Victoria Coren Mitchell
Born
Victoria Elizabeth Coren

(1972-08-18) 18 August 1972 (age 51)[1]
London, England, UK
EducationSt John's College, Oxford (BA)
Occupation(s)Journalist, television presenter, poker player, writer
Known forOnly Connect (2008–present)
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2
Relatives
Victoria Coren Mitchell's voice
Recorded in April 2011 from the BBC Radio 4 programme Saturday Live
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom[citation needed]
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)None
Money finish(es)2
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		None
European Poker Tour
Title(s)2
Final table(s)2
Money finish(es)6
Information accurate as of 20 April 2014.
Websitevictoriacoren.com

Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (née Coren; born (1972-08-18)18 August 1972) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. She writes weekly columns for The Daily Telegraph and has hosted the BBC television quiz show Only Connect since 2008.

Early life

Victoria Elizabeth Coren was born in Hammersmith, West London,[2][3] the only daughter of the humorist and journalist Alan Coren and Anne Kasriel. Her father had been brought up in an Orthodox Jewish household.[4][5] She grew up in Cricklewood, North London, with her elder brother, journalist Giles Coren.[6] She is related to Canadian journalist Michael Coren.[7]

Coren attended independent girls' schools between the ages of five and 18,[8] including St Paul's Girls' School,[9] and read English at St John's College, Oxford.[10][11][12] She recalls not fitting in to the culture at St Paul's, stating, "My parents sent me to a very posh school in West London. I was not like the girls there. They were elegant, goyishe west Londoners — they knew things I didn’t".[8]

Writing

At the age of 14, Coren had a short story published under a pseudonym in Just Seventeen magazine[13] and then won a competition in The Daily Telegraph to write a column about teenage life for their "Weekend" section, which she continued writing during her own teenage years. During a Channel 4 broadcast, she explained that one Telegraph reader had written to her, criticising her column and had used a very great number of swear words, all in Latin.[14]

Her books include Love 16[15] and Once More, with Feeling, about her attempt (with co-author Charlie Skelton) to make "the greatest porn film ever".[16] Their jobs reviewing porn films for the Erotic Review led them to believe that most of what they were watching was terrible and that they could make better films themselves.[1][17]

She adapted the newspaper columns of John Diamond into a play called A Lump in my Throat, which was performed during the 2000 Edinburgh Festival at the Assembly Rooms,[18] the Grace Theatre and the New End Theatre in London, before she adapted it again for a BBC Two docudrama with Neil Pearson, broadcast in 2001.

Victoria and Giles Coren wrote an introduction to Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks, an anthology of the best comic writing by their father Alan, published by Canongate in October 2008.[19]

Her poker memoir For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker[20] (the subtitle changed to Confessions of a Player when released in paperback in 2011)[21][non-primary source needed] was published in September 2009, and was well reviewed in The Times[22] and The Observer.[23]

Ormerod hoax

In 2007, after the death of her father, having put a notice in The Times inviting those who knew him to attend a service, she was warned by a friend that a "gang of serial funeral crashers" based in the south of England were checking death notices to find funerals and memorial services to crash for their own enjoyment. After receiving some suspicious email replies to her notice, she instigated a hoax to trap the group. She created "Sir William Ormerod" and placed a death notice. A week later, she placed another notice in The Times "in the guise of his grieving boyfriend Peter" for his memorial service "followed by a drinks reception".[24] She reported that the group duly claimed to have known Ormerod and applied for tickets.[24][25]

After first suggesting holding the memorial service and putting laxative in the canapés, she got a friend to telephone the ringleader (a serial fraudster and ex-magistrate)[26] to let it be known that she knew who they were and that he was not welcome, but she let the others in the gang come to her father's service, "gave them a drink and sent them on their way".[27][25] She has written articles in the Observer and The Guardian about her experience.

Poker

Coren Mitchell was the first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour, the first player to win both a televised professional tournament (EPT London 2006) and a televised celebrity tournament (Celebrity Poker Club 2005), and the first player to win two European Poker Tour Main Events (EPT London 2006 and EPT Sanremo 2014). She frequently plays Texas hold 'em at the Victoria Casino in London's Edgware Road. As a commentator/presenter she has presented William Hill Poker Grand Prix 2 (Sky Sports)[28] and Late Night Poker and The Poker Nations Cup for Channel 4, and World Poker Tour for ITV2; and has commentated on The Monte Carlo EPT, Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (Channel 4), Ultimate Poker Challenge (Channel 5).[29]

During her poker career, she has become a close friend of The Hendon Mob and mixes weekly home games with frequent visits to two regular casinos. She appeared in five episodes of Late Night Poker, although she never made it to a series grand final. However, in Late Night Poker's spin-off Celebrity Poker Club, she defeated Willie Thorne to win the series two grand final before joining Jesse May as the commentator in series three. In the 2003 Hold-Em 100 tournament in London, she was a guest dealer for the final table.

