Laura Whitmore
Whitmore in 2014
Born (1985-05-04) 4 May 1985 (age 38)
Dublin, Ireland
Occupations
  • Media personality
  • model
Years active2008–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2020)​
Children1
Websitelaurawhitmore.com

Laura Whitmore (born 4 May 1985) is an Irish media personality and model based in London. She was a video jockey for MTV in 2008, and has since presented television shows, such as This Morning (2014), Survival of the Fittest (2018) and Love Island (2020–2022). In 2020, Whitmore became a team captain on the comedy panel show Celebrity Juice. In 2023, Laura hosted her first ITV1 chat show 'Laura Whitmore's Breakfast Show' and released her own ITVX documentary series 'Laura Whitmore Investigates'.

Early life

Whitmore was born in Dublin on 4 May 1985.[1][2][3] She has two half-brothers.[4] She grew up in Bray, County Wicklow, where she attended Loreto Secondary School, before studying journalism at Dublin City University.

Career

Television

In April 2008, MTV Networks Europe launched a campaign Pick Me MTV[5] where Whitmore competed to become the face of MTV News in MTV Europe. She won the competition, and between 2008 and 2015 hosted news bulletins for MTV across Europe. She was regularly seen on MTV News hosting special events in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe.[6]

For five series from 2011, Whitmore hosted I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! on ITV2 airing immediately after I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! .[7] Whitmore announced on 14 April 2016 that she was leaving the show.[8]

In the summer of 2012, she appeared on the RTÉ television talk show, Saturday Night with Miriam, after carrying the 2012 Summer Olympics torch.[9]

A pilot episode of songwriting-based talent show The Hit aired in September 2012 on RTÉ Two, hosted by Whitmore. On 15 March 2013, RTÉ announced that the show had been ordered for a full series which was broadcast in the summer, but Whitmore would not host due to conflicting schedule in London.[10] Aidan Power and Nicky Byrne presented the full series.

In April 2014, she co-hosted the 11th Irish Film & Television Awards with Simon Delaney.[11]

In 2014, she joined the BBC Eurovision team as a commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 semi-finals in Copenhagen, Denmark alongside Scott Mills on BBC Three. She replaced Ana Matronic in the role,[12] but did not return in 2015. In 2014, she was an occasional presenter of "The Hub" section on ITV's This Morning.

On 24 October 2014, she appeared in Channel 4's The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night to raise awareness of testicular cancer.[13]

In February 2015, Whitmore left MTV News after seven years on the channel, but continued to present irregular segments and specials.[14][15] Her last bulletin with the station was recorded on 26 February 2015.[16]

On 10 August 2016, Whitmore took part in the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, beginning September 2016.[17] She was partnered with Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice and was the sixth contestant to be voted out, on 5 November 2016, following a dance off with eventual series champions Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton.

In 2018, she presented Survival of the Fittest, a reality series for ITV2, alongside comedian Brennan Reece.[18]

On 20 December 2019, it was announced that Whitmore would host the sixth series of ITV2's Love Island in 2020 after Caroline Flack was arrested for assaulting her partner Lewis Burton.[19][20] Following Flack's death while that was airing, Whitmore returned for the seventh series in June 2021.

On 23 August 2022, it was announced that Whitmore will step down from hosting Love Island. One of the reasons for stepping down was Whitmore's new projects that were conflicting with her commitment to Love Island.[21]

In April 2023, Laura begun hosting her chatshow 'Laura Whitmore's Breakfast Show' on ITV1 where she invites celebrity guests into her studio for a chat every Sunday at 8:30am.

In July 2023, she released her ITVX documentary series 'Laura Whitmore Investigates' which explores a number of controversial topics and the impact they have on the world.

