Konnie Huq facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Konnie Huq
Huq in 2006
Born	Kanak Asha Huq (1975-07-17) 17 July 1975 (age 50) London, England
Alma mater	Robinson College, Cambridge
Occupation	Presenter, screenwriter, author
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Charlie Brooker ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2
Relatives	Rupa Huq (sister)

Konnie Huq (born Kanak Asha Huq on 17 July 1975) is a British television presenter, writer, and author of children's books. She is famous for being the longest-serving female presenter of the popular British children's TV show Blue Peter. She presented Blue Peter for 10 years, from 1997 to 2008.

Konnie has also presented and been a guest on many other TV shows. These include The Xtra Factor in 2010. She also helped write an episode of the TV series Black Mirror called "Fifteen Million Merits" with her husband, Charlie Brooker.

In 2019, Konnie published her first children's book, Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World. She then released two more books in the series: Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World in 2020, and Fearless Fairy Tales in 2022.

Early life and education

Konnie Huq was born in Hammersmith, London, on 17 July 1975. Her parents moved to England from Pabna, Bangladesh, in the 1960s. She grew up in Ealing, London, with her two older sisters. One of her sisters, Rupa Huq, later became a politician.

Konnie went to Notting Hill & Ealing High School. She did very well in her exams, getting nine GCSEs and then A-levels in chemistry, maths, and physics. After school, she studied economics at Robinson College, Cambridge, and graduated from there.

Career highlights

Starting in television

Konnie Huq started training part-time at the National Youth Music Theatre. When she was 14, in 1989, she appeared on Blue Peter with them and sang a solo. The next year, she performed alongside actor Jude Law in a play called Captain Stirrick.

Before the 1992 general election, Konnie interviewed the Labour leader Neil Kinnock for the children's news programme Newsround. She also appeared as a contestant on the game show Blockbusters in the same year.

Konnie's first time presenting on TV was at age 16, on a satellite TV show called TVFM. She then presented a children's quiz show on GMTV called Eat Your Words from 1994 to 1996. Before joining Blue Peter in 1997, she also presented Channel Five's morning children's show Milkshake!.

Time on Blue Peter

Konnie Huq became a presenter on the BBC children's TV show Blue Peter on 1 December 1997. Early in her time on the show, she visited the village in Bangladesh where her family had lived.

In 2004, during Blue Peter's trip to India, Konnie was an extra in a Bollywood film called Musafir. She even practiced dancing with the film's stars. For a special appeal in 2004, she visited Angola to help reunite children with their families after a war.

In 2008, during her very last Blue Peter show, Konnie broke a Guinness World Record. She pinned 17 Blue Peter Badges onto fellow presenter Andy Akinwolere's shirt in just one minute.

Konnie announced she would be leaving Blue Peter on 31 May 2007. Her final show was on 22 January 2008. It was a special episode showing her best moments from her ten years on the programme. She is the third longest-serving Blue Peter presenter ever and the longest-serving female host. She also holds the record for working with the most co-presenters, a total of 10!

Other TV and radio work

Konnie Huq in 2009

From 2002 to 2004, Konnie co-presented the CBBC Channel's UK Top 40 chart show. She also briefly presented Top of the Pops in 2003. In 2007, she was a guest on the comedy game show 8 out of 10 Cats.

In 2008, Konnie was the main presenter for the third series of Channel Five's Zoo Days. This show was a documentary series about the animals and staff at Chester and Colchester Zoos.

Konnie presented Guinness World Records Smashed on Sky1 in 2009. On 15 May 2009, she started presenting Hannah-Oke on The Disney Channel. This was a fun karaoke-style game show based on Hannah Montana. She also presented the seventh series of The Xtra Factor on ITV2.

In 2022, the BBC announced that Konnie Huq would be one of the guest presenters for the popular quiz show Pointless.

Konnie has also worked in radio. In 2010, she presented an episode of Archive on 4 where she looked back at forty years of Sesame Street. In 2013, she took part in the Radio 4 series Great Lives, where she talked about Ada Lovelace, a famous mathematician.

Writing and books

In December 2009, Konnie Huq won an award at the Monaco International Film Festival for her screenplay called Ahmed and Mildred. This story was about two young children experiencing love for the first time, with a superhero theme.

She also co-wrote an episode of the TV series Black Mirror called "Fifteen Million Merits" with her husband, Charlie Brooker. This episode was a clever look at entertainment shows.

Konnie's children's book Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World was published in 2019. It was the first in a series of three books. The main character, Cookie Haque, loves science. The story is about what happens when her best friend moves away and a boy she finds annoying moves next door. Konnie wrote and illustrated the book herself. She has described Cookie as a mix between the characters from Wimpy Kid and Bridget Jones. The third book in the series was published in February 2022.

Helping others

Konnie Huq giving a polio vaccine in Lucknow, India, in 2009, as part of a campaign to stop polio.

In 2005, Konnie took part in the BBC One fundraising show Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. She traveled to Uganda to meet orphaned children for Comic Relief.

Konnie also traveled to Afghanistan with the charity Afghanaid in 2008. The next year, she went to India as part of Rotary International's "Thanks for Life/End Polio Now" campaign. She helped give polio vaccine to children during this trip.

As an ambassador for the British Red Cross, Konnie appeared in a video in 2009. This video was part of a campaign to fight against unfair treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Personal life

On 26 July 2010, Konnie Huq married writer and satirist Charlie Brooker in Las Vegas. They have two sons together. Konnie has said she decided to do less television work so she could spend more time with her children.

Konnie's sister, Rupa Huq, was elected as a Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton in 2015.

In 2008, Konnie took part in the Summer Olympics torch relay in London. She was one of 80 people carrying the torch on its way to Beijing.

Filmography