Natasha Kaplinsky
Encyclopedia
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972 in Brighton
) is a British
newsreader
and television presenter, currently employed by ITV
having previously worked for Channel 5, Sky News
and the BBC
. She won the first series
of the TV show Strictly Come Dancing
.
n economics professor at the Open University
, and his wife Catherine Kaplinsky née Charlewood, a psychotherapist.
Her paternal grandparents originated from Slonim
(then in Poland
, now in Belarus
), and emigrated to South Africa
in 1929. Kaplinsky was born in Brighton
, but spent her early life in Kenya
(where she claims to have been fluent in Swahili
, although she later returned to the United Kingdom
, where she was brought up in Barcombe
, East Sussex
. She attended Ringmer Community College
, until the age of sixteen when she moved to Varndean College
in Brighton.
After graduating in English
from Hertford College
, Oxford
in 1995, one of her first jobs was working in the press offices of Labour
leaders Neil Kinnock
and John Smith
.
Kaplinsky was the subject of one of a series of BBC television programmes, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which well-known people trace their family tree
s. Kaplinsky's programme was broadcast on 6 September 2007. She followed her paternal line to Slonim and was shown official documentation relating to her cousin's family. This included the death of family members during the "liquidation" – massacre – of the Slonim ghetto
by the Nazis and another's escape to the partisans and eventual emigration to Australia. Her maternal line included an apothecary
to King George III.
in 1996 with co-host Sacha Baron Cohen
. She then moved to presenting early morning news bulletins at Meridian
. Within six months she was co-presenting their evening news programme Meridian Tonight
. In 1999 she moved to ITV
's London News Network
where she hosted London Today and London Tonight
and a political programme called Seven Days.
In November 2000, she moved to Sky News
, where she co-presented Live at Five
with Jeremy Thompson
, as well as the breakfast news programme Sunrise
.
, following the departure of Sophie Raworth
to present the BBC News at Six. Kaplinsky eventually left Breakfast in May 2005, to become an occasional presenter on the News at Six. Kaplinsky also acted as main weekday presenter on the News at Six, when Raworth was on maternity leave in October 2005. She was replaced as the main weekday presenter on Breakfast by Sian Williams.
In 2006, Kaplinsky became only the third woman to present the BBC's Ten O'Clock News
, after Fiona Bruce
(regular presenter) and Sian Williams who had co-presented the programme from the studio in Westminster with Huw Edwards
in April 2005. She continued to present the programme occasionally in 2007, and was also on the One O'Clock News
.
From May 2007, Kaplinsky took part in a trial on BBC One
in Birmingham
, where she presented a news update at 20:00, between 60–90 seconds long.
On 5 October 2007 the BBC confirmed that Kaplinsky had decided to depart the BBC to become a presenter of Five News
. She presented her last Six O'Clock News on 5 October with former Breakfast colleague Dermot Murnaghan
. Her BBC salary was a reported £175,000 and her salary at Five was reported to be "in excess of" £300,000.
presenting each Friday.
On 21 August 2008, she begun her first maternity leave from Five, Isla Traquair
and Barbet stood in for her until 16 February 2009. Following her return she only hosted the 17:00 programme. From 18 March 2010 she started her second maternity leave with Barbet again standing in for her.
On 14 October 2010, Kaplinsky announced that she was leaving her job at Channel 5 at the end of 2010, having spent much of her three years at the broadcaster on maternity leave. On 23 December 2010, she presented her final bulletin for Five News.
, the main presenter of London Tonight
and relief presenter of ITV News
programmes from mid-September until Spring 2012.
and along with partner Brendan Cole
, went on to win the competition. She then co-presented the first half of the second series in 2004 with Bruce Forsyth
, as maternity cover for regular presenter, Tess Daly
.
She has also appeared in a number of episodes of the sitcom My Hero, reading the news, mainly reports of character Thermoman's heroic deeds. In July 2005 she hosted the one-off special Strictly African Dancing alongside Martin Offiah
. Kaplinsky has also hosted Making Your Mind Up
, the UK qualifier for the Eurovision Song Contest
.
