Kate Silverton
Encyclopedia
Kate Silverton is an English journalist
, currently employed by the BBC
.
, England, the daughter of English parents; Terry Silverton, a black-cab driver
turned registered hypnotherapist
and Patricia Silverton, who now heads her daughter's company. Silverton has two sisters, Claire and Amy. Silverton attended West Hatch High School
in Chigwell
, Essex, where she was a champion swimmer and started to compete in the triathlon
. She was a Girl Guide and gained the Queen's Guide Award
. She spent a year studying Arabic and Middle Eastern politics before switching and has a BSc
in Psychology
from the University of Durham where she attended St. Cuthbert's Society. Kate went to Zimbabwe with Raleigh International
, spending her gap year working for them in Egypt
and Lebanon
.
.
She was a panellist on Five's The Wright Stuff
, The Heaven and Earth Show
, Big Strong Boys and Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live
, before joining BBC News
.
, although she was frequently absent as she was also a regular relief presenter for BBC Breakfast
, presenting during some of Sian Williams's maternity leave.
In December 2007, Silverton was named as the presenter of the 8pm News summary - a 90-second round up of the news shown on BBC One, which she presented for two months. She presented the BBC News at One from February to August 2008, whilst main presenter Sophie Raworth
was on maternity leave.
In January 2009, Silverton began to present the BBC Weekend News Late Bulletin
as a regular presenter. From Monday 23 February 2009, Silverton presented BBC Breakfast
with Bill Turnbull
, again covering for Sian Williams's maternity leave which finished on 31 August 2009.
During September 2009, she presented and reported for BBC News from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
. She is now the deputy presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting on Mondays and when main presenter Sophie Raworth
cannot.
She presented her final news programme on 3rd October 2011 before her maternity leave. She is expected to return in March 2012.
Dan Snow
, she presented live coverage of the celebrations held at RAF Fairford
for the 90th Birthday of the Royal Air Force
. On 24 August 2008, Silverton presented live coverage of the celebrations of London becoming the 2012 Olympics host city, from The Mall. She presented New Year Live aboard HMS Belfast in London on 31 December 2008 on BBC1 with Nick Knowles
.
Silverton has appeared as a newsreader on the BBC Drama Spooks
.
In October 2008, she presented Big Cat Live for BBC One in October 2008.
Silverton has also appeared as a mentor in the BBC2 series The Speaker
in April 2009, offering her advice on good story telling and public speaking.
In May 2009, Silverton presented a documentary called 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep which looked at different ways to deal with insomnia
.
Since January 2010, she has presented the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live
, running from 9.30am to 11am. The show's format was revamped as part of a general review of the schedules in January 2010.
that she had been offered the main presenter job for the relaunch of Five News
in 2007. She turned it down and the job. She was also linked to replace Fiona Phillips
at GMTV
in 2008.
, who had worked for the BBC for 37 years, resigned his position six months into a year's contract. The Daily Telegraph
, without substantiation and quoting an unnamed 'insider', reported that he turned to Silverton during a break and said "I don't like you". The Daily Mirror
quoted another BBC 'insider' as saying that Silverton is "...pushy beyond belief. Behind her big superficial smile she can be a really aggressive, manipulative monster who always gets what she wants." Hayton merely cited "incompatibility" with Silverton as his reason and when his managers refused to move Silverton to another time slot he left. Silverton was in the peculiar position of having to go through the morning's paper review live on air the morning the story broke, avoiding any discussion of the story and chiding her new co-anchor when he looked to refer to it. Hayton said that he left the BBC "without bitterness or rancour".
However, several figures spoke up for Silverton. Jon Sopel
, a fellow BBC News 24 presenter, who was Silverton's co-anchor at News 24 for several months, commented on the incident saying "She's warm and friendly. With Kate, what you see is what you get - she's bright, lively, talented and vivacious. I like and trust her. Yes, she's ambitious... but aren't we all?"
