Top 10 British TV Show Presenters

After starting out as a stand-up comedian, Dara O’Briain took up presenting in 2002, before becoming a household name with “Mock the Week”. After that, the jobs kept rolling in. He hosted “The Apprentice: You’re Fired” from 2010 to 2014; He started the Dave video game panel show, “Go 8 Bit” in 2016; And he even fronts “Stargazing Live” alongside Brian Cox - he’s got a degree in theoretical physics, don’t you know! And just to top off his geeky jobs, Dara has presented “Robot Wars” since its revival, also in 2016.

While many presenters start-off on stage, Alan Carr’s big break was with “The Friday Night Project” - the stand-up tours came later. Filling every minute of screentime with trademark enthusiasm, Carr’s unique persona and tongue-in-cheek humour made him a hit with the public - and he scored his own game show in 2007, the delightfully named “Celebrity Ding Dong”. But he’s probably best known for “Alan Carr: Chatty Man” - a long-running chat show which attracted some big name stars.

As the host of “Strictly Come Dancing”, Tess Daly is one of the country’s most recognisable celeb personalities. She started off as a model before moving to small presenting roles and childrens’ TV - working on the likes of “Smash Hits” and “SM:tv Live”. Tess has fronted “Strictly” since 2004, originally partnered with Sir Bruce Forsyth, before Claudia Winkleman stepped up in 2014. And when she isn’t overseeing the race for the Glitter-ball, she’s a regular host on “Children in Need”, and she has written two novels! Is there anything she can’t do?

While Holly and Phil have had hugely successful presenting careers away from one another, they’ve been best known as a double act ever since they paired up for “Dancing on Ice”. Their on-screen chemistry for that show led the producers of “This Morning” to hire Holly as a co-presenter in 2009, and they haven’t looked back since. Their genuine friendship and unpredictable antics have endeared them to fans across the country, and they’ve been at the centre of a string of viral clips, too - from accidental innuendos to autocue fails, and even on-air drunkenness.

Originally a radio DJ in Essex, Dermot O’Leary had his big break as a presenter on Channel 4’s “T4”. Since then, he’s worked on most of the major British TV channels, fronting “Big Brother’s Little Brother”, also on Channel 4, and working on “Comic Relief” for the BBC. But he’s easily most famous for his role on ITV, hosting the annual talent search, “The X Factor”. Dermot has been a master of ceremonies for Simon Cowell and co. since 2007, not counting 2015 when he was replaced for one series by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. O’Leary was back by popular demand for the following year.

While he started off as a journalist and is a regular on TV’s most popular panel shows, Clarkson’s a petrolhead first and foremost - and he’ll forever be linked to the flagship BBC programme, “Top Gear”. With Richard Hammond and James May (who replaced Jason Dawe after the first series), Clarkson led the show from 2002 until 2015 - in which time it became one of the most successful projects on British TV. Various controversies amounted to Clarkson leaving “Top Gear” after its 22nd season, but fans can still find him on Amazon’s “The Grand Tour”.

A true stalwart of UK television, Jonathan Ross is one of today’s longest-serving TV presenters. Although he has fronted a huge variety of formats, he’s most famous for his self-titled celebrity talk shows - “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross”, on the BBC until 2010, and “The Jonathan Ross Show” on ITV since 2011. Like Clarkson, Ross has proven a controversial character at times, with his often-risque interview technique regularly drawing complaints. But thousands of fans still switch on, and he’s one of prime time’s biggest draws.

A success story on both sides of the Atlantic, James Corden’s career kicked off with various acting roles - most notably as Smithy in “Gavin & Stacey”, which he co-wrote with Ruth Jones. But today’s audiences probably know him best for two things; “A League of Their Own” on Sky One, or “The Late Late Show” in America. Backed up by Freddie Flintoff, Jack Whitehall and Jamie Redknapp, Corden has seen “A League of Their Own” become one of the most popular shows of its type, while “Late Show” features like Carpool Karaoke have turned him into a global star.

An undisputed pro, Graham Norton’s list of presenting credits seems almost endless. He’s hosted talent shows, award shows and he has been the voice of Eurovision since 2009. But above all of that, Graham’s signature act is chat shows. He has interviewed celebs since 1998, and his popularity has seemed on a constant upward curve. A true force to be reckoned with when it comes to prime time ratings, Norton’s fun and laid-back style has not only won him fans, but it also has celebs queuing up to feature next.

These Geordie lads have seen all that showbiz can throw at them, and they just keep getting better and better. After learning their trade on kids’ TV, Ant & Dec staged a brief (but memorable) stint in pop music, before finding their true calling at the front and centre of British television. 2001’s “Pop Idol” proved a major stepping stone, raising their profiles with family audiences. From there, they’ve been involved in some of the twenty-first century’s most popular shows, including “Saturday Night Takeaway”, “Britain’s Got Talent” and “I’m a Celeb”. They’re national treasures, and TV royalty.