On 18 November 2005, Kaplinsky hosted the BBC's annual Children in Need
charity telethon, alongside Fearne Cotton
and Terry Wogan
, and again in 2006, on 17 November. Kaplinsky also presented the BBC's New Year Live, celebrating the arrival of the year 2006 and 2007. She has made at least one appearance on Have I Got News For You
, also with Bruce Forsyth hosting.
In 2008, she made a cameo appearance in the BBC television series Torchwood
as archive footage for the millennium in the directory of geological studies by DkMd in 2005.
Kaplinsky returned to television in July 2011, hosting Born to Shine for ITV
.
, Somerset
, whom she met on a blind date six months earlier.
In April 2008, Kaplinsky announced she was pregnant with their first child, six weeks after her debut on Five News. On 25 September 2008, Five News revealed that Kaplinsky had given birth to a son, whom she and Bower later named Arlo, over two weeks after he was born.
On 7 October 2009, Natasha informed Five bosses she was pregnant again. On 9 April 2010 she gave birth to a daughter, Angelica Pearl Bower.
On 8 February 2011, Natasha commented in a BBC radio interview on Steve Wright in the Afternoon
that she and her husband Justin Bower had performed as disguised extras for the English National Ballet
although she "had insisted that her name was not used in the programme". In the production of Romeo and Juliet
she had performed as "Wench number 7" at the London Coliseum.
|-
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
) is a 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...
newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
and television presenter, currently employed by 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...
having previously worked for Channel 5, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
and 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...
. She won the first series
Strictly Come Dancing (series 1)
The first series of Strictly Come Dancing. It was presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, and the winner was Natasha Kaplinsky along with her dancing partner Brendan Cole.-The Couples:...
of the TV show Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
.
Early life
Kaplinsky's parents are Raphael Kaplinsky, an exiled Jewish South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n economics professor at the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, and his wife Catherine Kaplinsky née Charlewood, a psychotherapist.
Her paternal grandparents originated from Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
(then in Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, now in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
), and emigrated to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1929. Kaplinsky was born in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, but spent her early life in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
(where she claims to have been fluent in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, although she later returned to the United Kingdom
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...
, where she was brought up in Barcombe
Barcombe
Barcombe is an East Sussex village lying some 4–5 miles north of Lewes. It is also the name of one of the civil parishes in the Lewes District of East Sussex...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. She attended Ringmer Community College
Ringmer Community College
Ringmer Community College and Sixth Form is located in the village of Ringmer in East Sussex. It was opened in 1958 and serves a catchment area of Lewes and surrounding towns.The current Headteacher is Ms Kathy Stonier who has been Head Mistress since 2002....
, until the age of sixteen when she moved to Varndean College
Varndean College
Varndean College is a sixth form college located in Brighton & Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults.-History:The college was founded in 1884 in York Place, Brighton as a boys' Secondary School and moved to its current site overlooking the city and the sea in 1932, later...
in Brighton.
After graduating in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
from Hertford College
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1995, one of her first jobs was working in the press offices of Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
leaders Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
and John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
.
Kaplinsky was the subject of one of a series of BBC television programmes, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which well-known people trace their family tree
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
s. Kaplinsky's programme was broadcast on 6 September 2007. She followed her paternal line to Slonim and was shown official documentation relating to her cousin's family. This included the death of family members during the "liquidation" – massacre – of the Slonim ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
by the Nazis and another's escape to the partisans and eventual emigration to Australia. Her maternal line included an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
to King George III.
Early career
Kaplinsky started out presenting on F2F, a youth chat show, for Granada Talk TVGranada Talk TV
Granada Talk TV was a channel owned and operated by Granada Sky Broadcasting, a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and Granada Television. It launched on 1 October 1996 with the other channels of the bouquet...
in 1996 with co-host Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
. She then moved to presenting early morning news bulletins at Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
. Within six months she was co-presenting their evening news programme Meridian Tonight
Meridian Tonight
Meridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm and 10.30pm every weeknight. Other bulletins are branded as Meridian News...
