Joel Defries is a British-born presenter, who worked on the BBC1 children's programme Blue Peter

Blue Peter

Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

from 2008-10. He previously worked on the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 television station, C4.

Education

Defries was educated at Fortismere School

Fortismere School

Fortismere School is a mixed, community foundation secondary school in Muswell Hill, London, United Kingdom.-Admissions:It falls under the London Borough of Haringey Local Education Authority...

, a state comprehensive school in Muswell Hill

Muswell Hill

Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...

, in North London

North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...

. He also attended Camden School for Girls

Camden School for Girls

The Camden School for Girls is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in North London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist-school status as a Music College...

 sixth form.

Career

Defries' New Zealand media career began at the alternative radio station Channel Z

Channel Z

Channel Z was an alternative music radio station which had a high youth demographic broadcasting in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand. In early 2005, the station was relaunched as Kiwi FM and only plays New Zealand music....

, before going on to host the music jukebox show Select Live

Select Live

Drew and Shannon Live is a music video request show, hosted by Drew Neemia and Shannon Ryan and played on C4 . Weekday screenings run from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, while a modified version of the show, Select plays on weekends without a presenter...

. Defries presented a new New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

- based live music show called Live at Yours. He became a household name among young New Zealanders and saw a rapid rise in popularity. He also made a successful move into radio where he presented a Sunday morning show for the Edge called Joel's Take Out. He was a former presenter of Vodafone Select Live. Defries decided to return to the UK to take up other opportunities in radio and TV.

On 5 September 2008, it was announced that he would replace Gethin Jones

Gethin Jones

Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....

 as a presenter on the children's TV show Blue Peter

Blue Peter

Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

, and joined the other members of the team, Andy Akinwolere

Andy Akinwolere

Andy Akinwolere is a British television presenter.-Early life:Akinwolere was born in Nigeria in 1982, and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was eight years old. They settled in Birmingham, where he was educated.-Education:Akinwolere attended St...

 and Helen Skelton

Helen Skelton

Helen Skelton is an English television presenter. She has worked on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter since 2008...

, on 23 September 2008.

He was recently in Turkey with the Blue Peter team filming the 2009 Summer Expedition. The 2009/10 series of Blue Peter returned on 22 September 2009. Joel announced on 29 November 2010 that he would be leaving the show on 14 December 2010.

In 2010 Joel learnt to fly a hang glider for Blue Peter with Airways Airsports

Airways Airsports

Airways Airsports is based at Darley Moor Airfield, Derbyshire, is the only airpark in the United Kingdom offering hang gliding, paragliding, paramotoring and microlight training and flying. It is a British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and British Microlight Aircraft Association...

 instructor Judy Leden

Judy Leden

Judy Leden, MBE, has held three world championships, twice in hang gliding, once in paragliding. Judy Leden was born near London in 1959. At the age of 19 whilst at studying in Wales she took up hang gliding as a hobby. She later gave up her studies to concentrate on her flying, eventually taking...

 MBE with the aim of flying with Lucy a Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

 

During 2009 Defries presented the 13 episodes of the CBBC

CBBC

CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...

 programme Keep Your Enemies Close, a children's game show that tests friends by wrenching them apart and forcing them to work with their rivals instead

Personal life

He went to sixth form school in London and is six feet tall exactly. He is Jewish, but says he is not religious and has only actually visited a synagogue twice. This was explored by the BBC during a Blue Peter episode titled "Joel's Journey" broadcast on 27 January 2009. It featured him exploring his Jewish heritage, and then looking at modern day Jewish life in the UK by spending time with a religious family. The climax of the programme was his visit Auschwitz - where he met Freda Winemann - a Holocaust Survivor who was returning to Auschwitz for the first time.

Defries is a supporter of Fulham F.C.

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

.