For the Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, see Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker

Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker

Elizabeth Jean Barker, Baroness Barker is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.Educated at Dalziel High School and the University of Southampton,Barker worked for Age Concern between 1983 and 2007...

Elizabeth Jane 'Liz' Barker (born 16 May 1975) is a television presenter on British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television. She has one younger sister, Suzanne (Suzie) and is a distant relative of guitarist Dave Hill

Dave Hill

Dave Hill is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. The music journalist, Stuart Maconie, commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height...

.

Born in Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, England

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...

, Barker attended Impington Village College before undertaking a philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 degree at the University of Southampton

University of Southampton

The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...

. After this was completed, she became a runner for independent production company Lion TV, a researcher, and eventually the sports presenter for BBC Choice

BBC Choice

BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...

 programme Backstage. She was also previously a Librarian.

Career

On 23 June 2000, Barker joined the children's television 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...

. During her six years there, Liz reported from Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Her adventures have included lawn mower

Lawn mower

A lawn mower is a machine that uses a revolving blade or blades to cut a lawn at an even length.Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel...

 racing, paragliding

Paragliding

Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...

, walking a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 high-wire

Tightrope walking

Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...

 and cleaning windows at London's Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...

 tower.

On 25 May 2004, Barker announced that she was pregnant with her first child, by husband Michael Todd. A boy, Dexter Jack Barker Todd, was born on Saturday 4 December 2004 and featured on the show many times, including at just 13 days old, on his first birthday and on Barker's leaving date. While Barker was pregnant, scan images were also shown. She became the first presenter to rejoin Blue Peter after having a baby, but on 23 January 2006, she told viewers that she would be leaving the programme at Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 and moving away from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 so she could spend more time with Dexter and the rest of her family. She was replaced by Zöe Salmon

Zöe Salmon

Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...

, who originally took Liz's place in December 2004 when she had her baby but she returned earlier than expected in early 2005.

During her six years on 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...

, Barker presented with Konnie Huq

Konnie Huq

Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008...

, Simon Thomas

Simon Thomas (television presenter)

Simon Thomas is a British television presenter, who worked on Blue Peter for six years.-Early life:Simon Thomas was born in Norwich, Norfolk to Andrew and Gill Thomas. He has two sisters called Hannah and Rebecca...

, Matt Baker, Zöe Salmon

Zöe Salmon

Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...

 and Gethin Jones

Gethin Jones

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

.

On 11 April 2006, Barker left the programme, with a special This Is Your Life

This Is Your Life

This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...

-style show devoted to her, containing former presenters, family, friends, and people she had met along her Blue Peter travels, including Kitty Hart-Moxon

Kitty Hart-Moxon

Kitty Hart-Moxon OBE is a Polish-English Holocaust survivor. She was sent to the Auschwitz labour camp in 1943 at the age of 16, where she survived for two years, and was also imprisoned at other camps...

. She also announced, on her last live show, that she would be co-presenting a new CBBC show, Totally Doctor Who

Totally Doctor Who

Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series...

, with CBBC's Barney Harwood

Barney Harwood

Barney Harwood is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.-Television:For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop , alongside Basil Brush.Previous work for CBBC included...

; the first episode was broadcast on 13 April 2006. However she did not return for Totally's second series, and was replaced by SMart

SMart

SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart...

's Kirsten O'Brien

Kirsten O'Brien

Kirsten O'Brien is an English television presenter and stand-up comic.She is known for presenting SMart, and presented Smile and Totally Doctor Who alongside Barney Harwood on CBBC....

.

She has gone on to do voiceovers, such as on the Sony PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

 game Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party

Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party

Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party is the first game in the Buzz! Junior series of party games.Jungle Party comprises forty different mini-games...

.

On 18 September 2006 it was announced on 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...

 that Liz was due to have another baby and on 20 February 2007, it was announced on Blue Peter that she had given birth to a girl called Poppy.

Liz has also appeared in Carrie's War (2004) in an uncredited role.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Backstage	Herself	Sports Presenter
2000	Backstage	Herself	Sports Presenter
2000 - 2003	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...	Herself	Main Presenter alongside Konnie Huq Konnie Huq Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008... , Simon Thomas Simon Thomas (television presenter) Simon Thomas is a British television presenter, who worked on Blue Peter for six years.-Early life:Simon Thomas was born in Norwich, Norfolk to Andrew and Gill Thomas. He has two sisters called Hannah and Rebecca... , and Matt Baker
2004	Carrie's War	Extra	Minor Role
	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...	Herself	Main Presenter alongside Konnie Huq Konnie Huq Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008... , Simon Thomas Simon Thomas (television presenter) Simon Thomas is a British television presenter, who worked on Blue Peter for six years.-Early life:Simon Thomas was born in Norwich, Norfolk to Andrew and Gill Thomas. He has two sisters called Hannah and Rebecca... , Matt Baker and Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...
2005	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...	Herself	Main Presenter alongside Konnie Huq Konnie Huq Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008... , Simon Thomas Simon Thomas (television presenter) Simon Thomas is a British television presenter, who worked on Blue Peter for six years.-Early life:Simon Thomas was born in Norwich, Norfolk to Andrew and Gill Thomas. He has two sisters called Hannah and Rebecca... , Matt Baker, Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...  and Gethin Jones Gethin Jones Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....
	Totally 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...	Main Character	2 Part Drama
2006	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...	Herself	Main Presenter until April 2006 alongside Konnie Huq Konnie Huq Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008... , Matt Baker, Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...  and Gethin Jones Gethin Jones Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter.... .
	Totally Doctor Who Totally Doctor Who Totally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series...	Herself	Main Presenter alongside Barney Harwood Barney Harwood Barney Harwood is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.-Television:For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop , alongside Basil Brush.Previous work for CBBC included...
2007	Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party is the first game in the Buzz! Junior series of party games.Jungle Party comprises forty different mini-games...	Herself	Voiceover