. In 1999 she moved to 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...
's London News Network
London News Network
London News Network was a television news and facilities organisation in London. It was created in 1992 as a joint operation between London's two ITV contractors, Carlton Television and London Weekend Television, with each company holding a 50% stake...
where she hosted London Today and London Tonight
London Tonight
London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
and a political programme called Seven Days.
In November 2000, she moved to Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
, where she co-presented Live at Five
Live at Five (Sky TV series)
Sky News at Five and Sky News at Six are the titles of Sky News' authoritative hour-long evening news round-ups, beginning at 5pm and 6pm, British time.-Format:...
with Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Gordon Thompson is a presenter on Sky News, regularly presenting Live at Five weeknights at 5pm.-Broadcasting career:Thompson was educated at King's School Worcester and was a contemporary of Chris Tarrant. Thompson is frequently Sky News' leading anchor on major stories, often presenting...
, as well as the breakfast news programme Sunrise
Sunrise (UK TV series)
Sunrise is the breakfast time programme on Sky News between 6:00am and 9:00am on weekdays and 6:00am to 10:00am on weekends. It was first aired in February 1989. Since February 2007, the weekday episodes of the show have been called Sunrise with Eamonn Holmes, as Holmes now presents the show...
.
BBC News
Kaplinsky joined the BBC to present BBC Breakfast in November 2002, from Monday to Thursday alongside Dermot MurnaghanDermot Murnaghan
Dermot Murnaghan is a British journalist and television presenter.He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News as well as the shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt . He co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins...
, following the departure of 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...
to present the BBC News at Six. Kaplinsky eventually left Breakfast in May 2005, to become an occasional presenter on the News at Six. Kaplinsky also acted as main weekday presenter on the News at Six, when Raworth was on maternity leave in October 2005. She was replaced as the main weekday presenter on Breakfast by Sian Williams.
In 2006, Kaplinsky became only the third woman to present the BBC's Ten O'Clock News
BBC Ten O'Clock News
The BBC News at Ten is the flagship evening news programme for British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented by Huw Edwards, and deputised by Fiona Bruce. It is the final comprehensive news programme of the day on BBC One...
, after Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
(regular presenter) and Sian Williams who had co-presented the programme from the studio in Westminster with Huw Edwards
Huw Edwards (journalist)
Huw Edwards is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast...
in April 2005. She continued to present the programme occasionally in 2007, and was also on the One O'Clock News
BBC One O'Clock News
The BBC News at One is the afternoon news bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel on Monday to Sunday 1:00pm....
.
From May 2007, Kaplinsky took part in a trial on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where she presented a news update at 20:00, between 60–90 seconds long.
On 5 October 2007 the BBC confirmed that Kaplinsky had decided to depart the BBC to become a presenter 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...
. She presented her last Six O'Clock News on 5 October with former Breakfast colleague Dermot Murnaghan
Dermot Murnaghan
Dermot Murnaghan is a British journalist and television presenter.He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News as well as the shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt . He co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins...
. Her BBC salary was a reported £175,000 and her salary at Five was reported to be "in excess of" £300,000.
Five News
On 18 February 2008 Kaplinsky presented her first broadcast for Five. Her first bulletin which aired at 17:00 was reported to have been watched by a million viewers. She also presented a second programme at 19:00, Monday to Thursday with news correspondent Matt BarbetMatt Barbet
Matthew "Matt" Barbet is a British television journalist who presents 5 News. He was previously a presenter and reporter for BBC London from 2003 to 2007, presented BBC London's Children in Need coverage in 2006 and he also acted as an occasional presenter on BBC Breakfast in 2007, as a cover for...
presenting each Friday.
