Lauren Laverne

(57 votes, average: 3.91 out of 5)

Loading...

Television

Lauren Laverne’s first television presenting job was Play UK’s series The Alphabet Show, with Chris Addison, made while Kenickie were still together. She has since presented Planet Pop and Loves Like A Dog for Channel 4, Fanorama for E4, Party in the Park with Melanie Brown and Pop for Five and Orange Playlist for ITV, as well as reporting for RI:SE, leading the house band on Johnny Vaughan Tonight and appearing as an expert in a music special of BBC One’s Test the Nation. In recent years she has been seen as one of BBC2’s main presenters for their coverage of the Glastonbury Festival and the host of ITV2’s coverage of events such as the British Comedy Awards and the BRIT Awards.

She also presented a documentary for Sky One on the rise of popularity of the US hit TV Show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, called Buffy: Television With Bite. This was done when the show was returning for its sixth season in 2001.

In 2003 Lauren was a regular team captain, along with Jason Byrne, on “Elvis Has Left The Building” a comedy music panel show hosted by Colin Murphy for BBC Northern Ireland. In 2004 Lauren Laverne was a regular guest on the quiz show HeadJam. In 2005, she became host of ITV’s Saturday morning music show CD:UK, along with Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts, starting on 17 September with a programme featuring Laverne interviewing Sir Paul McCartney. The show finished in April 2006.

From 2006 to 2010, she was a regular presenter with the weekly BBC arts magazine programme The Culture Show, alongside Mark Kermode. She also presented the second series of the late-night Channel 4 music show Transmission with T-Mobile opposite Steve Jones.

Laverne replaced radio DJ Jo Whiley on the talent show Orange Mobile Act Unsigned, which searches for the top unsigned acts in the country. Lauren Laverne became a regular presenter in the new ‘magazine’ format third series of It’s Not Easy Being Green, first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2009. She also narrated Tough Guy or Chicken? on BBC Three in August 2009.

On 6 May 2010, she was a co-host of Channel 4’s Alternative Election Night, along with Jimmy Carr, David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker. Starting 20 January 2011, she re-joined her co-hosts on Channel 4’s satirical news programme 10 O’Clock Live. Her position on 10 O’Clock Live has been controversial, with literary and television critic Ed Cumming of The Telegraph asking “What is the point of her? It was like watching your dumbo big sister die at a talent show.”

Radio

Having previously sat in for BBC Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq, Lauren Laverne joined Xfm London in 2002, co-hosting a Saturday morning show with Mark Webster, while occasionally standing in for various DJs on BBC Radio 6 Music, including Phill Jupitus’ breakfast show where one morning she interviewed her own brother Pete (who records under the name J Xaverre) Lauren Laverne took over XFM’s drivetime slot from Zoe Ball at the start of 2004, winning Best Newcomer at the Commercial Radio Awards in 2004. She became host of the XFM breakfast show on 31 October 2005 after Christian O’Connell moved to Virgin Radio, but left suddenly in April 2007 to pursue her television interests. However, Lauren Laverne went on to guest present on BBC Radio 2.

Lauren Laverne re-joined 6 Music in June 2008 to present a weekend show before taking over the Monday -Friday daytime slot from George Lamb in November 2009. Laverne was widely quoted by mass media in early March 2010 when her emotional reaction to proposals to close 6 Music captured the attention of her listeners and the press. Following the BBC Director General’s announcement that the station would be recommended for closure as part of cost-cutting plans, she started her show saying “This is probably not the easiest of day for us, probably not the easiest day to be on the radio, to be honest with you, especially not this station, which I love with all my heart. So thank you very much for all your kind words.” In May 2012 fellow 6 Music DJ Huey Morgan accused Lauren Laverne of not programming her own radio shows.