Fearne Cotton[1] (born 3 September 1981)[2] 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). Cotton was a regular co-presenter of the Children in Need annual telethons from 2005 to 2015, with the exception of 2009. From 2008 to 2018, she was a team captain on the ITV2 comedy panel show Celebrity Juice.
In 2007, Cotton became the first regular female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show, which she co-presented with Reggie Yates for two years. She was later given her own Radio 1 show, airing every weekday morning from 2009 to 2015. She joined BBC Radio 2 in 2016.
In 2018, Cotton began presenting Happy Place, a podcast focusing on wellbeing and mental health. She has also released eight self-help books, two children's books, and four books on healthy eating.[3]
Cotton began her presenting career in 1996, at the age of 15,[8] with early-morning GMTV children's programme The Disney Club, after winning a competition for young talent to present the show.[9] Cotton later continued with the show and with its replacement Diggit. She left in 2000, to concentrate on her other projects with CITV, including Draw Your Own Toons and Mouse, aimed at encouraging children to use computers.[citation needed]
Cotton joined CBBC in 2001 to present children's science programme Eureka TV. From 2001 until 2003, she presented Finger Tips, an arts and crafts programme for children, which she co-presented with Stephen Mulhern. She later co-presented on CBBC's Sunday morning show, Smile and on The Saturday Show. She has also made appearances in the CBBC show Only in America, alongside her good friend and fellow presenter Reggie Yates. Cotton returned to children's television in 2015 by voicing one of the Voice Trumpets in the reboot of the classic British children's television series Teletubbies.[citation needed]
Starting on 5 September 2007, Cotton co-hosted with Holly Willoughby the ITV2 dating programme Holly & Fearne Go Dating, which saw the pair try to find dates for lonely singletons.[citation needed]
Beginning in 2008, Cotton appeared as a team captain on the ITV2 comedy panel show Celebrity Juice alongside host Keith Lemon and fellow team captain Holly Willoughby. Cotton took a short break from the programme in 2013 whilst on maternity leave, and Kelly Brook stood in for her during the ninth series. She quit the series in 2018.[citation needed]
Since 2009, Cotton has hosted Fearne and... on ITV2. In 2012, Cotton hosted The Nation's Favourite Number One Single, a three-part series, revealing Britain's Favourite No. 1 single. Since 2016, Cotton has co-presented Fearne & Gok: Off The Rails, alongside Gok Wan for ITVBe.[10] In March 2017, Cotton guest presented five episodes of ITV Breakfast's Lorraine programme.[11]
In 2003, Cotton moved over to mainstream broadcasting. She along with Simon Grant (her co-presenter from The Saturday Show) presented the spin-off show Top of the Pops: Saturday (later renamed Top of the Pops: Reloaded) that year. In 2004, she moved up to work alongside Reggie Yates on the main programme, Top of the Pops (the then flagship chartshow for the BBC) becoming one of the last regular presenters for that programme, which ended in July 2006. Due to other commitments, she was unable to present the final show itself, appearing instead in a short film shown at the head of that show, in which she made her personal farewells. Cotton and Yates presented the one-off Christmas and New Year specials in both 2008 and 2009, as well as the Comic Relief special in 2009.
She has hosted parts of the Red Nose Day telethon for Comic Relief (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011) presenting several strands alongside Jonathan Ross and Lenny Henry.
Cotton has also presented many charity telethons for both Comic Relief and Children in Need on BBC One and BBC Two. In July 2005 she co-presented the BBC's coverage of Live 8 in Hyde Park. During the event, British pop star and former Take That member Robbie Williams flirted with her in front of the cameras, causing much speculation in the media at the time, but which was later repudiated by the pair.[citation needed] In 2008, she hosted a Strictly Come Dancing special as part of Children in Need.
