Gloria Hunniford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gloria Hunniford OBE
Hunniford in 2011
Born	Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford (1940-04-10) 10 April 1940 (age 85) Portadown, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Occupation	Television and radio presenter, singer
Years active	1947-present
Television	Open House with Gloria Hunniford Rip Off Britain Loose Women
Spouse(s)	Don Keating ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1992)​ Stephen Way ​ ​ (m. 1998; died 2024)​
Children	3; including Caron Keating

Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, who has an OBE award, is a well-known television and radio presenter, broadcaster, and singer from Northern Ireland. She was born on April 10, 1940. Gloria is famous for hosting shows on the BBC and ITV, like Rip Off Britain. She is also a regular guest on Loose Women. She has been a reporter for This Morning and The One Show. Gloria also had a successful singing career from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Early Life and Background

Gloria Hunniford was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland. Her family was Protestant. Her father was a magician and a member of the Orange Order. Gloria has an older sister named Lena and a younger brother named Charles. When she was a teenager, she lived in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She believes this time helped her see the world in a new way.

Gloria Hunniford's Career

Television Work

Gloria Hunniford started her career as a singer. Later, she worked as a production assistant for UTV in Belfast. She then became a local radio broadcaster for the BBC. At UTV, she met her first husband, Don Keating.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Gloria hosted Good Evening Ulster. She also presented Sunday Sunday and We Love TV on the ITV Network. She has appeared on many other shows, including Lily Savage's Blankety Blank and Call My Bluff. In 2021, she was on Blankety Blank with Bradley Walsh.

In 1995, Gloria became one of the presenters for the BBC chat show Pebble Mill at One. She even hosted a special episode where she interviewed the famous singer and actress Doris Day.

From 1998 to 2003, Gloria presented Open House with Gloria Hunniford for Channel 5. In August 2010, she was a guest presenter on the ITV show 3@Three.

Since 2009, Gloria has been a co-presenter of Rip Off Britain on BBC One. This show helps people with consumer complaints. She presents it with Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville. This trio also presented Charlie's Consumer Angels.

In 2012, Gloria hosted the BBC One documentary series Doorstep Crime 999.

Since September 8, 2014, Gloria Hunniford has been a regular guest on the ITV chat show Loose Women. She had been a guest on the show before in 2003. She also hosted the show four times between 2014 and 2016.

In 2014, Gloria presented the first series of the BBC One show Home Away from Home. She has also co-presented three series of Food: Truth or Scare with Chris Bavin since 2016.

In January 2022, Gloria appeared on The Masked Singer (series 3) as "Snow Leopard". She was the second contestant to be unmasked.

Strictly Come Dancing Appearance

In 2005, Gloria Hunniford took part in the third series of the BBC's dance competition Strictly Come Dancing. She danced with Darren Bennett. They were eliminated from the competition in the third week.

Other TV Appearances

Gloria has appeared on many other TV shows. These include Gloria Live, Wogan, Holiday, Songs of Praise, That's Showbusiness, Kilroy, and Sunday, Sunday.

In 2008, Gloria was a regular guest on Through the Keyhole. She was also featured as a celebrity homeowner on an episode in 2018. On September 27, 2013, Gloria appeared on an episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories. On January 28, 2014, she participated in Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Radio Career

Gloria Hunniford had her own daily radio show on BBC Radio 2. It started in January 1982 as a lunchtime show. In January 1984, it moved to an afternoon slot, where it stayed for 11 years until April 1995. Gloria also hosted Sounding Brass, a music request show with a live brass band.

Other Projects and Charity Work

Gloria Hunniford has released a health and exercise video called Fit for Life. She also wrote an Irish recipe book with her sister Lena, called Gloria Hunniford's Family Cookbook.

Charity Involvement

Gloria Hunniford supports several charities. She is a Patron of Hope for Tomorrow, a UK charity that provides Mobile Cancer Care Units. These units help bring cancer treatment closer to patients. Gloria is also a patron of The Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks. This theatre is a charity that uses any extra money to improve its facilities for the community.

Personal Life

Gloria Hunniford was married to Don Keating from 1970 to 1992. They had a daughter, Caron Keating, and two sons, Paul and Michael. Don Keating passed away in 1997.

On September 5, 1998, Gloria married hairdresser Stephen Way. They were married until Stephen passed away on August 13, 2024, at the age of 85.

Gloria Hunniford lives in Sevenoaks, Kent.

In June 2022, Gloria had a fall at home and broke a bone under her eye. Because of this, she was unable to attend the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Caron Keating Foundation

Gloria Hunniford's daughter, Caron Keating, was born on October 5, 1962, and sadly passed away on April 13, 2004, from breast cancer in Kent. After Caron's death, Gloria set up a cancer charity in her daughter's name, called the Caron Keating Foundation.

For her work with cancer charities, Gloria Hunniford was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours.

Television Shows

Music Albums and Singles

Albums

• That's How I Spell I.R.E.L.A.N.D. (1970), Outlet
• Good Evening...Gloria Hunniford (1979), Release
• A Taste of Hunni (1982), Ritz (compilation)

Singles

• "Are You Ready for Love" (1969), Metronome
• "Give the Children Back Their Childhood" (1979), Release
• "True Love" (1987), Honey Bee – Foster & Allen with Gloria Hunniford
• "Give the Children Back Their Childhood" (1988), Ocean
• "Pudsey's Picnic" (1989), President – Gloria Hunniford, Adrian Love & Graham Dolby

See also

In Spanish: Gloria Hunniford para niños

• List of Strictly Come Dancing contestants