Rod Liddle
, another of Silverton's former co-presenters and also former programme editor of BBC Radio 4
's Today programme said: "Kate is intelligent, attractive and has strong opinions. She is far cleverer than Hayton. There are plenty of very stupid women at the BBC but she isn’t one of them. Philip probably needs to work on an island where there are no women. She was absolutely lovely, good fun, professional, intelligent and devoid of the usual afflictions of TV presenters - narcissism
and greed." It was later revealed while the pair worked on a short-lived BBC TV politics programme in 2003, Silverton allegedly hit Liddle, who said: "I made a stupid comment about the disabled which Kate rightly took exception to. We took the fight out of the pilot. It's good to get these things out before we go on air. My admiration for Kate knows no bounds".
scars.
's St Bride's Church
on Saturday 18 December 2010. On 5 November 2011, Silverton gave birth to a baby girl named Clemency Florence Rose Heron at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London.
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...
, currently employed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Early life and education
Silverton was born in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England, the daughter of English parents; Terry Silverton, a black-cab driver
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...
turned registered hypnotherapist
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is a therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.The word "hypnosis" is an abbreviation of James Braid's term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system"....
and Patricia Silverton, who now heads her daughter's company. Silverton has two sisters, Claire and Amy. Silverton attended West Hatch High School
West Hatch High School
West Hatch High School is a secondary school located in Chigwell, Epping Forest, Essex . The area now occupied by West Hatch was previously the western gate into Epping Forest; it is from these roots that the school derives its name...
in Chigwell
Chigwell
Chigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...
, Essex, where she was a champion swimmer and started to compete in the triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
. She was a Girl Guide and gained the Queen's Guide Award
Queen's Guide
The Queen's Guide award is the highest attainable award for members of Girlguiding UK.Although originally awarded to Guides, it is now only attainable by members of the Senior Section aged between 16 and 25. It is a challenging programme comparable to the Queen's Scout or Gold Duke of Edinburgh's...
. She spent a year studying Arabic and Middle Eastern politics before switching and has a BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from the University of Durham where she attended St. Cuthbert's Society. Kate went to Zimbabwe with Raleigh International
Raleigh International
Raleigh International is a UK-based youth and sustainable development charity that aims to help people of all backgrounds and nationalities to discover their full potential through their work to improve communities and protect the environment....
, spending her gap year working for them in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Early career
Silverton worked for a London-based bank before becoming a journalist. She trained with the BBC working on Look North news before becoming a reporter and presenter at Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
.
She was a panellist on Five's The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
, The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show was a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues...
, Big Strong Boys and Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, before joining BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
.
BBC News
From 2005 until December 2007, she was the 8.30-11am presenter on BBC News 24 along with colleague Simon McCoySimon McCoy
Simon McCoy is a newsreader for the BBC, and is currently a regular presenter on the rolling news channel BBC News between 8.30am and 11am. He is also a relief presenter of the BBC News at One and of BBC Weekend News.-Early life:...
, although she was frequently absent as she was also a regular relief presenter for BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, presenting during some of Sian Williams's maternity leave.
In December 2007, Silverton was named as the presenter of the 8pm News summary - a 90-second round up of the news shown on BBC One, which she presented for two months. She presented the BBC News at One from February to August 2008, whilst main presenter Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
was on maternity leave.
In January 2009, Silverton began to present the BBC Weekend News Late Bulletin
BBC Weekend News
BBC Weekend News is the national news programmes on BBC One at a weekend although it is often referred to on guides simply as BBC News, or if broadcast at 10pm exactly, BBC News at Ten...
as a regular presenter. From Monday 23 February 2009, Silverton presented BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
with Bill Turnbull
Bill Turnbull
William Robert "Bill" Turnbull is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by the BBC and best known for presenting BBC Breakfast...
, again covering for Sian Williams's maternity leave which finished on 31 August 2009.
During September 2009, she presented and reported for BBC News from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. She is now the deputy presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting on Mondays and when main presenter Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
cannot.
She presented her final news programme on 3rd October 2011 before her maternity leave. She is expected to return in March 2012.
Other BBC work
On 1 April 2008, alongside the historianHistorian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Dan Snow
Dan Snow
Daniel Robert Snow is an English television presenter. He has presented and appeared in many popular history-related programmes for the BBC and is the "History Hunter" for The One Show.-Early life and background:...
