Aggie MacKenzie

Aggie MacKenzie (born 1954 in Rothiemurchus, Scotland), is a Scottish born international television presenter. Mackenzie was born in Rothiemurchus, Aviemore in the Cairngorms mountain region of the Scottish Highlands and went to school at Kingussie High School. It was here that she discovered her aptitude for languages. Mackenzie attended further education at The University of Aberdeen where she attained a bilingual secretarial degree which earned her, her first job at the Foreign Office.

Career

She first appeared on screen in the TV shows: "How Clean Is Your House?" and "Too Posh To Wash" alongside co-star Kim Woodburn in the UK in 2002.

Before becoming a television presenter, Mackenzie was in the Civil Service in the Foreign Office. After being security-screened and undergoing through background checks and interviews, she signed the Official Secrets Act and transferred from the Foreign Office to work with the Secret Intelligence Service, more commonly know as MI6, based in London. After signing the official secrets act she worked in the security organisation for a number of years, however, subsequently she left the service although she will be bound by the Official Secrets Act for life. She then took up a promoted post at the Press Office. From here she moved to work at many women's magazines and then took the position of Associate Editor in Charge of the Good Housekeeping Magazine. Part of her responsibilities here was to review cleaning products and gadgets and write about household appliances as well as to create new recipes. She claims to have learned many of her domestic, cooking and cleaning skills (for which she is now famous) from her mother who knew many remedies for removing stains.

It was this position with Good Housekeeping which led her to being asked to take a screen test for a new show that would later earn her the nicknames: The Nation’s Dream Cleaning Team, The Grime Busters and The Dirt Detectives, along with her television partner Kim Woodburn. Having passed the screen test with flying colors, this led to the chemistry of Kim and Aggie being born in August 2002. [ [http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000062972,00.html Biography of Aggie Mackenzie] , Penguin Books website] [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20031109/ai_n12749753 How We Met: Aggie MacKenzie & Kim Woodburn] , "Independent on Sunday", 9 November 2003]

Mackenzie is loved for giving a down to earth approach with her Scottish, no nonsense voice, as she and Kim Woodburn educate people on how to keep themselves and their houses clean, hygienic and tidy - and in the process making furry rubber gloves not only their trademark, but a national icon. Their reactions to some of the houses they visit and the conditions that people keep themselves and their surroundings in is considered amusing by many, however their shows offer genuine advice and aim to help people. Aggie McKenzie and Kim Woodburn have both produced books, games and DVDs due to the popularity of their shows. The popularity of the double act themselves is such that Kim and Aggie (who are rarely seen apart) even feature in a How Clean is your House Board Game on sale in the UK. Mackenzie has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in the US, as the appeal of the dynamic cleaning team has now spread to America, too, where How Clean Is Your House? is airing on the BBC America giving her international fame.

Mackenzie, who is now a multi-millionaire lives in Stoke Newington, Hackney, London, with her husband Matthew, and her two sons, Rory and Ewan.

She starred in the 2007/2008 (fourth) series of ITV's Dancing on Ice with her dance partner Sergey Malyshev. On Sunday 3rd February, she was in the bottom two of Dancing On Ice for the first time, with Steven Backley and was voted out of the competition.

Since appearing on Dancing on Ice, Mackenzie appeared on Loose Women, where she confirmed she would be dancing on the grand final of Dancing on Ice later in 2008, and since her guest appearance she has been rumoured to have been offered a multi-million pound contract to appear as a regular presenter on Loose Women. She also stated during this interview that she was waiting for the renewal of her million pound contract with channel4 to record another series of How Clean Is Your House?.

An ITV1 spokesman said: "Aggie will be offered a mulit-million pound contract to appear on Loose Women on a regular basis, but it is unclear at this stage whether she will take up the offer or not" and went on to say "her successful career, popularity with the general public and her experience of family life makes her an ideal future pannelist for the show".

Charity Work

Mackenzie also has her own charity. It’s called Ukuthasa ( [http://www.ukuthasa.org] ), and it supports people in townships in South Africa; helping them with healthcare, education and housing. In an interview with Channel 4 she said: "Whenever I can, such as with this interview, I donate my fee to [the charity] ".

Filmography

* How Clean Is Your House? - Channel 4 (2003-)
* V Graham Norton - Channel 4 (2003)
* Children in Need - BBC One (2003)
* The Terry and Gaby Show - Five (2003)
* Hogmanay Live - STV (2003)
* National Television Awards Party of the Year (2004)
* Hell's Kitchen - ITV (2004)
* BBC Breakfast - BBC One/BBC News 24 (2004)
* Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - BBC One (2004)
* Too Posh To Wash - Channel 4 (2004)
* This Morning - ITV (2004)
* EastEnders - BBC One (2004)
* Today with Des and Mel - ITV (2005)
* Dirty Tricks (2005)
* The Paul O'Grady Show - ITV/Channel 4 (2005/2006)
* The F-Word - Channel 4 (2005)
* The 100 Greatest Family Films - Channel 4 (2005)
* Grumpy Old Women - BBC Two (2006)
* Richard & Judy - Channel 4 (2006)
* Come Dine With Me - Channel 4 (2006)
* The Mint - ITV Play (2006)
* Hogmanay Stories - STV (2006)
* Dancing On Ice - (2008)
* Loose Women - (2008)

Bibliography

*"How Clean Is Your House?" with Kim Woodburn (2003) ISBN 0-7181-4699-9
*"Too Posh to Wash: The Complete Guide to Cleaning Up Your Life" with Kim Woodburn (2004) ISBN 0-7181-4769-3
*"The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management" with Kim Woodburn (2006) ISBN 0-7181-4906-8

References

External links

*
* [http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/aggiemackenzie.php Biography of Aggie MacKenzie from www.aboutaberdeen.com]
* [http://www.aggiemackenzie.co.uk Aggie's personal website www.aggiemackenzie.co.uk ]