Gemma Hunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 April 1982 Wiltshire, England[1] |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 1997–present |
Gemma Hunt (born 1 April 1982) is a British presenter best known for presenting the children's competition show Swashbuckle from 6 July 2013. She also presented the CBBC TV series Xchange.[2]
Hunt joined the CBBC continuity team in 2002, since then she has presented on the CBBC Channel and also on BBC One and BBC Two. In 2004, she was noticed by CBBC series Xchange and later became a presenter until its close in 2006. She continued to present CBBC until its revamp in 2007. As well as her presenting duties she has made guest appearances on Blue Peter and Smile. More recently she guest presented the food special of Best of Friends alongside Ortis Deley. She has filmed a series with Barney Harwood for CBBC called Barney's Barrier Reef, which began airing on Monday 12 January 2009 at 7:30 on BBC Two.[3] The show returned for a second series, now entitled Barney's Latin America. She also made a guest appearance live on the CBBC Channel in Office on 5 August 2010 and is the main presenter on Swashbuckle.[4]
Hunt attended Staverton Primary School in Staverton, Wiltshire, which was then followed by her secondary school education at The John of Gaunt School, Trowbridge, Wiltshire. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Media Performance from the University of Bedfordshire in 2003.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-07 | CBBC | Herself | Continuity Presenter |
| 2004-06 | |||
| Xchange | Herself | Main Presenter | |
| 2005 | Blue Peter | Herself | Guest on Farewell Simon! and also on Blue Peter Champions[6] |
| 2007 | Smile | Herself | Guest Presenter on final episode |
| ChuckleVision | Herself | Appeared as a presenter in the episode, "Muscling In"[7] | |
| 2008 | Best of Friends | Herself | Guest Presenter alongside Ortis Deley |
| 2009 | Barney's Barrier Reef | Herself | Alongside Barney Harwood |
| BAMZOOKi | Herself | Alongside Barney Harwood | |
| Newsround Specials | Herself | Special guest | |
| 2010 | BAMZOOKi | Herself | Alongside Barney Harwood |
| Barney's Latin America | Herself | Alongside Barney Harwood | |
| Hotel Trubble | TV Presenter | Guest appearance in "Catz N Doggz" | |
| 2011 | All Over The Place | Herself | Regular Presenter |
| 2013— present | Swashbuckle | Gem | Regular Presenter |
| 2015 | Hacker's Birthday Bash: 30 Years of Children's BBC | Herself | One-off special |
| 2020— present | Songs of Praise | Herself | Regular Presenter |
| 2020 | CBeebies Presents: Christmas in Storyland | Empress of Storyland | One-off special[8] |
| 2021 | CBeebies Presents: The Night Before Christmas | Plum | One-off special; Filmed at the Theatre Royal Plymouth[9][10] |
| 2022 | Today at the Caravan Show | Co-presenter | Two-part series[11] |
| 2024 | Twelfth Night! | Valentine | Upcoming performance[12] |
In 2007, Hunt appeared in an episode of Chucklevision entitled "Muscling In". She was the compere of a strong man contest, which pitted Barry Chuckle against the cheating man mountain Magnus Sorenson (played by Joe Montana).
She has also appeared in pantomimes. In 2007/2008 she played the lead role in Cinderella at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield. In 2008/2009, Hunt played Tinkerbell, alongside fellow CBBC presenter Barney Harwood in Peter Pan at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth. In 2012/2013 she performed at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley in Peter Pan alongside Jennifer Ellison.
In August 2009, she and Harwood presented a BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London entitled "Evolution!", during which they interviewed Sir David Attenborough.[13] In 2010, she guest starred in the CBBC sitcom Hotel Trubble as a television presenter in the episode "Catz N Doggz".
She is one of two lead presenters of the Alpha course film series, alongside Toby Flint, in which she describes her Christian faith.[14]