Strictly Come Dancing: Christine Bleakley
Christine Bleakley has a politics degree and worked her way up the ranks before becoming a TV presenter.
Christine Bleakley worked as a runner, floor manager and an assistant director in Northern Ireland. Eventually she became a presenter of Skyhigh and First Stop on BBC Northern Ireland.
She co-hosted the BBC Two talent show Let Me Entertain You, but her major breakthrough in national television came when Myleene Klass went into labour and The One Show asked Christine to stand in.
Christine Bleakley came to London thinking it was on a temporary basis, but has co-presented The One Show with Adrian Chiles ever since.
In the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Christine Bleakley partnered Matthew Cutler.
Christine and Matthew did well and ended up 5th.
In an interview with Christine Bleakley in The Independent, she said: "I've a massive scar on my right arm which I got years ago when a flock of geese on my granny's farm decided to sample me for lunch. I've been petrified of birds ever since."
In December 2008, Christine Bleakley, fellow The One Show host Adrian Chiles, fellow Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Sergeant, along with singers from Kettering's Masquerade choir and former Squeeze frontman Chris Difford, sang a song Let's Not Fight This Christmas, which was put together by The One Show as a potential Christmas number one.
In March 2010 Christine Bleakley completed her water-ski crossing of the English Channel in one hour and 40 minutes, raising money for Sport Relief.