Penny Smith (journalist)

Infobox Celebrity

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name = Penny Smith
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1958|9|21|df=yes
birth_place = Rutland, England
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occupation = Newsreader, Television presenter
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Penelope Jane Smith (born 21 September 1958, in Rutland) is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for her work on the breakfast TV show "GMTV".

She has previously worked for Sky News and Classic FM.

Early life

She attended Uppingham CE Primary School [http://www.uppinghamprimary.co.uk] on "Belgrave Road" in Uppingham and the Rutland High School for Girls (became Rutland Sixth Form College, then Rutland College) on "Barleythorpe Lane" in Oakham. She was a fan of folk music and regularly sang at folk clubs. She worked as an au pair in Belgium, where she gained four stone in three months.

TV career

Penny began her career as a reporter and feature writer on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1977. [http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/PENNY-SMITH-39I-won39t-give.1372168.jp] After four years, she left to backpack through Central and South America and South East Asia where she reported and presented on a current affairs programme for Radio Television Hong Kong.

In 1984 she joined Radio Trent as a reporter/presenter and then worked for Central Television as press officer for documentaries and drama. After that she co-presented the local evening news for Border Television and after a year she co-presented "Thames News" with Andrew Gardner.

Penny then moved to Sky News before becoming a co-presenter on GMTV`s "News Hour" in April 1993. She can also be seen presenting news updates n the hour and half-hour during "GMTV Today".

Penny has also presented "Crime Monthly", "Crime Net", "Crime File" and "Crime Fighters" for Carlton, "Most Wanted" for LWT, "Going For A Song" for the BBC and 'Celebrity' for ITV. She also co-presented the final series of The Krypton Factor alongside veteran host Gordon Burns in 1995. She has written for a number of national newspapers and magazines, including a beauty column for "Femail" in the "Daily Mail" and articles in 'Essentials' magazine, "Good Housekeeping" and "Woman and Home". She also appears in a series of power yoga video-tapes.

In 2006 Smith starred in the BBC show "Just the Two of Us". She sang with Curtis Stigers and was eliminated on 3 March. She came fourth. She later appeared on the fourth episode of season 19 of "Never Mind the Buzzcocks." [ [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5857982516786186594 Nevermind Mind The Buzzcocks - Series 19, Episode 4 ] ] , and S23E03 of "Have I Got News For You." She also appeared in Garfield 2 when Garfield was watching television.

Personal life

Smith married journalist Tony Birtley in May 1984 in Grantham, but they divorced in 1987. She counts Rory Bremner and Paul McKenna among her ex-boyfriends. Her boyfriend of the last four years is actor Vince Leigh. [ [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16755028&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive--penny--i-haven-t-ruled-out-adopting-a-child-name_page.html Exclusive: Penny: I Haven'T Ruled Out Adopting A Child - Mirror.Co.Uk ] ] [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:urOfY97zo4QJ:www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4153/is_20060626/ai_n16502567+%22penny+smith%22+boyfriend&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&client=safari]

In 2000 she was voted the 92nd sexiest woman in the world by readers of "FHM" magazine. She is good friends with Mariella Frostrup and lives in Notting Hill.

Smith's passions are opera, tennis, hiking and yoga. She presented an opera show on Classic FM, and has produced three yoga videos: "Penny Smith's Power Yoga", "Penny Smith's Essential Guide to Yoga" and "Penny Smith's Yoga Masterclass".

References

External links

* [http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=443 Penny Smith] at gm.tv
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