On 21 August 2008, she begun her first maternity leave from Five, Isla Traquair
Isla Traquair
Isla Traquair is a Scottish broadcast journalist.-Journalism career:Isla started in journalism at the age of 15, working one day a week at a local press agency while still at school...
and Barbet stood in for her until 16 February 2009. Following her return she only hosted the 17:00 programme. From 18 March 2010 she started her second maternity leave with Barbet again standing in for her.
On 14 October 2010, Kaplinsky announced that she was leaving her job at Channel 5 at the end of 2010, having spent much of her three years at the broadcaster on maternity leave. On 23 December 2010, she presented her final bulletin for Five News.
ITN
On 3 August 2011, it was announced that Kaplinsky will provide maternity leave cover for Nina HossainNina Hossain
Nina Hossain is a British journalist, presenter and newscaster.Hossain is currently employed on a freelance basis by ITN where she is the main presenter of ITV London's regional news programme London Tonight. Nina also acts as a relief newscaster for ITV News.-Background:Hossain was born in...
, the main presenter of London Tonight
London Tonight
London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
and relief presenter of ITV News
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...
programmes from mid-September until Spring 2012.
Other TV work
In 2004, Kaplinsky participated in the first series of the celebrity ballroom dancing competition Strictly Come DancingStrictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
and along with partner Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole is a ballroom dancer specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, a dance contest in which a professional ballroom dancer is partnered with a celebrity amateur dancer...
, went on to win the competition. She then co-presented the first half of the second series in 2004 with Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
, as maternity cover for regular presenter, Tess Daly
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly is an English television presenter. She is married to the presenter Vernon Kay.-Early life:Daly was born in Derbyshire to Vivian , who died of emphysema, and Sylvia Daly...
.
She has also appeared in a number of episodes of the sitcom My Hero, reading the news, mainly reports of character Thermoman's heroic deeds. In July 2005 she hosted the one-off special Strictly African Dancing alongside Martin Offiah
Martin Offiah
Martin Offiah MBE is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer.He is known as "Chariots" Offiah after the film Chariots of Fire...
. Kaplinsky has also hosted Making Your Mind Up
Making Your Mind Up
"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and a UK Number-one single...
, the UK qualifier for the 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...
.
On 18 November 2005, Kaplinsky hosted the BBC's annual Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
charity telethon, alongside Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
and Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
, and again in 2006, on 17 November. Kaplinsky also presented the BBC's New Year Live, celebrating the arrival of the year 2006 and 2007. She has made at least one appearance on Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, also with Bruce Forsyth hosting.
In 2008, she made a cameo appearance in the BBC television series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
as archive footage for the millennium in the directory of geological studies by DkMd in 2005.
Kaplinsky returned to television in July 2011, hosting Born to Shine for 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...
.
Personal life
On 21 August 2005, Kaplinsky married Justin Bower, an investment banker from London at Babington HouseBabington House
Babington House is a Grade II* listed manor house, located in the village of Babington, between Radstock and Frome, in the county of Somerset, EnglandConverted to a private members club and hotel by Nick Jones, it is currently owned by Soho House Ltd...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, whom she met on a blind date six months earlier.
In April 2008, Kaplinsky announced she was pregnant with their first child, six weeks after her debut on Five News. On 25 September 2008, Five News revealed that Kaplinsky had given birth to a son, whom she and Bower later named Arlo, over two weeks after he was born.
On 7 October 2009, Natasha informed Five bosses she was pregnant again. On 9 April 2010 she gave birth to a daughter, Angelica Pearl Bower.
On 8 February 2011, Natasha commented in a BBC radio interview on Steve Wright in the Afternoon
Steve Wright In The Afternoon
Steve Wright in the Afternoon is the name of the current afternoon show on BBC Radio 2, hosted by Steve Wright. The show is one of the most popular on the station, and is often referred to as The Big Show...
that she and her husband Justin Bower had performed as disguised extras for the English National Ballet
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great...
although she "had insisted that her name was not used in the programme". In the production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
she had performed as "Wench number 7" at the London Coliseum.
External links
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