Janet Street-Porter
Encyclopedia
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002. Her distinctive London accent and her teeth have been the butt of many comic routines.
. She grew up in Fulham
and Perivale
, West London
. Her family, she says, were poor. She went to Lady Margaret School
in Parsons Green
from 1958 to 1964 and then spent two years at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
, where she met her first husband, photographer Tim Street-Porter.
in 1969, where she became the deputy fashion editor. She became fashion editor of the Evening Standard
in 1971.
When the LBC local radio station began to broadcast in 1973, Street-Porter co-presented a mid-morning show with Fleet Street
columnist, Paul Callan
. The intention was to sharply contrast the urbane Callan and the cockney
Street-Porter. Their respective accents became known to the station's studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat." Friction between the ill-sorted pair involved constant one-upmanship
that made for compelling listening, causing, it was claimed, more than one traffic accident.
In early 1975, Street-Porter was launch editor of Sell Out, an off-shoot of the London listings magazine, Time Out, alongside its publisher and her second husband, Tony Elliott. The magazine was not a success.
and Russell Harty
. She later produced Twentieth Century Box (1980–82), presented by Danny Baker
.
She was editor of the innovative Channel Four Network 7 show from 1987. The same year the then BBC 2 boss, Alan Yentob
, appointed her head of youth and entertainment features. She was responsible for the twice-weekly DEF II
and commissioned Rapido, Red Dwarf
and Rough Guide. Her Network 7 show was in 1988 awarded a BAFTA for its graphics.
In 1992 she provided the story for The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
, the BBC's adaptation of Heinrich August Marschner's opera Der Vampyr
, which featured a new libretto by Charles Hart
.
Street-Porter's approach did not endear her to critics, who objected to her diction and questioned her suitability as an influence on Britain's youth. In her final year at the BBC, she became head of independent commissioning. She left the BBC for Mirror Group Newspapers in 1994 to become joint-managing director with Kelvin MacKenzie
of the ill-fated L!VE TV
channel. She left after four months. In 1996, Street-Porter set up her own production company.
She has appeared on numerous reality TV shows, including Call Me a Cabbie
and So You Think You Can Teach. The latter saw her trying to work as a primary school teacher. She was a contestant in the ITV
series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She finished fourth.
Street-Porter conducted numerous interviews with business figures and others for Bloomberg TV.
Since 1998, Janet has appeared annually on BBC's Question Time
. Her most recent appearance was in September 2011.
In 2000, Street-Porter was nominated for the "Mae West Award for the Most Outspoken Woman in the Industry" at Carlton Television
's Women in Film and Television Awards.
In 2006, she appeared regularly on chef Gordon Ramsay
's The F-Word
, where she was the "field correspondent." In this capacity, it was her job to locate outlandish or unusual food such as crocodile and then tempt diners to have a taste. In the third series of the show she caused controversy when she attempted to serve up horse meat
at Cheltenham Racecourse
. She was thwarted by the police, who described the stunt as highly provocative, and she had to dish the meat out elsewhere. Ramsay himself became the target of animal rights protesters, who dumped a ton of horse manure outside his restaurant at Claridge's
.
In 2007, Street-Porter starred in an ITV2
reality show called Deadline
. She served as a tough-talking editor who worked with a team of celebrity "reporters" whose job it was to produce a weekly gossip magazine. The celebrities in question had to endure the Street-Porter tongue as she decided each week which of them to fire.
In 2008 Street-Porter was host of Celebrity Big Brother Hijack.
Her distinctive voice has made her a favourite of TV and radio impersonators. Pamela Stephenson
mocked Street-Porter on Not the Nine O'Clock News
(1979–82) and Kenny Everett
also imitated her.
In 2011, Janet joined a long list of panellists on ITVs flagship show Loose Women
.
She has written for numerous newspapers and magazines.