Other work

In 2003, Whitmore was a contestant in a modelling talent search on RTÉ One's The Late Late Show, reaching the final 15 of the competition.[22]

In August 2009, she launched a self-branded clothing range available at A Wear.[23]

In 2011, she appeared on the September cover of FHM magazine.[24]

Whitmore is a spokeswoman for the Because I Am a Girl charity clothing campaign.[25]

She collaborated with Daisy London on a jewellery collection in October 2015. The collection was inspired by music and features the recurring shape of the plectrum throughout.[26][27]

In October 2014, she launched Misstache for Movember, a campaign for women to support and raise awareness of the men's health charity.[28]

She appeared on FHM's 100 Sexiest 2015 list at number 37.[29]

She features in the music video for "Skip to the Good Bit", a song by Rizzle Kicks and the music video for "Mark My Words" by The Coronas. In 2017, she played Cleo Morey alongside Shane Richie, Bill Ward and Stephen Billington in the stage adaptation of the Peter James book Not Dead Enough.

She hosted a weekly Sunday morning radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live between 2018 and 2022.[30][31]

In September 2020, she was announced by Nintendo UK as a brand ambassador for the Nintendo Switch game Ring Fit Adventure and began appearing in a TV advertisement for the game.[32]

On 4 March 2021, Whitmore's first book titled No One Can Change Your Life Except For You was released.[33] In August 2022, it was announced that Whitmore would be joining the cast of 2:22 A Ghost Story on West End.[34][35]

In November 2023 it was announced that Whitmore was cast in a lead role in the feature film ‘'A Mother for an Hour'’ which would be released in 2024.[36]

From November 2023, she co-hosts a BBC Radio podcast, "Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling" in which they present true crime stories. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gq38lc

Personal life

As of 2018, Whitmore lived in the Camden area of London.[37] She married Scottish comedian Iain Stirling in a private humanist ceremony in 2020 at Dublin City Hall.[38] Whitmore gave birth to their daughter, Stevie Ré, in late March 2021.[39][40]

Filmography

This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.Find sources: "Laura Whitmore" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Year Title Role
2013 Isle of Wight Festival Co-presenter
2008–2015 MTV News Ireland Presenter [41]
2011–2015 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! Anchor
2012 Beat TV Co-presenter
The Hit (pilot) Presenter
2012–2016 The Hot Desk Presenter [42]
2012–2016 The Brits Backstage Co-presenter
2014 11th Irish Film & Television Awards
Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals
This Morning "The Hub" presenter [43]
2016 The Brits Are Coming Presenter [44]
V Festival 2016 Co-presenter
Strictly Come Dancing Contestant [45]
2018 Survival of the Fittest Presenter[46]
2019 Sadhbh Writer and actor[47]
2020–2022 Love Island Presenter[48]
Love Island: Aftersun
2020–present Celebrity Gogglebox Herself[49]
2020-2022 Celebrity Juice Team captain[50]
2023 Laura Whitmore’s Breakfast Show Host[51]
Laura Whitmore Investigates Host[52]
Guest appearances

