Emma Freud
Encyclopedia
Emma Vallencey Freud OBE
(born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster
and cultural commentator.
and June Flewett
. She is the great-granddaughter
of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud
. Her younger brother is Matthew Freud
, the husband of Rupert Murdoch
's daughter Elisabeth Murdoch
. Painter Lucian Freud
was her uncle.
Freud was educated in London at the all-female Queen's College school
and is an alumna of Royal Holloway College.
's travel quiz for children, Worldwise. Later that year, she briefly earned a certain media notoriety for presenting a chat show, Pillow Talk, in which she interviewed guests whilst in bed with them, as part of LWT's late-night strand Night Network
. In one episode, she interviewed Jeffery Archer whilst he was seemingly completely naked although both later confessed that he did in fact have Y-Fronts on.
In 1986, Freud also appeared as Princess Diana in a Thames Television
special, spoofing the Royal Variety Performance
, alongside impressionist
Mike Yarwood
, who appeared as Prince Charles, among other roles.
In 1990 and 1991, Freud presented two series of Plunder, an afternoon chat show on BBC2
in which she interviewed guests about their favourite television clips. Emma has also presented Channel 4
programmes, such as The Pulse
on the subject of health, and The Media Show. She fronted Theatreland for LWT, on the topic of entertainment.
's Saturday miscellany Loose Ends
, hosted originally by the late Ned Sherrin
, now by Clive Anderson
. In 1988, she was one of the launch presenters of GLR
, where she presented the weekday 10am programme. One of her producers during this period was Chris Evans. She also appeared on Just A Minute
on 14 April 1990, playing against her father, who was a show regular.
In 1993, Freud first appeared on Radio 1
, deputising for Nicky Campbell
on his late night show Into The Night. Later that year, she was invited by the network's new controller Matthew Bannister
to reinvent the lunchtime programme previously presented by Jakki Brambles
. From January 1994, Emma appeared on the station every weekday between 12 noon and 2pm, presenting a mix of music, interviews and interactive news features. Her programme was praised by some but it proved unpopular with many who preferred the old mainstream pop fare. In Simon Garfield's 1998 book on Radio 1, The Nation's Favourite, Bannister claims that Freud was "treated very badly by people at the station, especially other women".
, including Four Weddings and a Funeral
, Notting Hill
and The Vicar of Dibley
.
She is regularly involved with Curtis's other projects, including Comic Relief, the successful British charity and biannual telethon that he helped establish. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
for services to Comic Relief.
The couple have three children.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and cultural commentator.
Early life
Emma Freud was born on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement FreudClement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...
and June Flewett
June Flewett
June Beatrice Flewett is a British actress and theatre director who was married to Clement Freud. As a war-time teenager, she was evacuated to C.S...
. She is the great-granddaughter
Freud family
The family of Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psychoanalysis, lived in Austria and Germany until the 1930s before emigrating to England, Canada and the United States...
of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. Her younger brother is Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, the husband of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's daughter Elisabeth Murdoch
Elisabeth Murdoch (businesswoman)
Elisabeth Murdoch is an executive in the British television industry and a daughter of international media mogul Rupert Murdoch...
. Painter Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
was her uncle.
Freud was educated in London at the all-female Queen's College school
Queen's College, London
Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18. It is located in central London at numbers 43-49, Harley Street. Founded in 1848 by F. D. Maurice, Professor of English Literature and History at King's College London along with a committee of patrons, the College was the first...
and is an alumna of Royal Holloway College.
Television
On television, she initially worked on cable television programmes for children, before co-presenting LWT's The Six O'Clock Show from 1986. In 1987, she co-hosted TVSTelevision South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...
's travel quiz for children, Worldwise. Later that year, she briefly earned a certain media notoriety for presenting a chat show, Pillow Talk, in which she interviewed guests whilst in bed with them, as part of LWT's late-night strand Night Network
Night Network
Night Network, Night Time and Night Shift were names given to the overnight schedule of the ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24 hour broadcasting in 1986, with all of the companies broadcasting through the night by 1988...
. In one episode, she interviewed Jeffery Archer whilst he was seemingly completely naked although both later confessed that he did in fact have Y-Fronts on.
In 1986, Freud also appeared as Princess Diana in a Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
special, spoofing the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
, alongside impressionist
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
Mike Yarwood
Mike Yarwood
Mike Yarwood, OBE is an English impressionist and comedian. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He left Bredbury Secondary Modern School in 1956 and worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse...
, who appeared as Prince Charles, among other roles.
In 1990 and 1991, Freud presented two series of Plunder, an afternoon chat show on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in which she interviewed guests about their favourite television clips. Emma has also presented Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programmes, such as The Pulse
The Pulse
- Radio :* The Pulse , a hot AC channel on Sirius XM Radio* The Pulse , The original Sirius incarnation on channel 9 until November 12, 2008* The Pulse of West Yorkshire, a UK radio station originally known as Pennine Radio...
on the subject of health, and The Media Show. She fronted Theatreland for LWT, on the topic of entertainment.
Radio
On the radio, she has been a regular contributor to Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Saturday miscellany Loose Ends
Loose Ends (radio)
Loose Ends is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by BBC Radio 4. It was hosted by Ned Sherrin until he became ill in late 2006 with a reported throat infection, and later throat cancer...
, hosted originally by the late Ned Sherrin
Ned Sherrin
Edward George "Ned" Sherrin CBE was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC...
, now by Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson is a British former barrister, best known for being a comedy writer as well as a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
. In 1988, she was one of the launch presenters of GLR
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
, where she presented the weekday 10am programme. One of her producers during this period was Chris Evans. She also appeared on Just A Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
on 14 April 1990, playing against her father, who was a show regular.
In 1993, Freud first appeared on Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, deputising for Nicky Campbell
Nicky Campbell
Nicholas Andrew Argyll "Nicky" Campbell is a Scottish radio and television presenter and journalist. He is known for his time presenting on programmes such as the consumer affairs programme Watchdog...
on his late night show Into The Night. Later that year, she was invited by the network's new controller Matthew Bannister
Matthew Bannister
Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster. After attending King Edward VII School , he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio Nottingham as a trainee reporter and subsequently the presenter of its speech-based breakfast show,...
to reinvent the lunchtime programme previously presented by Jakki Brambles
Jakki Brambles
Jackie Brambles , formerly known as Jakki Brambles, is an English journalist, radio DJ and television presenter.-Early life and early career:...
. From January 1994, Emma appeared on the station every weekday between 12 noon and 2pm, presenting a mix of music, interviews and interactive news features. Her programme was praised by some but it proved unpopular with many who preferred the old mainstream pop fare. In Simon Garfield's 1998 book on Radio 1, The Nation's Favourite, Bannister claims that Freud was "treated very badly by people at the station, especially other women".
Collaborations with partner
Emma Freud has edited scripts for a number of films and comedy programmes written by her partner Richard CurtisRichard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, including Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
, Notting Hill
Notting Hill (film)
Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...
and The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
.
She is regularly involved with Curtis's other projects, including Comic Relief, the successful British charity and biannual telethon that he helped establish. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
for services to Comic Relief.
The couple have three children.
See also
- Freud familyFreud familyThe family of Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psychoanalysis, lived in Austria and Germany until the 1930s before emigrating to England, Canada and the United States...