Kate Thornton Biography
Kate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter, best known as the first presenter of The X Factor (2004–2006) and for presenting daytime shows including Loose Women (2009–2011) and This Morning (2009–2012). In 2010, she co-hosted the first series of 71 Degrees North alongside Gethin Jones.
Early in her career, she wrote for the Daily Mirror and was an editor of Smash Hits magazine.
Kate Thornton Age
How old is Kate Thorton? Kate is 50 years old as of February 2023. She was born on February 7, 1973, in Cheltenham, United Kingdom. In addition, Kate celebrates her birthday on February 7th every year.
Kate Thornton Family
The journalist is the daughter of Sandra Thornton and her father is Dennis Thornton. However, she has not disclosed details about her siblings. We promise to update you as soon as the information is available.
Kate Thornton Education
Thorton attended Mercy College. She also attended and graduated from the University at Albany with a bachelor’s in Meteorology and minors in Geography and Business, and obtained a GIS certificate in 2009.
She later continued her studies in the broadcast field and attended the New School of Radio and Television where she completed the broadcast journalism program with top honors.
Kate Thornton Husband | Kids
Thornton began dating DJ Darren Emerson in 2004. The couple became engaged in 2007. She gave birth to her first child, a boy named Ben, on May 13, 2008.
On 3 February 2011, she announced live on air that she and Emerson had separated. In January 2012, Thornton said that after leaving Loose Women she had enrolled at college to study counseling because her television career had “hit the kerb”.
Thornton is also a successful landlord, owning a property portfolio in London.
Kate Thornton Career
Journalism
Kate started her career at the Sunday Mirror in 1992 as an editorial assistant. She later became a pop-music columnist for the Daily Mirror.
While in this role, Kate was instrumental in initiating a media controversy concerning the British musical group Pulp. Prior to the launch of the band’s single “Sorted for E’s & Wizz” in 1995, the Daily Mirror printed a front-page story headed “BAN THIS SICK STUNT” alongside a story by Kate Thornton which said the song was “pro-drugs” and called for the single to be banned.
The pre-release single had an inlay in which Kate alleged showed how to make an origami ‘wrap’ or parcel with the intention of “offering teenage fans a DIY guide on hiding illegal drugs”.
In an interview with music paper NME on the same day, Thornton was quoted to say: “We wanted to see the sleeve pulled and we thought it was a crusade we would take up single-handedly. I think the sleeve is something that will touch our readers, although it may not touch yours.”
The band agreed to change the artwork while continuing to assert that Thornton had misinterpreted the meaning of both the sleeve art and the song’s lyrics.
Lead singer Jarvis Cocker made a statement two days later clarifying that: “…’ Sorted’ is not a pro-drugs song… No part on the sleeve which says you are supposed to put drugs in here but I understand the confusion… I wouldn’t want anything we do to drive people into drugs because they aren’t a solution or an answer to anything.
I don’t think anyone who listens to Sorted would come away prejudging it had a pro-drugs message. If they did I would say they had misinterpreted it.”
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The Daily Mirror printed Cocker’s statement, but he was unhappy that the front-page article written by Thornton contained the misquote “I don’t want the sleeve to get in the way of what the record is saying, which is an anti-drugs message”, which he felt over-simplified the song’s meaning once again.
He also criticized Thornton’s decision to contact the father of a victim of an ecstasy-related death for a response. The Daily Mirror campaign went on publishing their readers’ responses to a poll to have the song itself banned.
The single reached number two on the UK Singles Charts, and the track featured on the band’s 1995 album Different Class.
In 1995, she became the youngest ever editor of pop magazine Smash Hits at age 22, producing her first issue in February 1996 covering the breakup of the boy band Take That. She left a year later, having been unable to prevent a further slide in sales of the magazine.
In 1997, she became a Features Editor at the Sunday Times, a post she held until 2001, and also a contributing editor for the magazine Marie Claire, in which position she continued until 2003.
Television
Whilst undertaking these new editorial roles, Kate began a second career in television. In February 1997, Thornton was given her first TV presenting job, on the ITV current affairs program Straight Up.
She was assigned to putting together a photo tribute with music for Princess Diana on the day of her death. In an interview in March 2011, Kate said: “…because it was a Sunday, the music library was shut and the only thing I had in my car, the only appropriate music was “Candle in the Wind” from Elton John’s greatest hits.”
Colleagues attributed the subsequent airplay and then the re-recording of the song to this event.
