Julia Roberts (QVC presenter)
Encyclopedia
Julia Roberts is a British television home shopping host
on the shopping channel QVC
.
dancer, supporting Cannon and Ball
on a summer season in Guernsey
, and then followed their act on to television. She supplemented this work with various supporting cast
roles on TV including Citizen Smith
and Doctor Who
in 1979, Christmas pantomime
s and dancing on cruise liners; before she took a job in a cabaret show in Hong Kong
, dancing and singing.
Roberts returned to the UK with her boyfriend, and appeared in various commercials, including the Woolwich Building Society and Head & Shoulders
shampoo. She was approached in 1980 by a group called The Main Event to sing in their Eurovision Song contest
entry I'm Gonna Do My Best To Please You - which came last. The ensemble included Cheryl Baker
, who won the following year with Bucks Fizz
.
Wishing to undertake more television, she appeared as a hostess on The Price is Right
with Leslie Crowther
. After two series she had her first child Daniel, and then worked on the 'Hit Squad' on Beadle's About
, before having her second child, daughter Sophie.
After the birth of her second child, Roberts and her husband Chris were living in South London
, when Croydon Cable started cabling
the local streets. Looking to get into television presentation
, she sent in an audition tape based on her time at the 1989 Motorshow
at Olympia
for Vauxhall Motors
. Roberts got the job undertaking general reporting duties, developing her role by presenting on her own 'magazine-style' programme on the station. It was during this period that she began presenting the channels show on Crystal Palace F.C.
, and which resulted in her now obsession with the football club. Roberts is a season ticket holder, in the past written a column in "Palace News" and been interviewed for Sky TV
, and presented half time slots on the giant screen in the stadium, promoting club merchandise in a "QVC" style.
Asked by her agent to apply for a new shopping channel in 1993, she presented a pilot slot on presenting her own mobile phone
for 15 minutes, and a pencil for 5 minutes. Appearing on the channel's opening sequences with co-presenter Jon Briggs
, Roberts is one of two original cast members who have been with QVC (UK)
since the launch of the channel in October 1993. Roberts was one of two judges, together with Head of Presenters Mark West, in finding new talent Craig Rowe in QVC's search for a presenter. Still an active presenter on the channel today, Roberts has her own production company and has penned a novel
.
Home shopping host
A home shopping host is the on-air host that partners with guests on television shopping channels, such as HSN, QVC, and ShopNBC. The job of a home shopping host is to introduce new presenters and guests to the television audience, and help these guests explain the values and features of the...
on the shopping channel QVC
QVC (UK)
QVC UK is a digital television shopping channel broadcast in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1993 when QVC, Inc. formed a deal with Sky TV to create a UK version of the US channel. "QVC — The Shopping Channel" first broadcast in the UK on 1 October 1993. QVC UK - 20% owned by Sky - moved into...
.
Biography
Roberts started her career as a cabaretCabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
dancer, supporting Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball are an English comedy double act consisting of Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire...
on a summer season in Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, and then followed their act on to television. She supplemented this work with various supporting cast
Supporting actor
A supporting actor is an actor who performs roles in a play or film other than that of the leads.These roles range from bit parts to secondary leads. They are sometimes but not necessarily character roles. A supporting actor must also use restraint not to upstage the main actor/actress in the...
roles on TV including Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith is a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan, who later wrote Only Fools and Horses. The pilot was transmitted on 12 April 1977 in the Comedy Special series of one-off plays, and the series proper ran from 3 November 1977 to 31 December 1980.Citizen Smith...
and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in 1979, Christmas pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s and dancing on cruise liners; before she took a job in a cabaret show in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, dancing and singing.
Roberts returned to the UK with her boyfriend, and appeared in various commercials, including the Woolwich Building Society and Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders is a brand of anti-dandruff shampoo produced by Procter & Gamble. Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo is the top-selling shampoo in the United States by dollar sales.- History :...
shampoo. She was approached in 1980 by a group called The Main Event to sing in their Eurovision Song contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
entry I'm Gonna Do My Best To Please You - which came last. The ensemble included Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
, who won the following year with Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
.
Wishing to undertake more television, she appeared as a hostess on The Price is Right
The Price Is Right (UK game show)
The Price Is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth, and Joe Pasquale. It ran from 24 March 1984 to 12 January 2007.-Crowther era :...
with Leslie Crowther
Leslie Crowther
Leslie Crowther, CBE was an English comedian, actor and gameshow host.-Biography:Crowther was born in West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire. At the end of 1944 he moved to London with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to Bute until just after the war ended.His father, Leslie Frederick...
. After two series she had her first child Daniel, and then worked on the 'Hit Squad' on Beadle's About
Beadle's About
Beadle's About was a British television programme hosted by the late Jeremy Beadle, where members of the public became victims of practical jokes behind hidden cameras...
, before having her second child, daughter Sophie.
After the birth of her second child, Roberts and her husband Chris were living in South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, when Croydon Cable started cabling
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
the local streets. Looking to get into television presentation
Television presentation
Television presentation refers to the way in which television stations present themselves between programs.It has become increasingly important in the recent multichannel television environment for television stations to create an attractive and distinct on-air appearance, through the various...
, she sent in an audition tape based on her time at the 1989 Motorshow
British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show is an automobile show held biennially in the United Kingdom. It is recognised as an international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles. The 2008 was the last event with no news of a return of the British International Motor Show...
at Olympia
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
for Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
. Roberts got the job undertaking general reporting duties, developing her role by presenting on her own 'magazine-style' programme on the station. It was during this period that she began presenting the channels show on Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
, and which resulted in her now obsession with the football club. Roberts is a season ticket holder, in the past written a column in "Palace News" and been interviewed for Sky TV
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
, and presented half time slots on the giant screen in the stadium, promoting club merchandise in a "QVC" style.
Asked by her agent to apply for a new shopping channel in 1993, she presented a pilot slot on presenting her own mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
for 15 minutes, and a pencil for 5 minutes. Appearing on the channel's opening sequences with co-presenter Jon Briggs
Jon Briggs
Jon Briggs was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford. His work spans Radio, TV, Voice-Over, Training and Conferences. He started in radio in 1981 as tea boy and progressed to the breakfast show with BBC Radio Oxford aged 19....
, Roberts is one of two original cast members who have been with QVC (UK)
QVC (UK)
QVC UK is a digital television shopping channel broadcast in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1993 when QVC, Inc. formed a deal with Sky TV to create a UK version of the US channel. "QVC — The Shopping Channel" first broadcast in the UK on 1 October 1993. QVC UK - 20% owned by Sky - moved into...
since the launch of the channel in October 1993. Roberts was one of two judges, together with Head of Presenters Mark West, in finding new talent Craig Rowe in QVC's search for a presenter. Still an active presenter on the channel today, Roberts has her own production company and has penned a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
.