Mwaksy Mudenda | |
|---|---|
 Mudenda in 2022 | |
| Born | 19 December 1994 London, England |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Known for | Blue Peter Becoming Xtraordinary |
Mwaka "Mwaksy" Mudenda (born 19 December 1994) is a British television presenter from South London. She is best known for being the 39th presenter of Blue Peter , a programme she presented between 2020 and 2023, and has also presented Becoming Xtraordinary .
Mudenda was born in South London on 19 December 1994 [1] to a Zambian family, [2] and started YouTubing under the name Mwaksy in 2014, [3] later moving to Manchester to study anthropology at university. [2] In 2018, after graduating, she got a job at MediaCityUK as an assistant producer for BBC Sport, [4] where her job entailed making sports content relatable for younger audiences and filming videos for Instagram; [5] one of these, her "Bust Down with Mwaksy", brought her to the attention of BBC Children's and Education, [6] who invited her for a screen test. [5]
In May 2020, Mudenda was announced as the 39th presenter of Blue Peter, a CBBC show; her first episodes were presented at home due to the first COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. [2] While on the program, she, former Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene, and numerous pupils from Wormholt Park primary school opened a 42-year old Blue Peter Time Capsule recovered from White City in 2022, [7] and later produced language learning lessons in French, [8] Spanish, [9] and science. [10] Mudenda co-hosted Chester Zoo's 2022 Wildlife Connections Festival with Chantelle Lindsay. [11] [12] Mudenda departed Blue Peter in September 2023, the third presenter to leave the program in 14 months, [13] prompting suggestions that the program could be cancelled after 65 years. [14] After a period with Lauren Layfield as guest host, [15] she was replaced full-time in January 2024 by TikToker Shini Muthukrishnan. [16]
In 2023, it was announced that Mudenda would co-host Becoming Xtraordinary for Da Vinci, a streaming service, with Evan Edinger and Bear Grylls, during which she interviewed several celebrities including Julia Roberts, Roger Federer, Courteney Cox, Channing Tatum, and Olympic gold medallists and Nobel laureates. [17] She has also appeared as a contestant on Crackerjack!, [18] Celebrity Mastermind , [19] Celebrity Catchpoint, [20] Celebrity Bridge of Lies , [21] Celebrity Catchphrase [22] and Pointless Celebrities . [23]