Thornton is quoted as having been doubtful initially, but later having come to accept the possibility: “I never dared to assume for one minute that I was the link. But Nick Knowles [co-presenter on the show] has convinced me that whatever came as a result of it was all down to me.”
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Kate was the first presenter of the UK series of The X Factor. She presented three series of shows from 2004 until 2006 before being replaced by Dermot O’Leary. She later anchored ITV’s daytime series Loose Women, in rotation with Andrea McLean.
Thornton presented 233 episodes of the show from 2009 until 2011. She was replaced by Carol Vorderman.
Kate was a regular stand-in presenter on This Morning and in 2010, she co-presented the first series of 71 Degrees North alongside Gethin Jones. Neither returned for the second series.
In 2010, Kate narrated The Nation’s Favourite Abba Song. She also presented A Night with Will Young in 2011 and guest-hosted six episodes of Lorraine in 2012.
Thornton also presented Gravity Games for BBC Two, Women: The Naked Truth Honest for Channel 4, and Breasts Uncupped for Sky1.
Radio
Thornton has presented a number of programs for BBC Radio 2 since 2002.
As well as presenting, Thornton was also the writer of the radio documentary From Band to Brand in 2004, and the creator of the radio series Line of Enquiry, inviting an audience to put questions to a number of celebrities, which began in 2007.
From 10 March until 28 April 2013, Thornton presented The Boots Feel Good Forum, a radio show dedicated to health and fitness, which aired on Real Radio and Smooth Radio.
Since 2014, Kate has presented Paper Cuts, a radio series for BBC Radio 2. Up to date, four series have aired with guests including Craig Revel Horwood, Patsy Kensit, Eamonn Holmes, and Paul O’Grady who all look back through their lives via their newspaper headlines.
Other work
Kate launched the cashback site, TBSeen in January 2016, along with TV presenters, Myleene Klass, Amanda Byram, and Denise Van Outen, celebrity chef Lisa Faulkner, actresses Tamzin Outhwaite, Julie Graham, and singers Heidi Range and the band All Saints, Natalie Appleton, Nicole Appleton, Mel Blatt, and Shaznay Lewis.
TBSeen entered administration in September 2018.
Thornton hosted the live Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. She also voiced the role of the red carpet presenter in the UK Version of Shrek 2.
Kate currently hosts the Yahoo! podcast White Wine Question Time where she asks three friends, three questions over three bottles of wine.
Guests have included Jo Joyner, Nadia Sawalha, Malin Andersson, Leigh Francis, Angela Griffin, and Amanda Holden. The podcast first aired in December 2018 – the highest chart position so far has been number 13.
Kate Thornton Filmography
Television
- 1998–1999 Top of the Pops
- Dishes
- The Power List
- 1998–2000 The Kate and Jono Show
- Don’t Try This at Home
- This Morning
- 2000 The TV BAFTAs
- 2001–2003 Pop Idol: Extra
- 2001 The Brits are Coming
- The Brits: Backstage
- BAFTA Children’s Awards
- 2001–2002 The Ideal Home Show
- 2001–2003 Holiday – You Call the Shots
- 2002 Lad’s Army
- 2003 VH-1’s Behind the Movies: Top Gun
- 2004 American Idol
- 2004 Westlife – She’s The One
- 2004–2006 The X Factor
- 2005 Celebrity Wrestling
- Happy Birthday Elton John
- Greatest Britons
- 2007 Britain’s Classroom Heroes
- Royal Variety Performance
- 2008 Countdown to Midnight: Take That Live
- Don’t Miss a Trick
- Hello Goodbye
- Elton’s New Year’s Eve Party
- 2009–2011 Loose Women
- 2009–2012, 2014, 2018 This Morning
- 2010 71 Degrees North
- The Nation’s Favourite Abba Song
- 2011 A Night with Will Young
- 2011, 2012 This Morning’s Hub
- 2012 Lorraine
- 2018 The One Show
Radio
- 2006, 2012–14, 2017, 2019– Let’s Talk
- 2011 Going Out with Alan Carr
- 2013 The Boots Feel Good Forum
- 2014–16 Paper Cuts
- 2015 Magic’s Music of My Life
- 2017 Saturday Breakfast
- Kate Thornton’s 90s
- 2017– The Zoë Ball Show
- 2018–19 Kate Thornton’s Breakfast Show
Kate Thornton Net Worth
Thorton has an estimated net worth of between $3 million – $5 million. His income is mainly from his successful career as a journalist and television personality.
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