Dan Wootton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dan Wootton
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Wootton in 2024
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Daniel John William Wootton
2 March 1983 Wellington, New Zealand
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| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
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Daniel John William Wootton (born 2 March 1983) is a journalist and broadcaster from New Zealand and the United Kingdom. He is known for his work in newspapers and on television.
In 2007, he started working at the News of the World newspaper. Later, in 2013, he joined The Sun on Sunday. He became the editor of the "Bizarre" column, which covers entertainment news. In 2016, he moved to The Sun newspaper as an associate editor. He then became an executive editor in 2018.
Wootton has also appeared on TV shows like Lorraine and Daybreak as an entertainment reporter. From 2015 to 2018, he was a regular guest on Big Brother's Bit on the Side. In 2021, he left News UK to write columns for MailOnline. He also started hosting a show on GB News four days a week.
In September 2023, Wootton was suspended from GB News. This happened after a guest on his show made comments that the channel called "totally unacceptable." Wootton apologized, saying he should have stopped the comments. After this, his contract with MailOnline ended. The broadcasting regulator Ofcom investigated the incident. They found that the show broke their rules.
Wootton announced on Twitter that he was leaving GB News. He decided to start his own independent platform called Dan Wootton Outspoken. This announcement came a day after Ofcom released its report on 4 March 2024.
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Early Life and Education
Daniel John William Wootton was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1983. His parents were British. His mother was born in Basildon, England, and his father was born in Malta.
Wootton grew up in Lower Hutt, a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. He went to Naenae College. He then studied at Victoria University of Wellington. There, he earned a degree in media studies and political science.
Journalism Career Highlights
Wootton began his career as a journalist in New Zealand. He wrote an entertainment column for The Dominion Post newspaper. He also reported for the TV show Good Morning.
When he was 21, he moved to the United Kingdom. After working for some trade magazines, he joined Broadcast magazine.
Working at News of the World
In February 2007, Wootton joined the TV team at News of the World. He became the TV editor in November 2007. From November 2008 until the newspaper closed in July 2011, he was the show-business editor. After the newspaper closed, he wrote columns for the Daily Mail. He also became an editor-at-large for Now magazine.
In 2012, Wootton gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. This inquiry looked into the News International phone hacking scandal. Wootton stated that he did not illegally publish stories from phone hacking while he was an editor.
Work at The Sun and Awards
In 2013, Wootton joined The Sun newspaper. He started a new column that appeared on Sundays. In 2014, he became the editor of the newspaper's Bizarre column. He was promoted to associate editor for showbiz and TV in 2016.
Wootton won the 'Showbiz reporter of the year' award at the British Press Awards in 2010, 2013, and 2018. He also appeared as a showbiz reporter on ITV's morning show Lorraine from 2011 to 2019. He was also a guest on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Radio and Major Stories
From March 2018, Wootton hosted a weekly show on talkRADIO called Dan's Dilemmas. In February 2020, he took over the station's drivetime show.
Wootton is known for breaking the story about "Megxit" in The Sun on 8 January 2020. This story was about Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They announced their plans to step back from their royal duties just hours after the story was published. Wootton said he had told their spokesperson about the story ten days before it was published. He faced pressure from royal officials not to publish it. However, sources close to the couple later said they felt forced to announce their plans early. Wootton disagreed with this, saying they made their statement after his story was already out.
Later Career and Independent Platform
In January 2021, Wootton announced he would leave The Sun and talkRADIO. He became a columnist for MailOnline. He also started hosting a daily show, four days a week, on GB News. In November 2021, his GB News show, Tonight Live with Dan Wootton, was renamed Dan Wootton Tonight. Its length was also shortened.
On 5 March 2024, Wootton announced that he had left GB News. He launched his own independent platform, Dan Wootton Outspoken.
Personal Life
In 2013, Wootton shared on his Twitter account that he is gay. In March 2023, he confirmed that he was in a relationship with Alan Longair.
