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Ajay Rochester | |
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| Born | 17 April 1969 Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenter of The Biggest Loser , author, actress, comedian, speaker, producer |
| Known for | The Biggest Loser |
| Children | Kai Rochester |
Ajay Rochester (born 1969 in Sydney) is an Australian actress, author and producer. She was the host of the Australian version of reality weight-loss television series The Biggest Loser , for which she hosted a total of four series between 2006 and 2009.
Rochester was adopted as a child, and states she was emotionally and physically abused by her adoptive mother. She located her birth mother in 1992 after years of searching. Her birth mother died from suicide a year later. Rochester suffered from obesity, which she attributed to the death of her birth mother and her estrangement from her adoptive mother. She resolved to lose weight following the birth of her child, and shed over 50 kilograms since giving birth. [1]
Recording her weight loss after her son's birth, she filmed the documentary Larger Than Life which aired on The Lifestyle channel. It followed Rochester for a year as she lost weight and took back her life.
Since then, she has been involved in several weight loss projects, including as host of four seasons (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) The Biggest Loser on Network Ten.
She founded a website, "The Healthy Body Club", and authored the books Confessions of a Reformed Dieter, Blubberguts and The Lazy Girl's Guide to Losing Weight and Getting Fit. [2]
Rochester also published a children's book called Blubberguts with Hodder Headline's Hotshots series. She has also published two more titles with new Holland including cookbook Food You Love and self-help inspirational book 5-Minute Diet Book.
Rochester joined a weight loss reality show as a celebrity contestant, Excess Baggage which was broadcast in January through March 2012. Rochester won the show and her charity the NOH8 Campaign received a $60,000 donation for her efforts.
After leaving Biggest Loser she gained some weight, and has admitted she used to starve herself to keep her presenting job.[ citation needed ]
She is Reality Wanted's Hollywood Host for reality shows, covering the biggest reality shows in Hollywood including Survivor and is currently the backstage reporter for So You Think You Can Dance on FOX.[ citation needed ]
Rochester was one of the stars of the MyxTv television series "Cast Me" where four casting producers (including Rochester) cast various roles for wannabe actors. [3]
Rochester appeared on the reality television series Celebrity Dog School with her Pomeranian, "Bootsie". [4]
She was also the co-host of the SBS TV series Mum's The Word. [5]
Rochester and teammate Matthew Palmer won the 2012 reality TV show Excess Baggage on Channel 9 Australia. [6]
She has a recurring role in the Reelz Channel series Beverly Hills Pawn and appeared on America's Court.
In 2019, Rochester participated in the fifth season of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! . [7]
In March 2020, Rochester appeared on First Dates Australia. [8]
Rochester is the ambassador for the Eating Disorders Foundation. She has worked with The Make A Wish Foundation and is an advocate for breast cancer research lending her time to multiple breast cancer charities including the Field of Women and BCNA. Rochester is also the face and ambassador for Triathlonpink.com and walked the Great Wall of China to raise funds to build the Olivia Newton-John Wellness Centre. [9]
In the late 1990s, Rochester also co-wrote and produced several short films while she was working the comedy circuits in Australia. Her 1998 film BruiZer won the best short at the Scenefest Short Film Festival and was the runner up at the Brisbane Schlock-fest Film festival. [10] She also had a weekly comedy segment on AM Adelaide on Channel 7.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(February 2020) |
Rochester is a trained actress having graduated from The Australian Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Rochester started her career as an actress in the film To Make a Killing (1988). Her next film was The Crossing (1990), which starred Russell Crowe. She acted under the name Lea-Ann Towler.
She also appeared in the Mini Series Shadow of The Cobra – a story on the life of serial killer Charles Sobraj. She played one of his murder victims.
Rochester's first book Confessions of a Reformed Dieter was nominated for an Audie award for most inspirational talking book – bestowed annually in the US for outstanding audiobooks but was beaten by Dr Phil's The Ultimate Weight Solution. Confessions of Reformed Dieter is now in its eighth print run. [11] In 2005, Rochester's book Lazy Girl's Guide to Losing Weight and Getting Fit was published by Random House and made the Sydney Morning Herald top five best seller list. [12]
Her most recent books are The 5-Minute Diet Book and a recipe book called Food You Love. Rochester is now living and working in the US and working on her latest books to be published there and is currently represented by literary agent Jennifer Unter from The Unter Agency in New York. Her next book, which she says will be her final weight loss book is titled Been There Done Fat.[ citation needed ]
She has also written a children's book titled Blubberguts. [13]
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show Big Brother during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's Streetmate, The Million Pound Drop (2010–2015), Five Minutes to a Fortune (2013), and The Jump (2014–2017), as well as ITV's The Biggest Loser (2011–2012), Long Lost Family (2011–present), and This Time Next Year (2016–2019). McCall was a regular co-presenter of the Comic Relief annual telethons from 2005 to 2015.
Caroline Gilchrist Rhea is a Canadian actress and stand-up comedian, who is best known for her role as Linda Flynn-Fletcher, Betty Jo Flynn and additional voices from the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb and Hilda Spellman on the ABC series Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Tracey Gold is an American actress and former child star known for playing Carol Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains.
The Biggest Loser is an American competition reality show that initially ran on NBC for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2016 before moving to USA Network in 2020. The show features obese or overweight contestants competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight.
Jacqueline Ellen Last, better known as Jackie O, is an Australian radio and television presenter. She is best known for presenting The Hot Hits Live from LA, Hot30 Countdown, Take 40 Australia, two series of Australian Princess and The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Jillian Michaels is an American fitness expert, certified nutritionist, businesswoman, media personality, and author. She is best known for her appearances on NBC series such as The Biggest Loser. She has also made an appearance on the talk show The Doctors. In 2015, she hosted and co-judged a series on Spike titled Sweat, INC. In 2016, her reality television series Just Jillian premiered on E!.