, Street-Porter dedicated her editor-at-large column in the Independent on Sunday to painting a picture of Tomlinson as a "troubled man with quite a few problems":
Street-Porter has also attracted criticism over an article on depression in the Daily Mail
in May 2010, in which she said, "Depression? It's just the new trendy illness!" People have criticised the article for being condescending to those who suffer from depression and belittling the issue.
in Wales for the series Coast to Coast
in 1998. She also walked from Edinburgh to London in a straight line in 1998, for a television series and her book, As the Crow Flies.
In 1994, for the documentary series The Longest Walk, she accompanied long-distance walker Ffyona Campbell
on the last section of her round-the-world walk.
In 1987, Street-Porter commissioned a house from CZWG Architects. The building, its exterior a postmodernist mini-echo, conscious or not, of Broadcasting House
, stands out among Clerkenwell
's mainly Georgian houses.
In 1966, Street-Porter appeared as an extra in the nightclub scene in Blowup
. In 2003, she wrote and presented a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival
titled All the Rage. She published the autobiographical Baggage in 2004, about her childhood in working class London. Its sequel is titled Fallout. Life's Too F***ing Short is a volume which presents, as she puts it, her answer to "getting what you want out of life by the most direct route."
and then Tony Elliott, whom she married in 1977. She later married Canadian film-maker Frank Cvitanovich
, and then David Sorkin. She is now in a relationship with restaurateur Peter Spanton. Street-Porter has no children.
A friend of the model Elizabeth Hurley
, Street-Porter danced with Hurley and six others at Indian-style celebrations the night before Hurley's marriage to Arun Nayar in 2007.
She lives between Nidderdale
, North Yorkshire, Kent
and London.
Early life
Janet Street-Porter was born Janet Bull in Bow, East London, a daughter of an electrician and a school dinner ladyLunch Lady
Lunch lady is an American slang term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria; the equivalent British English term is "dinner lady". In Britain, a dinner lady also patrols the school playgrounds during the lunch breaks to maintain order amongst the children...
. She grew up in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
and Perivale
Perivale
Perivale is a small suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, west of Charing Cross, central London. Landmarks in the suburb include the A40, a large road that connects Central London with the M40 motorway, and the large Art Deco Hoover Building, as well as St Mary's Church , the River Brent and...
, West London
West (London sub region)
The West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...
. Her family, she says, were poor. She went to Lady Margaret School
Lady Margaret School
Lady Margaret School is a smaller than average all-girls' Voluntary Aided Church of England secondary school in Parsons Green, Fulham, London. It was awarded specialist school status as a Mathematics & Computing College in September 2003.-History:...
in Parsons Green
Parsons Green
Parsons Green is an area in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.The mainly residential area is named after the village green now called Parsons Green Park where the vicar of Fulham used to live...
from 1958 to 1964 and then spent two years at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
Architectural Association School of Architecture
The Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom...
, where she met her first husband, photographer Tim Street-Porter.
Early career
She dropped out of college and found media work. After a brief stint at a girls' magazine called Petticoat, she joined the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
in 1969, where she became the deputy fashion editor. She became fashion editor of the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
in 1971.
When the LBC local radio station began to broadcast in 1973, Street-Porter co-presented a mid-morning show with Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
columnist, Paul Callan
Paul Callan
This article is about the British journalist. For the television character, see Miracles.Paul Callan is a British journalist and editor who has worked on many national newspapers.-Early career:...
. The intention was to sharply contrast the urbane Callan and the cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
Street-Porter. Their respective accents became known to the station's studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat." Friction between the ill-sorted pair involved constant one-upmanship
One-upmanship
One-upmanship is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor.The term originated as the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship and Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books, and film ...
that made for compelling listening, causing, it was claimed, more than one traffic accident.
In early 1975, Street-Porter was launch editor of Sell Out, an off-shoot of the London listings magazine, Time Out, alongside its publisher and her second husband, Tony Elliott. The magazine was not a success.
Television
Street-Porter went into television at LWT in 1975, first as a reporter on a series of mainly youth-oriented programmes, including The London Weekend Show (1975–79). She went on to present the late-night chat show Saturday Night People (1978–80) with Clive JamesClive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
and Russell Harty
Russell Harty
Russell Harty was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows.-Early life:Born Frederick Russell Harty in Blackburn, Lancashire, he was the son of a fruit and vegetable stallholder on the local market...
