Jane Omorogbe
Encyclopedia
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...
model and actress, perhaps best known as "Rio" on 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...
s "Gladiators"; she is now a TV presenter and motorcycling journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Early life
Omorogbe was born in Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, but her family moved to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, when she was five. After leaving school, Omorogbe was an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
driver and has a certificate in advanced first aid.
Modelling=
Jane modelled bridal gowns for Geddes-Muir Designs, and was signed by Martin Enterprises - Studio 17 modelling agency in 1994. In 1995 Omorogbe entered the Miss Wessex beauty contest. She won the title of Miss Wessex and was entered into the Miss United Kingdom final, although she didn't win the title. In 1996 she was in the top 6 of the "Babe of '96".
Television career
Omorogbe appeared in The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
as a finalist in Miss United Kingdom, where she was spotted by "Gladiators" referee John Anderson, and was asked to audition. She was not considered fit/strong enough, so she quit her ambulance job and left Hastings to train with a Taekwando expert, in order to pass the rigorous fitness test required by LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
. After five months of training, Omorogbe passed the tests to become Gladiator Rio.
After taking part in six series of "Gladiators" from 1996 until 2000, she turned her love of motorcycles into a career. She presented numerous shows in quick succession to gain experience, including "Car Crazy Rio", "Top Bikes", "Two Wheels", "Revved Up", "Teen Trials", Top Gear GTi, "Pit Stop Bikes", "Pulling Power" and "Frans Angels".
Like Suzi Perry
Suzi Perry
Suzi Perry is an English television presenter, best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years and The Gadget Show.-Early life:...
and Fran Robinson before her, she was the pit-side reporter for Live Speedway 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...
. She is presently the Grid and Pitside Reporter 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...
’s British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
coverage, having previous covered British Superbike Championship for them.
She has also presented "House Race" 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...
with Mike Brewer
Mike Brewer (television presenter)
Mike Brewer is a British former car trader turned presenter of motoring television programmes. He currently presents Wheeler Dealers on Discovery Channel with Edd China....
, and was an auctioneer on Bid tv
Bid tv
Bid is a British television shopping channel based in the UK, that runs daily live reversed auctions. It was the first channel of its kind in the world. The channel first launched as Bid-Up.tv. The channel is owned by Bid Shopping.-Bid-Up.TV :...
.
Writing
Omorogbe is also the main motorcycle reporter for both The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspapers. She also writes motorcycle reviews for the Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
. These reviews are published by a variety of publications, including the motorcycle section of MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
Cars.