Joel Defries | |
|---|---|
 Defries in 2007 | |
| Born | 14 March 1985 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Television and radio presenter |
| Known for | Blue Peter presenter |
Joel Nirmalan Defries (born 14 March 1985) is a British-born presenter, who worked on the BBC One children's programme Blue Peter from 2008 to 2010. He previously worked on the New Zealand television station, C4.
Born in Hammersmith, London, [1] Defries' New Zealand media career began at the alternative radio station Channel Z, before going on to host the music jukebox show Select Live . Defries presented a new New Zealand-based live music show called Live at Yours. He became a household name among young New Zealanders and saw a rapid rise in popularity. He also made a successful move into radio where he presented a Sunday morning show for the Edge called Joel's Take Out. He was a former presenter of Vodafone Select Live. Defries decided to return to the UK to take up other opportunities in radio and TV. [2]
On 5 September 2008, it was announced that he would replace Gethin Jones as a presenter on the children's TV show Blue Peter , and joined the other members of the team, Andy Akinwolere and Helen Skelton, on 23 September 2008. [3]
He went to Turkey with the Blue Peter team filming the 2009 Summer Expedition. The 2009/10 series of Blue Peter returned on 22 September 2009. Joel announced on 29 November 2010 that he would be leaving the show on 14 December 2010.
In 2010, Joel learnt to fly a hang glider for Blue Peter with Airways Airsports instructor Judy Leden MBE with the aim of flying with Lucy a peregrine falcon [4]
During 2009, Defries presented the 26 episodes of the CBBC programme Keep Your Enemies Close, a children's game show that tests friends by wrenching them apart and forcing them to work with their rivals instead. [5]
He went to sixth form at Camden School for Girls in London, in Camden, and is six feet tall exactly. [6] He is Jewish, but says he is not religious and has only actually visited a synagogue twice. This was explored by the BBC during a Blue Peter episode titled "Joel's Journey" broadcast on 27 January 2009. It featured him exploring his Jewish heritage, and then looking at modern day Jewish life in the UK by spending time with a religious family. The climax of the programme was his visit to Auschwitz – where he met Freda Winemann – a Holocaust Survivor who was returning to Auschwitz for the first time. [7]
Defries is a supporter of Fulham F.C. [8]
Blue Peter is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958 It was broadcast primarily from BBC Television Centre in London until September 2011, when the programme moved to dock10 studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester. It is currently shown live on the CBBC television channel on Fridays at 5 pm. The show is also repeated on Saturdays at 11:30 am, Sundays at 9:00 am and a BSL version is shown on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm.
A Blue Peter badge is an award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the BBC children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 5 to 15, or to adults who have been guests on the programme. Adults can also get a Gold badge if they have done something extraordinary. Approximately 22,000 are distributed annually.
Yvette Paula Fielding is an English television presenter, producer, actress, and writer. In 1987, aged 18, she became the youngest presenter on the BBC television programme Blue Peter. With her husband Karl Beattie, she presented the Most Haunted series on the Living channel, via their own production company, followed by Ghosthunting With..., establishing Fielding as 'first lady of the paranormal'. She has appeared in a wide range of other programmes, from The Wright Stuff to Through the Keyhole and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.
Richard Paul Bacon is an English television, radio presenter television producer. He has worked on television shows including Blue Peter, The Big Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, and on radio stations including Capital FM, Xfm London and BBC Radio Five Live. In 2016, Bacon became the presenter of The National Geographic Channel's reboot of its documentary and panel discussion TV series, Explorer.
Elizabeth Jane Barker is an English television presenter, best known for her work on Blue Peter from 2000 to 2006.
Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C as a presenter of children's programmes such as Popty, Mas Draw and the flagship children's entertainment show Uned 5.
Reginald Yates is a British television presenter, actor, writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in Doctor Who and has worked at the BBC in radio and television–presenting various shows for BBC Radio 1 for a decade as well as hosting the BBC One singing show The Voice UK, hosting the first two series with Holly Willoughby.
Jason King and Joel Ross, known professionally as JK and Joel, were a radio presenting duo, best known for hosting the official UK chart on BBC Radio 1 between 2005 and 2007 and presented the CBBC shows Hider in the House and Remote Control Star. In August 2012, JK & Joel confirmed they had split.
Angellica Bell is a British television and radio presenter, best known for her presenting on CBBC between 2000 and 2006. She is also known for providing occasional cover on The One Show and for co-presenting The Martin Lewis Money Show. Bell won the 2017 series of Celebrity MasterChef.
Barnaby John Harwood is a British actor and television presenter. He is known for his work with CBBC beginning in 2002.
Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, known collectively as Sam & Mark are an English popular music and television presenting duo. They previously competed on the second series of Pop Idol in 2003, where they finished third and second, respectively, behind winner Michelle McManus. Since then, Sam & Mark have had a successful career in radio and television in the UK.
Kirsten Lindsey O'Brien is an English television, radio presenter and actress. She is best known for her work presenting for the BBC, including the popular CBBC art programme SMart from 1999 to 2009, the CBeebies pre-school art spin-off programme SMarteenies in 2002. Since 2024 she has been the presenter of BBC Radio Berkshire's mid-morning programme, and previously, the Breakfast Show.
Michael Paul Underwood is an English television presenter, best known as a children's TV presenter on CBBC and CITV. He can be seen as a fifteen-year-old in an episode of The Crystal Maze, then presented by Richard O'Brien. He presented the primetime ITV series Let Me Entertain You in 2014 and was a reporter for Real Stories with Ranvir Singh.
Stefan Gates is a British television presenter, author, broadcaster and live-show performer. He has written books about food, cooking and science. He has presented over 20 TV series, mostly for the BBC, including Cooking in the Danger Zone about unusual food from the world's more dangerous and difficult places. He develops half of these TV series himself, including the CBBC children's food adventure series Gastronuts and Incredible Edibles.
Bear Behaving Badly is a British children's sitcom produced by Darrall Macqueen Productions, which originally aired for four series and was broadcast on CBBC between 3 September 2007 and 21 December 2010.
Zoe Salmon is a television presenter from Northern Ireland who hosted the children's television programme Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009. She was the 1999 Miss Northern Ireland.
Fearne Wood is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including Top of the Pops (2004–2020), Love Island (2006), The Xtra Factor (2007), and Interior Design Masters (2019), as well as the Children in Need (2005–2017) and Red Nose Day telethons. From 2008 to 2018, Cotton was a team captain on the ITV2 comedy panel show Celebrity Juice.
Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television and radio presenter, screenwriter and children's author. She became the longest-serving female presenter of the British children's television programme Blue Peter, presenting it from 1997 to 2008. She has been a presenter and guest of shows including the 2010 series of The Xtra Factor on ITV2.
This is a timeline of the history of the broadcasting of children's programmes on BBC Television.