Kirsten O'Brien: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Kirsten O'Brien Glasto 2010.jpg|thumb|Appearing in the Kidz Field Big Top at the 2010 [[Glastonbury Festival]]]] |
[[File:Kirsten O'Brien Glasto 2010.jpg|thumb|Appearing in the Kidz Field Big Top at the 2010 [[Glastonbury Festival]]]] |
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O'Brien studied [[media studies|media]] and [[communication studies|communications]] at the [[Birmingham City University|University of Central England in Birmingham]], graduating in 1993.<ref>[http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-media/alumni/kirsten-obrien Birmingham School of Media Alumni]</ref> She got her first broadcast experience on the university's student radio station which led to her first job in 1995 at [[Tyne Tees Television]] where she made her presenting debut on a children's science programme. |
O'Brien studied [[media studies|media]] and [[communication studies|communications]] at the [[Birmingham City University|University of Central England in Birmingham]], graduating in 1993.<ref>[http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-media/alumni/kirsten-obrien Birmingham School of Media Alumni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106065120/http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-media/alumni/kirsten-obrien |date=6 November 2011 }}</ref> She got her first broadcast experience on the university's student radio station which led to her first job in 1995 at [[Tyne Tees Television]] where she made her presenting debut on a children's science programme. |
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In 1996 she joined the team presenting the continuity links during the BBC's children's programming [[CBBC]]. She stayed there for three-and-a-half years during which time she became best known for her partnership with puppet [[Otis the Aardvark]]. Both O'Brien and Otis also co-presented with other people (and often solo). The 1997 Saturday morning spin-off ''Saturday Aardvark'' was entirely built around them. Puppeteer [[Dave Chapman (actor)|Dave Chapman]] would often reduce O'Brien to tears of helpless laughter with his ad-libs. |
In 1996 she joined the team presenting the continuity links during the BBC's children's programming [[CBBC]]. She stayed there for three-and-a-half years during which time she became best known for her partnership with puppet [[Otis the Aardvark]]. Both O'Brien and Otis also co-presented with other people (and often solo). The 1997 Saturday morning spin-off ''Saturday Aardvark'' was entirely built around them. Puppeteer [[Dave Chapman (actor)|Dave Chapman]] would often reduce O'Brien to tears of helpless laughter with his ad-libs. |
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Revision as of 06:14, 11 December 2017
 | This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Kirsten O'Brien" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) |
Kirsten O'Brien | |
|---|---|
actress | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | Presenting SMart (1999-2009) |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Drake, -present, 3 children |
| Website | http://www.kirstenobrien.com/ |
Kirsten Lindsey O'Brien (born 23 February 1972) is an English television presenter and actress. She is perhaps best known for her work presenting for the BBC, including the popular CBBC art programme SMart from 1999 to 2009.
Career
O'Brien studied
O'Brien left the CBBC on-air presentation team in 1999 but is still a regular on children's TV and radio. She has co-hosted SMart and its spin-offs SMart
Between 28 May and 15 June 2007, she co-presented Springwatch Trackers alongside
She has been a guest on
O'Brien filmed Kirsten's Topless Ambition, a documentary for BBC3 that aired on 28 April 2009, in which she was "facing a huge decision - whether to do what many other female presenters had done before her and take her clothes off for a lads' mag to try to clinch bigger, better presenting jobs and a more adult audience."[2] Ultimately she only received one offer and opted against doing this and decided to perform more stand up comedy. She also stated on the show that she had been ready to leave SMart since co-presenter Mark Speight's death and felt it was not right to stay. Kirsten then stayed with CBBC to take over as host of game show Gimme a Break.
Kirsten took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout, which aired on 2 January 2010.
From 2009–2010, she made appearances on the morning show GMTV presenting on-location. On 19 February 2010 she and George Lamb presented EastEnders: The Aftermath where they interviewed members of the cast about the live 25th anniversary episode.
In 2010 O'Brien, along with actor and friend Will Mellor, appeared in The World's Toughest Driving Tests, a driving challenge. They travelled the world mastering the biggest and hardest-to-drive vehicles to find out who is the better driver. In the first episode, which aired in February 2010, O'Brien won when she beat Mellor driving a Romanian TR-85 combat tank. She went on to take wins in the third and sixth episode. Three wins, together with a draw in the fifth episode meant that Kirsten was the overall winner of the series.[3]
On 31 December 2010, she appeared on BBC1's
O'Brien was announced on 12 June 2013 as the co-presenter of Heart Wiltshire's Breakfast programme alongside Ben Atkinson, effective 1 July 2013.[4]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-1999 | CBBC | Presenter | |
| 1999–2009 | SMart | Herself | |
| 2002–2003 | SMarteenies | Herself | |
| 2004 | Bring it On | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Little Einsteins | Annie | Season 2 UK Version |
| 2005–2007 | Smile | Herself | |
| 2007 | Springwatch Trackers | Herself | |
| 2007 | The Fanbanta Football Show | Herself | |
| 2007 | Totally Doctor Who | Herself | |
| 2008–2009 | Help! Teacher is Coming to Stay
|
Herself | |
| 2008[5] | Thank God You're Here[6]
|
Herself | |
| 2009 | Kirsten's Topless Ambition | Herself | Documentary for BBC Three |
| 2009 | Britain's Most Embarrassing Parents | Herself | Documentary for BBC Three |
| 2009 | Gimme a Break
|
Herself | Replaced by Joe Swash for 2011 series. |
| 2002–2011 | Big Toe Books
|
Herself | |
| 2009 | We Need Answers | Herself | |
| 2009 | Total Wipeout | Herself | Celebrity Special Episode |
| 2009–2010 | GMTV | Herself | |
| 2010 | The World's Toughest Driving Tests | Herself | Won Series (4–3) |
| 2010 | The King is Dead
|
Herself | |
| 2012 | Let's Dance for Sport Relief
|
Contestant |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan
|
Personal life
O'Brien plays tennis, and has taken part in swimming, abseiling and netball events for charity. She is a keen
She is married to Mark Drake. They became parents for the first time on 15 December 2011 when O'Brien gave birth to a baby boy which they named Fox Michael Drake. In September 2017 O'Brien tweeted that she had given birth to twins.References
- ^ Birmingham School of Media Alumni Archived 6 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BBC3's Kirsten's Topless Ambition
- ^ "Driver of the Series - World's Toughest Driving Tests - BBC". BBCWorldwide Youtube Channel. 2 January 2013.
- ^ "Heart Wiltshire gets a new Breakfast show". 12 June 2013.
- ^ Thank God You're Here — IMDb
- ^ Thank God You're Here (UK) Series 1 Show 4 Warm-Up Games — YouTube
- ^ Creating Chances week of action kicks off... early!
- ^ Mail Online — Triggered by grief, the asthma attack that nearly killed me
External links
- Official website
- Kirsten O'Brien at IMDb