. She later produced Twentieth Century Box (1980–82), presented by Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
.
She was editor of the innovative Channel Four Network 7 show from 1987. The same year the then BBC 2 boss, Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob is a British television executive and presenter who has worked throughout his career at the BBC.-Early life:...
, appointed her head of youth and entertainment features. She was responsible for the twice-weekly DEF II
DEF II
DEF II was a programming strand on BBC Two, which aired at 6pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter, and followed on from her influential youth TV show Network 7, on Channel 4...
and commissioned Rapido, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
and Rough Guide. Her Network 7 show was in 1988 awarded a BAFTA for its graphics.
In 1992 she provided the story for The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
The Vampyr: A Soap Opera is a miniseries based on Heinrich Marschner's opera Der Vampyr. It first aired on BBC 2 on December 2, 1992. The new English libretto was written by Charles Hart, based on a story by Janet Street-Porter and Nigel Finch, which was based on the original libretto by Wilhelm...
, the BBC's adaptation of Heinrich August Marschner's opera Der Vampyr
Der Vampyr
Der Vampyr is a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner. The German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück is based on the play Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter, which itself was based on the short novel The Vampyre by John Polidori...
, which featured a new libretto by Charles Hart
Charles Hart (lyricist)
Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for re-writing the lyrics to, and contributing to the book of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom of the Opera. He also co-wrote the lyrics to Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love...
.
Street-Porter's approach did not endear her to critics, who objected to her diction and questioned her suitability as an influence on Britain's youth. In her final year at the BBC, she became head of independent commissioning. She left the BBC for Mirror Group Newspapers in 1994 to become joint-managing director with Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
of the ill-fated L!VE TV
L!VE TV
L!VE TV was a British television station that was operated by MGN on cable television from 15 August 1995 - 31 October 1999. It was later revived for Sky Digital from 2003...
channel. She left after four months. In 1996, Street-Porter set up her own production company.
She has appeared on numerous reality TV shows, including Call Me a Cabbie
Call Me a Cabbie
Call Me a Cabbie is a reality show where three celebrities have to learn all the skills needed to be a black cab driver in two months.-Series one:...
and So You Think You Can Teach. The latter saw her trying to work as a primary school teacher. She was a contestant in the 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...
series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She finished fourth.
Street-Porter conducted numerous interviews with business figures and others for Bloomberg TV.
Since 1998, Janet has appeared annually on BBC's Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
. Her most recent appearance was in September 2011.
In 2000, Street-Porter was nominated for the "Mae West Award for the Most Outspoken Woman in the Industry" at Carlton Television
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
's Women in Film and Television Awards.
In 2006, she appeared regularly on chef Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
's The F-Word
The F-Word
The F Word is a British food magazine and cooking show featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme is made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4...
, where she was the "field correspondent." In this capacity, it was her job to locate outlandish or unusual food such as crocodile and then tempt diners to have a taste. In the third series of the show she caused controversy when she attempted to serve up horse meat
Horse meat
Horse meat is the culinary name for meat cut from a horse. It is a major meat in only a few countries, notably in Central Asia, but it forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many others, from Europe to South America to Asia. The top eight countries consume about 4.7 million horses...
at Cheltenham Racecourse
Cheltenham Racecourse
Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury on the outskirts of the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...
. She was thwarted by the police, who described the stunt as highly provocative, and she had to dish the meat out elsewhere. Ramsay himself became the target of animal rights protesters, who dumped a ton of horse manure outside his restaurant at Claridge's
Claridge's
Claridge's is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. It is located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street.-History:Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel. Its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace"...
.
In 2007, Street-Porter starred in an ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
reality show called Deadline
Deadline (reality TV series)
Deadline was a reality television series, aired on ITV2 during April and May 2007. It featured ten celebrities compiling a magazine with Janet Street-Porter as the editor-in-chief.-Content:...
. She served as a tough-talking editor who worked with a team of celebrity "reporters" whose job it was to produce a weekly gossip magazine. The celebrities in question had to endure the Street-Porter tongue as she decided each week which of them to fire.
