new anchor when the show returned for its 10th anniversary on September 1, 2009, and shares the job with McLean.
In November 2008, it was announced that she would be replaced as GMTV weather presenter by the BBC
's Kirsty McCabe
. McLean presented her final broadcast on 31 December 2008, with a special tribute of her career at GMTV.
She took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
which aired on 2 January 2010 and later that year nn 13 March she appeared as the Soccerette on Sky Sports
Soccer AM
.
In August 2010 she appears as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three
.
in 2000, and have a son Finlay John, born October 2001, Kingston
, Greater London
. In 2004 it came to light that McLean had an affair with fellow Our House presenter Steve Toms, but had returned to her husband to try to resolve issues.
After divorcing Green, she and Toms moved in together, and now live in Ashtead
, Surrey
and have a daughter Amy, born November 2006. They married in August 2009, during Loose Women's summer break.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
television presenter who shares the role of anchor on ITV's Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
and is a former GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
weather girl.
Biography
Although born in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, McLean and her sister were raised in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
in the Caribbean. The family then moved back to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
when she was 15, but later settled in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. She describes her unique accent as a cross between Scottish and Caribbean which at times can be heard quite strongly, despite living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
since the early nineties.
McLean studied for her BA Hons in Modern Studies at Coventry University
Coventry University
Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...
, and later gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Periodical Journalism. She then took a gap year
Gap year
An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...
in Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Career
McLean started her career as a freelance travel writer in 1993. She joined Central Press Features in May 1994, promoted to Production Editor in 1995. In June 1996, McLean joined The Weather ChannelThe Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
, and worked as a weather reporter for Talk Radio. In 1997 she worked on Channel 5's daily talk show Espresso as one of the programme's panelists.
In June 1997, McLean joined GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
as a weather presenter. Her bubbly personality and journalistic training brought her to the attention of various producers, resulting in her presenting shows such as Our House
Our House (UKTV Style)
Our House is a British Entertainment television programme. Broadcast on UKTV Style, it is a show which more thoroughly follows the DIY show fad of the late 1990s....
(series 1) for UKTV Style
UKTV Style
Home is an interior home and garden-oriented lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 30 April 2009...
, and as a guest panellist on Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
In January 2006, McLean took part in ITV's reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
ice-skating competition Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
, with professional skating partner Doug Webster. She was eliminated in Week 3. McLean and fellow ex-contestant Andi Peters
Andi Peters
Andi Eleazu Peters is an English television presenter and television producer.-Education:Peters was educated at Emanuel School, a co-educational independent school in Battersea, in south-west London.-Life and career:...
then presented the weekday fan show Dancing on Ice Extra for the rest of the show's run.
McLean filled in for Loose Women's guest host Jackie Brambles, when Brambles went on maternity leave. In July 2008, it was announced that McLean would quit working on GMTV to focus on her role on Loose Women, to share the permanent host job with Brambles. Brambles left the show on 7 August 2009, Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter. Early in her career, she was notable for her articles at the Daily Mirror and for her role as editor of Smash Hits magazine...
took her place as the new anchor when the show returned for its 10th anniversary on September 1, 2009, and shares the job with McLean.
In November 2008, it was announced that she would be replaced as GMTV weather presenter by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Kirsty McCabe
Kirsty McCabe
Kirsty McCabe is a Scottish weather forecaster working for Daybreak.-Early life:While at high school McCabe was an early member of the Palace Youth Theatre which was a joint venture between Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council and Borderline Theatre Company...
. McLean presented her final broadcast on 31 December 2008, with a special tribute of her career at GMTV.
She took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
which aired on 2 January 2010 and later that year nn 13 March she appeared as the Soccerette on Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
.
In August 2010 she appears as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three
3@three
3@Three is a topical TV live debate show on ITV. In the programme three topics are discussed each day at three o'clock by three rotating panellists. The first series of ten episodes aired on Monday-Friday between 2 August and 13 August 2010...
.
Personal life
McLean had a 17 year relationship, starting from their teenage years, with BBC producer Nick Green. The couple married in KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 2000, and have a son Finlay John, born October 2001, Kingston
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. In 2004 it came to light that McLean had an affair with fellow Our House presenter Steve Toms, but had returned to her husband to try to resolve issues.
After divorcing Green, she and Toms moved in together, and now live in Ashtead
Ashtead
Ashtead is a village situated within the Metropolitan Green Belt of Surrey, England, and is just outside of the suburbia of London. It is separated from Leatherhead by the M25, and from Epsom by Ashtead Common.- History :...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and have a daughter Amy, born November 2006. They married in August 2009, during Loose Women's summer break.