Kate Silverton

Infobox journalist
name = Kate Silverton


caption =
birthname = Kate Silverton
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|8|4|df=yes
birth_place = Essex, England
death_date =
death_place =
education = University of Durham
occupation = Journalist, Presenter, Actress
alias =
title = Miss Kate Silverton
family =
spouse =
domesticpartner =
children =
relatives =
ethnic = English
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits = "BBC Breakfast"
"BBC News at One"
"BBC News (8pm summary)"
agent =
URL =

Kate Silverton (born 4 August 1970 in Essex, England) is an English journalist, currently employed by the BBC. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/26/ubbc.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/09/26/ixportaltop.html "Newsroom spat forces BBC anchor to quit"] , Daily Telegraph, 27 September 2005.]

Biography

Early life

Silverton was born in Essex, England, the daughter of English parents; Terry Silverton, a registered hypnotherapist and Patricia Silverton who now heads her daughter's company. Silverton has two sisters, Claire and Amy. Silverton attended West Hatch High School in Chigwell, Essex, where she was a champion swimmer and started to compete in the triathlon. [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16202006&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=attractive--ambitious-and-very-scary--tv-newsreader-kate-silverton-is-the---kaplinsky-klone--name_page.html "Attractive, ambitious and very scary." Nick Webster, Daily Mirror: 3 October 2005] ] She was a Girl Guide and gained the Queen's Guide Award. Silverton also practices judo. She spent a year studying Arabic and Middle Eastern politics before switching and has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Durham.

Career

Silverton worked in finance for a London-based bank before becoming a journalist. She trained with the BBC working on "Look North" news before becoming a reporter and presenter at Tyne Tees Television.

Silverton was a panellist on Five's "The Wright Stuff", "The Heaven and Earth Show", "Big Strong Boys" and "Weekend Breakfast" on BBC Radio 5 Live, before joining "BBC News".

From 2005 until December 2007 she was the 8.30-11 am presenter on BBC News 24 along with colleague Simon McCoy although she was frequently absent as she was also a regular relief presenter for "BBC Breakfast", presenting during some of Sian Williams maternity leave.

In December 2006, over the Christmas period, she travelled to Basra to anchor for BBC News to report on the Iraq War. She produced several reports for "BBC Breakfast" and BBC News 24, as well as the main news bulletins on BBC One.

Silverton is also a regular host of the annual British Computer Society Awards; often held at the Grosvenor House hotel in Park Lane, London.

In December 2007, Silverton was named as the presenter of the "BBC News (8pm summary)" - a 90-second round up of the news shown on BBC One. She presented the bulletin for two months. She is presented the "BBC News at One" from February to August 2008, whilst main presenter Sophie Raworth was on maternity leave. [ [http://www.katesilverton.com Kate Silverton to present new bulletin - Silverton's official website] ] It is thought her contract with BBC News has now ended.

Silverton reports for "Panorama" as well as some foreign broadcasting for the corporation.

In February 2008 Silverton revealed in an interview in "The Independent" that she had been offered the main presenter job for the upcoming Five News relaunch in 2007. She turned it down and the job eventually went to her then BBC colleague Natasha Kaplinsky. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/kate-silverton-ms-silverton-strikes-gold-783483.html Silverton Interview] The Independent]

From 05 October 2008, she will present "Big Cat Live" for BBC One.

Philip Hayton incident

In September 2005, Silverton drew some media attention when her BBC News 24 co-anchor Philip Hayton, who had worked for the BBC for 37 years, resigned his position six months into a year's contract. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4283824.stm BBC newsreader quits over 'clash'] BBC News Online.] "The Daily Telegraph", without substantiation and quoting an unnamed 'insider', reported that he turned to Silverton during a break and said "I don't like you". [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/28/nbbc28.xml&site=5 "Chemistry as Silverton clicks with new partner" Richard Alleyne, Daily Telegraph 28 September 2005] ] "The Daily Mirror" quoted another BBC 'insider' as saying that Silverton is "...pushy beyond belief. Behind her big superficial smile she can be a really aggressive, manipulative monster who always gets what she wants." Mr. Hayton merely cited "incompatibility" with Silverton as his reason and when his managers refused to move Silverton to another time slot he left. Silverton was in the peculiar position of having to go through the morning's paper review live on air the morning the story broke, avoiding any discussion of the story and chiding her new co-anchor when he looked to refer to it. Hayton said that he left the BBC "without bitterness or rancour".

However several figures spoke up for Silverton. Jon Sopel, a fellow BBC News 24 presenter, who was Silverton's co-anchor at News 24 for several months, commented on the incident saying "She's warm and friendly. With Kate, what you see is what you get - she's bright, lively, talented and vivacious. I like and trust her. Yes, she's ambitious... but aren't we all?"

Rod Liddle, another of Silverton's former co-presenters and also former programme editor of BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme said: "Kate is intelligent, attractive and has strong opinions. She is far cleverer than Hayton. There are plenty of very stupid women at the BBC but she isn’t one of them. Philip probably needs to work on an island where there are no women. She was absolutely lovely, good fun, professional, intelligent and devoid of the usual afflictions of TV presenters - narcissism and greed." [Adam Sherwin [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1799324,00.html "Personality clash drives newsman from BBC",] "The Times", 27 September 2005.] It was later revealed while the pair worked on a short-lived BBC TV politics programme in 2003 Silverton allegedly hit Liddle, who said: "I made a stupid comment about the disabled which Kate rightly took exception to. We took the fight out of the pilot. It's good to get these things out before we go on air. My admiration for Kate knows no bounds". [ [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=474&id=1999392005 "Here is the news ... I cannot work with that woman, so I quit." Fiona MacGregor, The Scotsman, 27 September 2005] .]

Plastic surgery lawsuit

In January 2008, Silverton sued a clinic after an allegedly botched cosmetic surgery procedure. She was having acne scars removed. [ [http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/35809/118/ BBC anchor sues over facial surgery for HDTV makeover] ]

90th Birthday of the Royal Air Force

Kate Silverton, alongside the historian Dan Snow, presented live coverage of the celebrations held at RAF Fairford on Tuesday 1 April 2008; for a special BBC programme aired at 2:15pm on BBC One.

Beijing - London Olympic Handover

On 24 August 2008, Silverton presented live coverage of the celebrations of London becoming the 2012 Olympic host city; after the 2008 Beijing games closed, from The Mall in London for BBC News.

References

External links

* [http://www.katesilverton.com Official website]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/presenters/4599291.stm BBC profile]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7133119.stm Report to announce new 2000 bulletin]