, she presented live coverage of the celebrations held at RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...
for the 90th Birthday of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. On 24 August 2008, Silverton presented live coverage of the celebrations of London becoming the 2012 Olympics host city, from The Mall. She presented New Year Live aboard HMS Belfast in London on 31 December 2008 on BBC1 with Nick Knowles
Nick Knowles
Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles is an English television presenter. He is best known for presenting DIY SOS on the BBC. He has also presented Mission Africa, UK's Worst, City Hospital, Coast to Coast, Five's Company, Departure Lounge and Real Rescues.-Early years:Knowles was born in Southall,...
.
Silverton has appeared as a newsreader on the BBC Drama Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
.
In October 2008, she presented Big Cat Live for BBC One in October 2008.
Silverton has also appeared as a mentor in the BBC2 series The Speaker
The Speaker
The Speaker is a 2009 British television series, broadcast on BBC Two. It is a talent show type series that aimed to find the best young speaker in the United Kingdom. The show is narrated by Jane Horrocks...
in April 2009, offering her advice on good story telling and public speaking.
In May 2009, Silverton presented a documentary called 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep which looked at different ways to deal with insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
.
Since January 2010, she has presented the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, running from 9.30am to 11am. The show's format was revamped as part of a general review of the schedules in January 2010.
Other opportunities
In February 2008, Silverton revealed in an interview in The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that she had been offered the main presenter job for the relaunch of Five News
Five News
5 News is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by Sky News. From 1 January 2005, Sky News was awarded the contract to provide the news for Channel 5, replacing ITN, which had provided the channel's news service from the channel's launch in 1997...
in 2007. She turned it down and the job. She was also linked to replace Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
at GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
in 2008.
Philip Hayton incident
In September 2005, Silverton drew some media attention when her BBC News 24 co-newsreader Philip HaytonPhilip Hayton
Philip Hayton is a British television presenter. He was born in Keighley in Yorkshire and was educated at Fyling Hall School, an Independent school near Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire in Northern England.-Career:...
, who had worked for the BBC for 37 years, resigned his position six months into a year's contract. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, without substantiation and quoting an unnamed 'insider', reported that he turned to Silverton during a break and said "I don't like you". The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
quoted another BBC 'insider' as saying that Silverton is "...pushy beyond belief. Behind her big superficial smile she can be a really aggressive, manipulative monster who always gets what she wants." Hayton merely cited "incompatibility" with Silverton as his reason and when his managers refused to move Silverton to another time slot he left. Silverton was in the peculiar position of having to go through the morning's paper review live on air the morning the story broke, avoiding any discussion of the story and chiding her new co-anchor when he looked to refer to it. Hayton said that he left the BBC "without bitterness or rancour".
However, several figures spoke up for Silverton. Jon Sopel
Jon Sopel (journalist)
Jon Sopel is a television presenter and correspondent for the BBC. He was educated at a boys' grammar school in Finchley London, and then at Christ's College; he received an honours degree in politics from Southampton University.-Broadcasting career:Starting his broadcasting career in local radio...
, a fellow BBC News 24 presenter, who was Silverton's co-anchor at News 24 for several months, commented on the incident saying "She's warm and friendly. With Kate, what you see is what you get - she's bright, lively, talented and vivacious. I like and trust her. Yes, she's ambitious... but aren't we all?"
Rod Liddle
Rod Liddle
Roderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...
, another of Silverton's former co-presenters and also former programme editor of BBC Radio 4
BBC 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 Today programme said: "Kate is intelligent, attractive and has strong opinions. She is far cleverer than Hayton. There are plenty of very stupid women at the BBC but she isn’t one of them. Philip probably needs to work on an island where there are no women. She was absolutely lovely, good fun, professional, intelligent and devoid of the usual afflictions of TV presenters - narcissism
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
and greed." It was later revealed while the pair worked on a short-lived BBC TV politics programme in 2003, Silverton allegedly hit Liddle, who said: "I made a stupid comment about the disabled which Kate rightly took exception to. We took the fight out of the pilot. It's good to get these things out before we go on air. My admiration for Kate knows no bounds".
Plastic surgery lawsuit
In January 2008, Silverton sued a clinic after an allegedly botched cosmetic surgery procedure to remove acneAcne
Acne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...
scars.
Personal life
Silverton married Mike Heron at Fleet StreetFleet 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...
's St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 on Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire during the London Blitz in 1940. Due to its location on...
on Saturday 18 December 2010. On 5 November 2011, Silverton gave birth to a baby girl named Clemency Florence Rose Heron at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London.