Fearne Cotton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fearne Cotton
Cotton in 2014
Born	(1981-09-03) 3 September 1981 (age 43) Northwood, London, England
Other names	Fearne Wood
Education	Haydon School
Occupation	Broadcaster author
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Jesse Wood ​ ​ (m. 2014; sep. 2024)​
Children	2
Relatives	Billy Cotton (great-granduncle) Sir Bill Cotton, CBE (first cousin, twice removed)

Fearne Cotton was born on 3 September 1981. She is a well-known English TV and radio presenter, and also an author. She started her career in the late 1990s. Back then, she presented children's TV shows for channels like GMTV, CITV, and CBBC.

Later, Fearne hosted many popular TV shows. These included Top of the Pops, Love Island, and The Xtra Factor. She was also a regular presenter for the Children in Need charity events for many years. From 2008 to 2018, she was a team captain on the comedy show Celebrity Juice.

In 2007, Fearne made history at BBC Radio 1. She became the first regular female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show. She then got her own weekday morning show on Radio 1, which she hosted from 2009 to 2015. After that, she joined BBC Radio 2 in 2016.

Since 2018, Fearne has hosted Happy Place, a popular podcast. This podcast focuses on topics like wellbeing and mental health. She has also written many books. These include eight self-help books, two children's books, and four books about healthy eating.

Early Life and Family

Fearne Cotton was born in Northwood, London. Her parents are Mick and Lyn Cotton. She has a younger brother named Jamie. Her father worked as a signwriter for big events like Live Aid. Her mother worked in alternative therapy. Fearne grew up in a nearby area called Eastcote. She went to Haydon School.

Fearne is a pescetarian, meaning she eats fish but not other meat. She loves animals. She has also taken part in several half marathons to raise money for charity. Her family has a history in entertainment. Her great-granduncle was the famous entertainer Billy Cotton.

Fearne studied art in school. She used her art skills when she presented the TV series Draw Your Own Toons.

Television Career

Children's TV Shows

Fearne started presenting TV shows when she was just 15 years old in 1996. Her first show was The Disney Club on GMTV. She won a competition to become a presenter on the show. She continued with The Disney Club and its next version, Diggit. She left in 2000 to work on other projects with CITV. These included Draw Your Own Toons and Mouse, which taught kids about computers.

In 2001, Fearne joined CBBC. She presented Eureka TV, a science show for children. From 2001 to 2003, she co-presented Finger Tips. This was an arts and crafts show for kids, with Stephen Mulhern. She also co-presented Smile and The Saturday Show on CBBC. Fearne also appeared in Only in America with her friend Reggie Yates. In 2015, she returned to children's TV by voicing one of the Voice Trumpets in the new Teletubbies series.

ITV Shows

In 2006, Fearne co-presented the second series of ITV's Love Island with Patrick Kielty.

In 2007, she hosted The Xtra Factor on ITV2. This was a spin-off show for The X Factor. She hosted it for one series before moving to work in America.

From 2008, Fearne was a team captain on the ITV2 comedy show Celebrity Juice. She appeared alongside host Keith Lemon and fellow captain Holly Willoughby. She took a short break in 2013 when she had her first child. Fearne left the show in 2018.

Fearne also hosted Fearne and... on ITV2 starting in 2009. In 2012, she hosted The Nation's Favourite Number One Single. This three-part series looked at Britain's favourite number one songs. Since 2016, she has co-presented Fearne & Gok: Off The Rails with Gok Wan for ITVBe. In 2017, Fearne was a guest presenter for five episodes of Lorraine on ITV Breakfast.

BBC Shows

In 2003, Fearne started working on bigger BBC shows. She and Simon Grant presented Top of the Pops: Saturday. In 2004, she moved to the main Top of the Pops show with Reggie Yates. She was one of the last regular presenters for this famous music show, which ended in 2006. She also presented special Christmas and New Year Top of the Pops shows in 2008 and 2009.

Fearne has hosted parts of the Red Nose Day telethon for Comic Relief several times. She has also presented many charity events for both Comic Relief and Children in Need on BBC One and BBC Two. In 2005, she co-presented the BBC's coverage of Live 8 in Hyde Park. In 2008, she hosted a Strictly Come Dancing special for Children in Need.

In June 2012, Fearne was one of the BBC's presenters for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. She also guest presented The One Show on BBC One several times between 2013 and 2016.

Other TV Work

Fearne hosted the live eviction show for the Channel 5 reality series Make Me a Supermodel in 2006.

She also hosted Sky One's talent show Must Be The Music for one series in 2010.

US TV and Eurovision

In 2008, Fearne went to the US to host a special show called Guinness World Records Live: Top 100. She later co-hosted the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing.

Fearne has also been part of the BBC's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006 and 2007, she read the United Kingdom's votes. In 2007, she co-hosted Making Your Mind Up 2007 with Terry Wogan. This show chose which song the UK would send to Eurovision.

Radio Career

BBC Radio 1

In September 2005, Fearne joined BBC Radio 1. She presented the Friday early morning slot with Reggie Yates. They had worked together before on CBBC and Top of the Pops. From October 2007, Fearne and Reggie presented BBC Radio 1's Chart Show. Fearne became the first regular female presenter of a BBC radio chart show.

On 16 July 2009, it was announced that Fearne would host BBC Radio 1's weekday mid-morning show. Her new show started on 21 September 2009.

On 27 February 2015, she announced she was expecting her second child. She also said she would be leaving BBC Radio 1. Her last show was on 22 May 2015. Clara Amfo took over her mid-morning show.

BBC Radio 2

Fearne joined BBC Radio 2 in July 2016. She filled in for other presenters like Graham Norton and Ken Bruce on various shows. She also covered for Chris Evans on the Breakfast Show in April 2018. In late 2018, Fearne filled in for Claudia Winkleman on Sundays.

In 2019, Fearne was the cover host for Zoe Ball during holidays. On 19 March 2020, Fearne launched Sounds of the 90s. This was BBC Radio 2's fourth music decades show.

Other Projects

In August 2017, Fearne worked with Mini Club. This is a children's clothing company that sells through Boots stores. She created her own clothing range for them. She also has clothing and homeware ranges with the online store Very.

In 2018, Fearne started her podcast called Happy Place. This podcast is available on many streaming platforms. On the podcast, Fearne interviews different famous people.

Personal Life

Fearne Cotton has eleven tattoos. One of her most noticeable tattoos is a fern leaf on her right hip.

Fearne was married to Jesse Wood, who is the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. They have two children, a son born in 2013 and a daughter born in 2015. In December 2024, Fearne announced that she and Jesse Wood were separating. Fearne lives in Richmond, London.

Fearne is good friends with fellow TV presenter Holly Willoughby. They have presented several shows together. Fearne became vegetarian as a child. She has since become vegan. In December 2024, she shared that she had surgery to remove two non-cancerous jaw growths.

Charity Work

Fearne supports many charities. These include CoppaFeel!, Post Pals, Macmillan Cancer Support, Children in Need, and Red Nose Day.

In 2009, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. She climbed with other celebrities like Ben Shephard, Gary Barlow, and Cheryl Cole. Fearne and others felt altitude sickness during the climb. She was in the first group to reach the top. They helped raise £3.3 million for charity. Fearne also filmed a video for Comic Relief about malaria in Uganda.

Fearne also recorded her voice for the BT Speaking Clock. This helped raise more money for Comic Relief.

Filmography

Television

Film