On 24 September 2006 she won the main event of the European Poker Tour London, earning a prize of £500,000 and defeating Australian professional Emad Tahtouh.[30] On 20 November 2011 she finished second in the International Federation of Poker's inaugural The Table World Championship, eventually losing heads-up with 29-year-old Spaniard Raul Mestre. She received $100,000 for second place, $10,000 of which she donated to Age UK. In April 2014 she won the main event of the European Poker Tour San Remo, earning €476,100 and becoming the first player to have won two EPT titles.[31][32] As of 2021 her total live tournament winnings exceed $2,500,000, making her the 14th best-earning female live poker player ever.[33]

She has been a member of Team PokerStars Pro,[34] but in November 2014 she removed her endorsement a few hours after PokerStars had announced they were starting an online casino. She said she was uncomfortable about potential addiction by vulnerable people to a site where the odds are in favour of the operator, and did not want to be associated with such an operation.[35]

She has said that she regularly stays up until 6 am, "Smoking and drinking and gambling. But I like cooking and gardening too, which makes me sound like a very strange mix of an old lady and teenage boy." When asked about this in 2012, she stated: "It is still true. I'll grow up one day, but not quite yet."[36]

Coren Mitchell was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2016.[37]

Personal life

On 20 March 2012, Coren announced her engagement to actor and comedian David Mitchell.[38][39] According to David, they first met at a film premiere in 2007, and had a short-lived series of dates, but only began dating properly three years later.[40] The couple married in November 2012, in North London,[40] and their daughter was born in May 2015.[41][42] In November 2023, Coren announced on Twitter that she had given birth to her second child in late October.[43][44]

In July 2012 she reported that she was terrified of flying,[45] and in August 2012 she confirmed on Twitter that the therapist she had been seeing to address her fear had been killed in a plane crash.[46][47]

Television and radio credits

Year Show Role Notes
Off the Page: Radio 4 Presenter
Fourth Column: Radio 4 Presenter
1992[48] 100% Performer
2001 I Love the 80s Guest
2003 Double Entry Judge
2004 The Pedants' Revolt Guest
2006–2007 Balderdash and Piffle Presenter
2007 Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe Guest
2008–present Only Connect Host
2008–present Heresy Host
2009–2010 You Have Been Watching Guest
2009–2010 The Wright Stuff Guest panelist
2010 The Bubble Guest panelist
2010–2015 Question Time Guest panelist
2010–2014 Have I Got News for You Guest panelist
2014–present Guest host
2010 My Teenage Diary: Radio 4 Guest
2011 Frank Skinner's Opinionated Guest
2011–2023 Would I Lie to You? Guest
2012–present QI Guest
2012 Room 101 Guest
2011–2013 8 Out of 10 Cats Guest Comic Relief Special (2011)
Season 15, Episode 7
2013 Goodbye Television Centre Presenter
2013 The Secret Life of Mary Poppins: A Culture Show Special Presenter
2015 The Unbelievable Truth Guest
2015 How To Be Bohemian With Victoria Coren Mitchell (3 episodes): BBC Four[49] Presenter
2016 The Great Sport Relief Bake Off Celebrity contestant
2016 Chain Reaction: Radio 4 Interviewer/Guest
2016–present Women Talking About Cars: Radio 4[50] Host
2018 Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier Guest panelist
2018 The Big Narstie Show Guest Season 1, Episode 3
2019–2021 Hypothetical Guest panelist
2019 The One Show Guest
2020 Celebrity Gogglebox for Su2c Guest
2021 Taskmaster Contestant Series 12