In 2008 Street-Porter was host of Celebrity Big Brother Hijack.
Her distinctive voice has made her a favourite of TV and radio impersonators. Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...
mocked Street-Porter on Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
(1979–82) and Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
also imitated her.
In 2011, Janet joined a long list of panellists on ITVs flagship show 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...
.
Newspaper work
Street-Porter became editor of the Independent on Sunday in 1999. Despite derision from her critics, she took the paper's circulation up to 270,460, an increase of 11.6 per cent. In 2002 she became editor-at-large, writing a regular column.She has written for numerous newspapers and magazines.
Controversy
Following the death of Ian TomlinsonDeath of Ian Tomlinson
Ian Tomlinson was an English newspaper vendor who collapsed and died in the City of London after coming into contact with the police while on his way home from work during the 2009 G-20 summit protests. A first postmortem examination indicated he had suffered a heart attack and had died of natural...
, Street-Porter dedicated her editor-at-large column in the Independent on Sunday to painting a picture of Tomlinson as a "troubled man with quite a few problems":
"Knowing that he was an alcoholic is critical to understanding his sense of disorientation and his attitude towards the police, which might on first viewing of the video footage, seem a bit stroppy."
Street-Porter has also attracted criticism over an article on depression in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
in May 2010, in which she said, "Depression? It's just the new trendy illness!" People have criticised the article for being condescending to those who suffer from depression and belittling the issue.
Other activities
Street-Porter was president of the Ramblers' Association for two years from 1994. She walked across Britain from Dungeness in Kent to ConwayConwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
in Wales for the series Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast is a colloquialism for reaching or traveling from one coast to another, especially across a continent or nation.Coast to Coast or Coast 2 Coast may also refer to:-Films and television:...
in 1998. She also walked from Edinburgh to London in a straight line in 1998, for a television series and her book, As the Crow Flies.
Ffyona Campbell
Ffyona Campbell is a British long-distance walker who was the first woman to walk around the world. She covered over 11 years and raised £180,000 for charity. She wrote about her experience in a series of three books.-Early life:...
on the last section of her round-the-world walk.
In 1987, Street-Porter commissioned a house from CZWG Architects. The building, its exterior a postmodernist mini-echo, conscious or not, of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
, stands out among Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
's mainly Georgian houses.
In 1966, Street-Porter appeared as an extra in the nightclub scene in Blowup
Blowup
Blowup is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, his first English-language film.It tells of a British photographer's accidental involvement with a murder, inspired by Julio Cortázar's short story, "Las babas del diablo" or "The Devil's Drool" , translated also as Blow-Up, and by the life...
. In 2003, she wrote and presented a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
titled All the Rage. She published the autobiographical Baggage in 2004, about her childhood in working class London. Its sequel is titled Fallout. Life's Too F***ing Short is a volume which presents, as she puts it, her answer to "getting what you want out of life by the most direct route."
Personal life
Street-Porter has been married four times. Her first marriage, to photographer Tim Street-Porter, ended in 1974 after her relationships with Doug HaywardDoug Hayward
Doug Hayward is an English former professional footballer. A full back, Hayward began his career with Huddersfield Town in 1939 before joining Bristol Rovers in 1946 but he only played once for Rovers. In 1946 he joined Newport County and went on to make 260 appearances for the club, scoring 11...
and then Tony Elliott, whom she married in 1977. She later married Canadian film-maker Frank Cvitanovich
Frank Cvitanovich
Frank Cvitanovich was a Canadian documentary film maker, who made much of his best work for British television.-Early years:Cvitanovich was born in Vancouver, the son of a Yugoslavian immigrant...
, and then David Sorkin. She is now in a relationship with restaurateur Peter Spanton. Street-Porter has no children.
A friend of the model Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
, Street-Porter danced with Hurley and six others at Indian-style celebrations the night before Hurley's marriage to Arun Nayar in 2007.
She lives between Nidderdale
Nidderdale
Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.The only town in the dale is...
, North Yorkshire, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and London.