Konnie Huq facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Konnie Huq
Konnie in 2006
Born	Kanak Asha Huq (1975-07-17) 17 July 1975 (age 49) London, England
Education	Notting Hill & Ealing High School
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 TV presenter, writer, and author of children's books. She is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of the popular British children's TV show, Blue Peter. She hosted the show for 11 years, from 1997 to 2008.

Konnie has also presented and appeared on many other TV shows, like The Xtra Factor. She even helped write an episode of the TV series Black Mirror with her husband, Charlie Brooker. Konnie has written several children's books, including Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, which came out in 2019.

Early life

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

Konnie went to Notting Hill & Ealing High School. She did very well in her exams, getting nine GCSEs and A-levels in chemistry, maths, and physics. She then studied economics at Robinson College, Cambridge, and earned a good degree.

Career

Early work

Konnie started training at the National Youth Music Theatre when she was young. In 1989, at age 14, she sang a solo on Blue Peter with the theatre group. The next year, she acted alongside Jude Law in a play called Captain Stirrick.

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

Konnie's first job as a presenter was at age 16 on a satellite TV show called TVFM. She then presented a children's quiz show called Eat Your Words on GMTV from 1994 to 1996. In 1997, just before joining Blue Peter, she also presented Milkshake!, a children's show on Channel Five.

Blue Peter

Konnie Huq started presenting Blue Peter on 1 December 1997. Early in her time on the show, she visited the village in Bangladesh where her family used to live. In 2004, during a Blue Peter trip to India, Konnie was an extra in a Bollywood film called Musafir. She even practiced dancing with the film's stars!

For a Blue Peter appeal in 2004, she went to Angola. She hoped to help children find their families after being separated by war. In 2008, during her last show, Konnie broke a Guinness World Record. She pinned 17 Blue Peter Badges onto fellow presenter Andy Akinwolere's shirt in just one minute!

On 31 May 2007, Konnie announced she would be leaving Blue Peter. Her final show was on 22 January 2008. It was a special episode showing her best moments from her ten years on the programme. Konnie is the third longest-serving Blue Peter presenter ever. She is also the longest-serving female host, having beaten Valerie Singleton's record in 2007. She worked with 10 different co-presenters during her time on the show.

Other work

Presenting and panel shows

Konnie in 2009

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

In December 2007, Konnie appeared on a celebrity version of Ready Steady Cook with her Blue Peter co-presenter Andy Akinwolere. She also presented London Talking, a political debate show, and some Your News programmes for BBC News. In 2008, Konnie was the main presenter for Zoo Days, a show about animals and staff at Chester Zoo and Colchester Zoo.

Konnie appeared with her future husband Charlie Brooker on his show Screenwipe in December 2008. She also presented Guinness World Records Smashed on Sky1 in 2009. In May 2009, Konnie started presenting Hannah-Oke, a Hannah Montana themed karaoke game show, on Disney Channel. She then presented the seventh series of The Xtra Factor on ITV2.

In 2011, Konnie appeared in a documentary called Under Pressure. She tried to learn how to be a rapper and performed at the indigO2. She also presented the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Live from Stratford upon Avon" web project for two years. This project showed theatre productions in schools. In 2022, the BBC announced that Konnie would be a guest presenter on the quiz show Pointless.

Radio

In 2006, Konnie became a presenter for The Tube on Channel 4 Radio. In 2007, she started presenting news on the BBC Asian Network in a series of documentaries. In 2010, she presented an episode of Archive on 4 about 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.

Cameo appearances

Konnie has appeared as herself in several TV shows, including The Kumars at No 42 in 2001. In 2007, she had small roles in The Sarah Jane Adventures and M.I.High. She also played a servant named Konnie in the TV series Robin Hood.

In 2013, Konnie played a presenter in the comedy series A Touch of Cloth. In 2019, she briefly appeared as a breakfast TV presenter in Good Omens, a show based on a book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Screenwriting and books

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

She also helped write an episode of the TV series Black Mirror called "Fifteen Million Merits". This episode was a satire, which means it used humor to criticize entertainment shows.

Konnie's first children's book, Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, was published in 2019. It's the first book in a series. The story is about a girl named Cookie Haque who loves science. The book explores what happens when her best friend moves away and a boy she finds annoying moves next door. Konnie wrote and drew the pictures for the book. She has described Cookie as a mix between the characters Wimpy Kid and Bridget Jones. She published a follow-up book, Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World, in 2020, along with her third children's book, Fearless Fairy Tales.

Helping others

In 2005, Konnie took part in the BBC One fundraising show Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. She sang Kids in America and was the third person voted off. 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 campaign to end polio. She helped give Polio vaccine to children during her trip.

As an ambassador for the British Red Cross, Konnie appeared in a 2009 video. This video was part of a campaign to fight against unfair treatment of people living with certain health conditions. She was also an ambassador for Gold Challenge, a program for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Personal life

On 26 July 2010, Konnie Huq married writer and satirist Charlie Brooker in Las Vegas. They had been together for nine months. They have two sons. Konnie has said she does less TV work now so she can spend more time with her children.

Konnie supported the Labour Party in the 2010 general election. Her sister, Rupa, became a Labour Member of Parliament in 2015.

On 6 April 2008, Konnie carried the Olympic torch in London as part of its journey to Beijing. A protester tried to grab the torch from her, but she was not hurt. The police arrested the protester.

Filmography

Images for kids

• 

  Konnie giving a polio vaccine in Lucknow, India, in 2009.