References

  1. ^ a b Coren, Victoria (19 August 2002). "I made a porn film for my 30th". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Victoria Coren's new moniker unveiled". London Evening Standard. 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  3. ^ Ross, Deborah (17 August 2019). "Victoria Coren Mitchell: smart, sharp, witty. Just like her quiz show, Only Connect". The Times. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. ^ Cailler, Adam (2016). "Judaism Gives Giles Plenty Of Food For Thought". www.jewishtelegraph.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Alan Coren". The Independent. 20 October 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
  6. ^ Coren, Giles (5 December 2013). "Giles Coren: I married my wife for Christmas". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016.
  7. ^ Coren, Michael (5 December 2013). "Canada: A rogue state? Hardly". Ottawa Sun.
  8. ^ a b "Interview: Victoria Coren". The Jewish Chronicle. 17 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  9. ^ Waugh, Paul (13 November 2017). "Exclusive: St Paul's Girls' School Reveals Former Pupils Have Alleged 'Sexual Abuse'". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  10. ^ Tufnell, Nicholas (13 November 2011). "Interview: Victoria Coren". The Cambridge Student. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  11. ^ "In Conversation with Victoria Coren Mitchell". St John's College. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Victoria Coren Mitchell". St John's College. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  13. ^ Coren, Victoria (19 March 2012). "Girls' mags are not sexy, but sweet". The Observer. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  14. ^ "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown: Series 10 Episode 1 – All 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ^ Coren, Victoria (1989). Love 16. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0712-63012-2.
  16. ^ Coren, Victoria; Skelton, Charlie (2010). Once More, with Feeling. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-1841-15437-4.
  17. ^ Carpenter, Louise (10 August 2002). "Proud to be pornographers". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  18. ^ Sands, Sarah (25 August 2000). "You've got to laugh – haven't you?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  19. ^ Coren, Alan; Coren, Giles; Coren, Victoria (2009). Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks. Canongate. ISBN 978-1847-67320-6.
  20. ^ Coren, Victoria (2009). For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker. Canongate.
  21. ^ Coren, Victoria. "Twitter status, 31 January 2013". Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  22. ^ Frankel, Martha (19 September 2009). "For Richer For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker by Victoria Coren". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  23. ^ Docx, Edward (27 September 2009). "For Richer, for Poorer by Victoria Coren". The Observer. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  24. ^ a b Coren, Victoria (12 December 2008). "Victoria Coren: My dad's memorial service was going so well. Then the ghouls turned up". The Observer. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  25. ^ a b "Wily Daughter Outs 'Funeral Crashing' Group Who Tried To Attend Dad's Memorial – CityNews Toronto". toronto.citynews.ca. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  26. ^ Coren, Victoria (21 March 2010). "Return of the Jolley gang". Victoria Coren. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  27. ^ Chain Reaction, Series 11, Ian Hislop interviews Victoria Coren-Mitchell
  28. ^ "Victoria Coren Mitchell". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Biography". Victoria Coren Mitchell. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  30. ^ "European Poker Tour - EPT London, No Limit Hold'em - EPT Main Event". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  31. ^ Op de Woerd, Frank (20 April 2014). "Vicky Coren-Mitchell Wins Sanremo Main Event To Become First Two-Time EPT Champion". www.pokernews.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  32. ^ Halliday, Josh (21 April 2014). "Victoria Coren Mitchell makes poker history with San Remo victory". The Guardian.
  33. ^ "Women's All Time Money List – Top 13,707". Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Victoria Coren". Team PokerStars Pro. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  35. ^ Coren Mitchell, Victoria (26 November 2014). "Goodbye Team Pro". Coren Mitchell's blog. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  36. ^ Carswell, Sue (19 April 2011). "Vicky Coren, the Royal wedding and cucumber sandwiches". PokerStarsBlog.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  37. ^ Burton, Earl (21 May 2016). "Victoria Coren-Mitchell, Debbie Burkhead Earn 2016 Induction into Women in Poker Hall of Fame – Poker News Daily". Archived from the original on 8 August 2017.
  38. ^ "David Mitchell and Victoria Coren: Engagement Announcement". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  39. ^ "David Mitchell and Victoria Coren announce engagement". BBC News. 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  40. ^ a b Freeman, Hadley (19 October 2012). "David Mitchell: goodbye lonely nerd". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  41. ^ Eames, Tom (22 May 2015). "David Mitchell and Victoria Coren have a baby girl: 'We're extremely happy and sleepy'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  42. ^ Hodges, Michael (19 September 2018). "Upstart Crow's David Mitchell on Shakespeare – and watching Only Connect with his wife". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  43. ^ Coren Mitchell, Victoria (1 November 2023). "Victoria Coren Mitchell on X".
  44. ^ "Victoria Coren Mitchell announces birth of second child". BBC News. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  45. ^ Button, Simon (13 July 2012). "Victoria Coren: Life as I know it". Daily Express. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  46. ^ "Victoria Coren Mitchell on Twitter: "@yellowyell It wasn't a joke...." / Twitter". Archived from the original on 26 April 2023.
  47. ^ Coren, Victoria (5 April 2012). "Fear of flying". Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  48. ^ The Video Shelf (2 August 2014). "A 19-year-old Victoria Coren doing stand-up comedy". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017 – via YouTube.
  49. ^ "How To Be Bohemian With Victoria Coren Mitchell". BBC Four. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  50. ^ "Women Talking About Cars". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.

External links

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