In June 2012, Cotton was one of the BBC's presenters for its coverage of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Following more than 4,000 complaints made about the BBC's coverage of the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and in particular criticism of Cotton's role, she responded on Twitter by stating, "Grown men who slag me off in articles/online are huge bullies. I love my job and wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't any good at it."[12]
Cotton guest presented The One Show on BBC One for two nights in November 2013, two nights in February 2014, one night in March 2014 and one night in March 2016.[citation needed]
On 17 March 2007, she, along with Terry Wogan, hosted Making Your Mind Up 2007,[17] the show to decide which song the UK sent to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. On the night, after the final "sing-off" between the two remaining acts, Wogan and Cotton simultaneously announced different winners. Since Wogan was the more experienced presenter, it was assumed that he was right. In fact, Wogan had accidentally announced the wrong artist, Cyndi, as the winner. Cotton had to persist in repeating the correct name until the confusion was resolved.[18] The group Scooch was quickly proclaimed as the correct winner, but came only second-to-last in the main competition.[citation needed] Cotton also presented the United Kingdom's votes at the show itself, held in Helsinki, Finland, on 12 May 2007.[citation needed]
Radio
BBC Radio 1
In September 2005, she joined BBC Radio 1 to present the Friday early morning slot with Reggie Yates,[19] with whom she had previously worked on CBBC, Only in America and Top of the Pops. Since 14 October 2007, Cotton and Yates presented BBC Radio 1's Chart Show, taking over from JK & Joel, who had left the station.[20] Cotton then became the first ever permanent female presenter of a BBC radio chart show. (Jo Whiley had preceded her as the first female presenter of The Official UK Top 40, as it was then called, but presented it only once, on 24 November 2002.)
On 16 July 2009, it was announced that Cotton would become the new presenter of BBC Radio 1's weekday mid-morning show, taking over from Jo Whiley (who moved to weekends). Her new programme began on 21 September 2009.[21][22]
On 27 February 2015, she announced that she was pregnant with her second child and that she would be leaving BBC Radio 1.[23]Clara Amfo replaced Cotton on 25 May 2015, taking over the mid-morning show. Cotton's final show was broadcast on 22 May 2015.[24]
BBC Radio 2
Cotton joined BBC Radio 2 in July 2016 standing in for Graham Norton with former Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp on Saturday mornings (10 am–1 pm) while Norton took his annual summer break.[25] Fearne covered for Ken Bruce 24–28 October 2016, in 2017 on 13–17 February, 3–7 and 10–14 April, 11 May, 29 May–2 June and 23–27 October, and in 2018 on 14–16 February.
Fearne has also covered for Chris Evans on the Breakfast Show from 9–13 April 2018. In late 2018, Cotton sat in for Claudia Winkleman on Sundays.[26]
In 2019, Cotton was the cover host for Zoe Ball during the holidays. On 19 March 2020 Cotton launched BBC Radio 2's fourth music decades show, Sounds of the 90s.
Other work
In August 2017, Cotton collaborated with Mini Club, a children's clothing company that sells through Boots stores and their website, to produce her own clothing range. She publicised the range across her various social media accounts, posting pictures of herself and her daughter wearing lines from the collection.[citation needed] She also has clothing and homeware ranges with online retailer Very.
In 2018, Cotton began presenting Happy Place, a podcast available to streaming platforms.[27] The podcast features Cotton interviewing different celebrities.[28]
Cotton said on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that she has eleven tattoos over her body, the most notable of which is a fern leaf, covering her right hip up to her rib cage.[29]
Cotton lived at Chestnut Cottage, Petersham, Richmond-upon-Thames, from 2004 to 2008.[30]
Cotton was previously married to Jesse Wood, the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. In February 2013, she announced on Twitter that she had given birth to a son.[31] Wood and Cotton were married in July 2014. In September 2015, she announced on Twitter that she had given birth to a daughter.[32] On 13 December 2024, Cotton announced she and Jesse Wood were separating.[33]
Cotton is a friend of fellow TV presenter Holly Willoughby, with whom she has co-presented several shows.[34] Cotton and Sarah Cawood acted as two of the bridesmaids at Willoughby's wedding to Dan Baldwin on 4 August 2007.[35]
^Bonet, Anna (6 October 2022). "Fearne Cotton: 'I really want to feel well'". Inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023. [Quoting Cotton:] 'I am Fearne Wood. It is just such a hassle to change, what with the books and everything over the years. If someone comes up to me saying, "Are you Fearne Cotton?" Jesse's like, "Wood!"' She laughs. 'But I like having the same surname as my kids and all that jazz.'