The Biggest Loser is an Australian reality television show, based on the original American version of the same name. It is produced by Shine Australia and screened on Network Ten. Since 2015, the show has been hosted by former contestant Fiona Falkiner, It was formerly hosted by Ajay Rochester from 2006 to 2009 & former Olympian Hayley Lewis from 2010 to 2014. The show debuted on 13 February 2006, followed by a second season on 4 February 2007 which introduced Michelle Bridges, Shannan Ponton and Steve Willis. The third season began airing on 3 February 2008. A fourth season, which features couples competing as teams, started airing on 1 February 2009. A fifth season, which aired on 31 January 2010, featuring former Olympic swimmer Hayley Lewis as the new host, and in 2011 the show introduced the new trainer Tiffiny Hall. In its eleventh season, the show introduced new trainer Libby Babet. The show did not return in 2018 due to low ratings.
Celebrity Dog School was a short-lived Australian reality series which aired on Network Ten. It was based on the original version aired in the UK. The show was hosted by Larry Emdur, who also hosted The Price is Right on the Nine Network, and Wheel of Fortune on the Seven Network. It was a Pett Productions format for BBC Worldwide, produced by Freehand Group Pty Limited.
Michelle Bridges is an Australian personal trainer, author and television personality. From 2007 to 2015, she was a trainer on the Australian version of The Biggest Loser, making her first appearance in the second season.
The first season of the Australian version of the original NBC American reality television series The Biggest Loser premiered at 7pm each week night on Network Ten for 10 weeks from 13 February to 27 April 2006. The eventual winner, as decided by percentage of weight lost, was Adriano "Adro" Sarnelli, who won A$200,000. The host was announced as Ajay Rochester, who had previously gone through weight loss herself. American trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels reprised their roles from the previous American version. Applications closed on 11 November 2005 with over 6,000 Australians having applied to take part. The finale was watched by 2.310 million Australian viewers.
Robert Harper is an American personal trainer, reality television personality, and writer. He appeared on the American television series The Biggest Loser, a show he later hosted. He was an advisor on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
The second season of the Australian version of the original NBC American reality television series The Biggest Loser premiered on Sunday 4 February 2007 at 7pm on Network Ten, with the finale on 26 April 2007. The show features 14 overweight contestants competing for A$200,000 and the title Australia's Biggest Loser for 2007. The eventual winner was Chris Garling, one of "The Outsiders", who lost 70.1 kg. Eliminated contestants also had the chance to compete for a runners-up prize of $50,000, which was won by Michael losing 70.0 kg. Five episodes were screened each week night, with a sixth episode introduced on Sunday nights. Industry experts were skeptical of its success screening on this competitive night. The show averaged more than 1 million viewers each night, peaking at 1,995,000 viewers for the finale and 1,560,000 viewers for a weigh-in show. Over 10,000 Australians applied, 2,000 more than the 2006 season. The show is licensed and produced by FremantleMedia Australia in association with Reveille.
The third season of the Australian version of the original NBC American reality television series The Biggest Loser premiered on 3 February 2008 on Network Ten, and was screened for 6 nights a week over 12 weeks. It was won by Sam Rouen on the finale broadcast on 1 May 2008
The Biggest Loser is a reality television format which started with the American TV show The Biggest Loser in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. There are different variations of The Biggest Loser around the world. Each country has made its own adaptation of the show; however, the contestants always have the same goal: to lose the highest percentage of weight to become the "biggest loser". There is no minimum or maximum weight limit for the show but most males tend to weigh over or near 300 lb (136 kg). Females tend to weigh over or near 200 lb (91 kg).
Carnie Wilson: Unstapled is an American reality television show, starring game show hostess and singer Carnie Wilson. The show aired on Game Show Network (GSN) from January 14, 2010, to March 11, 2010. Filmed in southern California and produced by World of Wonder, the series chronicles the life of Wilson, host of GSN's The Newlywed Game, as she strives to lose excessive weight gained over the past decade. Wilson had a public fall out with the network after the series was broadcast and was criticized after gaining weight while on a diet featured on the show.
Tiffiny Elizabeth Hall is an Australian personal trainer, author, journalist and television personality best known from television appearances on Gladiators, the morning show The Circle (2010), The Biggest Loser Australia: Families (2011) and The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles (2012).
Demi Renee Harman is an Australian actress and television presenter. She is perhaps best known for her role as Sasha Bezmel in Home and Away. She was a contestant on the first series of Celebrity Splash!. Following her departure from Home and Away in 2015, Harman co-hosted Better Homes and Gardens and played Riley Hart in television drama Winners & Losers.
Excess Baggage is an Australian television reality show that first aired on the Nine Network on 30 January 2012. Due to dismal ratings it was moved to digital channel GO! on 13 February 2012. The basic premise involves eight celebrities teamed with eight contestants in a weight loss competition. It features three experts: psychologist Dr. Timothy Sharp, nutritionist Dr. Joanna McMillan and personal trainer Christian Marchegiani.
Gabby Millgate is an Australian actress, writer and comedian best known for her role in the film Muriel's Wedding (1994) and comedy sketch shows Full Frontal (1993) and Totally Full Frontal (1998).
The ninth season of the Australian version of the original NBC reality television series The Biggest Loser, known as The Biggest Loser Australia: Challenge Australia, premiered on 19 January 2014 on Network Ten. This season saw the trainers head to Ararat, Victoria, which at the time of filming was Victoria's fattest town in order to change the lifestyles of its residents before bringing a select few residents back to the Biggest Loser House to compete for the title and prize money. Season 9 was won by Craig Booby.
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