References

  1. ^ "Who Is Laura Whitmore? Meet New Winter Love Island Host Dating Iain I Stirling". Capital. 20 December 2019.
  2. ^ Whitmore, Laura [@thewhitmore] (14 September 2019). "Born and studied in Dublin. Mam lives in Bray" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Laura Whitmore: I can't stand still, not for a second". The Irish Independent. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  4. ^ Rodgers, Kathryn (14 February 2012). "Babe Laura Whitmore moves in with Coronas star". Irish Tatler. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "My Style with Laura Whitmore". Raidió Teilifís Éireann, 25 November 2008. Archived 14 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Fletcher, Alex (31 October 2011). "'I'm A Celebrity' return date confirmed by ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  8. ^ Walker, Danny (14 April 2016). "I'm A Celebrity presenter Laura Whitmore QUITS jungle spin-off after five years saying it was a tough decision – Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Laura Whitmore joins Miriam on Saturday". RTÉ Ten. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  10. ^ "The Hit gets green lit by RTÉ - RTÉ Ten". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  11. ^ "'You live and learn' – Why Laura Whitmore won't dwell on IFTAs and the technical hitches that beset the awards show". evoke.ie. 5 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Laura adds more Irish sparkle to BBC's eurovision song show". Herald.ie. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  13. ^ "The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night (2014 TV Movie) : Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  14. ^ "'It's time to hang up my MTV news hat': Laura Whitmore announces plans to leave MTV". evoke.ie. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Laura Whitmore is back in the hot seat after hanging up her MTV news hat". evoke.ie. 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  16. ^ "'Last day' - One take Whitmore records her final MTV News | Goss.ie". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  17. ^ "BBC Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Laura Whitmore is the third celebrity to join the Strictly class of 2016!". Bbc.co.uk. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Press Releases". Press Centre.
  19. ^ "Love Island host Caroline Flack standing down as host of upcoming series after assault charge". ITV News. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  20. ^ "ITV2 announces that Laura Whitmore will host season 6 of Love Island". Press Centre. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Love Island: Laura Whitmore steps down as host of ITV2 show". BBC News. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  22. ^ "You won't recognise Laura Whitmore in these pics from her modelling days". Her.ie.
  23. ^ "Laura Whitmore at A|wear". Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  24. ^ "FHM Covergirls Laura Whitmore". FHM.
  25. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ "Laura Whitmore designs jewellery collection - The Fuss". The Fuss. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Go Inside The Hottest A-List Launch Party | Look". Look Magazine. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  28. ^ "Laura Whitmore Misstache campaign, is gathering pace. Now Roz Purcell and Vogue Williams have joined in". evoke.ie. 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  29. ^ "FHM 100 Sexiest 2015". FHM.
  30. ^ "Laura Whitmore - M&C Saatchi Merlin Talent Management". M&CSaatchi Merlin. 6 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Will Laura Whitmore continue to host her BBC Radio 5Live show during Love Island?". Radio Times.
  32. ^ McFerran, Damien (24 September 2020). "Nintendo Recruits Love Island's Laura Whitmore As Ring Fit Adventure Ambassador". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  33. ^ No One Can Change Your Life Except For You. ASIN 139870167X.
  34. ^ "Love Island star Laura Whitmore takes on new role in career move". Digital Spy. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Love Island host Laura Whitmore to make West End debut". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  36. ^ Barraclough, Leo (6 November 2023). "Asia Argento, Frances Barber, Tamer Hassan, Laura Whitmore Join 'A Mother for an Hour' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  37. ^ McQuillan, Deirdre (13 May 2017). "At home with Laura Whitmore: I love my records most". The Irish Times.
  38. ^ Soguksu, Ayla (16 December 2020). "Laura Whitmore breaks silence amid rumours she 'married' Iain Stirling". OK! Magazine.
  39. ^ Deen, Sarah (1 April 2021). "Love Island's Laura Whitmore welcomes first child with Iain Stirling".
  40. ^ "Laura Whitmore appears to confirm baby's name & sweet meaning". Capital. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  41. ^ "Laura Whitmore back on MTV: Irish presenter to host coverage of Ibiza Rocks this summer". Independent.ie. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  42. ^ "Will Laura Whitmore continue to host her BBC Radio 5Live show during Love Island?". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  43. ^ Moriarty, Aoife (11 October 2023). "Irish presenter among frontrunners to replace Holly Willoughby on This Morning". Buzz.ie. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  44. ^ "Laura Whitmore to host The BRITs Are Coming!". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  45. ^ "Laura Whitmore Explains Why Her Strictly Come Dancing Experience Was Such A Struggle For Her". HuffPost UK. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  46. ^ "Laura Whitmore's Survival of the Fittest show axed after just one series". independent. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  47. ^ "Laura Whitmore says short film is about social media pressure". rte.ie. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  48. ^ "5 facts on Love Island host Laura Whitmore". Capital. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  49. ^ "Celebrity Gogglebox 2021 cast revealed with Laura Whitmore, Iain Stirling and Lorraine Kelly". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  50. ^ Guide, British Comedy (10 September 2020). "Emily Atack and Laura Whitmore join Celebrity Juice as team captains". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  51. ^ "Laura Whitmore's Breakfast Show". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  52. ^ "Laura Whitmore Investigates". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  53. ^ "Saturday Kitchen". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laura Whitmore.
Love Island
Authority control databases
Categories