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Julia Bradbury

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Not to be confused with Julie Bradbury.

Julia Bradbury
Born (1970-07-24) 24 July 1970 (age 54)
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Journalist and television presenter
Employer(s)ITV (current)
BBC (former)
Notable credit(s)Watchdog (2005–2009)
Countryfile (2009–2014)
Take on the Twisters (2013)
Fightback Britain (2013)
Mystery Map (2013)
Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 (2013–2014)
The Wonder of Britain (2015)
Best Walks with a View (2016)
Famous, Rich and Homeless (2016)
Britain's Best Walks (2017)
SpouseGerard Cunningham (m. 2000)
Children3
Websitewww.juliabradbury.com

Julia Michele Bradbury[1] (born 24 July 1970)[2] is an English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. Her passion is the outdoors. More recently, following her cancer diagnosis and surgery, Bradbury is dedicating her time to healthy living and nature therapy.

She is best known for presenting a series of outdoor walking programmes across multiple TV channels in addition to co-presenting the BBC One programme Countryfile with Matt Baker from 2004 until 2014. She also presented Watchdog (2005–2009) and Planet Earth Live (2012) for the BBC and Take on the Twisters (2013), The Wonder of Britain (2015) and Britain's Best Walks (2017) for ITV.

She has a website called The Outdoor Guide, which is run by her sister Gina. In 2021, they launched The Outdoor Guide Foundation, raising money to donate outdoor kit to state primary schools and make the outdoors more accessible to all.

Early life

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Bradbury's father Michael Bradbury, a Derbyshire-born, steel and engineering industry marketing director[3][4] and Greek mother were in the Republic of Ireland when Bradbury was born.[5] The family returned to Britain, where she grew up in an old rectory[3] and attended primary school in Edith Weston, Rutland, followed by King Edward VII School in Sheffield, where her father worked for British Steel Corporation and her mother ran a fashion business. Bradbury attended acting classes, and took part as a child in the Crucible Theatre's stage production of Peter Pan, starring Joanne Whalley and Paula Wilcox.[5]

Career

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Early career

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Bradbury started as a television presenter with Chrysalis TV, followed by L!VE TV,[6] before making the transition in 1996 from cable TV to terrestrial with GMTV as its Los Angeles correspondent. Bradbury also worked as a co-host on Top Gear during the 1990s.[6]

Alongside Tim Vine, Bradbury was the first presenter on Channel 5 when the network launched on 30 March 1997 with a countdown from the Spice Girls.

BBC

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Bradbury and co-host Arkin Salih hosted the BBC's Are We Being Served?, which examined customer service in the UK and ran for six programmes in the summer of 2006.[6][7] The show later received strong criticism from comedian Lee Mack when he named it as "the most evil programme ever made" during his appearance on TV Heaven, Telly Hell.

From 2008 to 2011, Bradbury presented four series of Kill It, Cook It, Eat It on BBC Three.[8][9] The first series concentrated on commercially farmed animals such as chickens, pigs, sheep and cattle. The second series featured hunted wild game such as ducks, rabbits, deer and grouse. The third series focused on fast food; a group of six people went through the process of killing, cooking and eating animals.[10] The fourth series focused on how animal products from the first series are used outside of the meat trade. Bradbury was joined by young consumers to uncover the animal origins of many of western society's favourite things as body parts were transformed from abattoir to shop display.[11]

From 2 March 2009, Bradbury temporarily stepped down from BBC One's Watchdog following allegations in the press concerning irregularities in her Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer account.[12][13] Anita Rani stepped in to co-present the show with Nicky Campbell. On 15 April 2009, Bradbury was cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, and it was confirmed that she would return to present Watchdog, which she did on 20 April 2009.[14] It was incorrectly reported in several newspapers at the time that Bradbury had to repay £20,000 worth of Air Miles – in fact her account (and several others) had been tampered with by an employee who was later arrested and charged. In April 2009 it was announced that Bradbury would present the relaunched primetime Countryfile[15] with Matt Baker.[16] Anne Robinson returned to Watchdog after an eight-year absence.[17][18]

In August 2007, Bradbury presented Ultimate Britain – Climbing on BBC One,[19] with rock climber Tim Emmett. Bradbury's lifetime ambition to be a "real" rock climber was achieved when the pair successfully ascended Cornwall's Commando Ridge, Crackstone Rib in the Llanberis Pass, and the Old Man of Stoer.

That year, Bradbury also presented Wainwright Walks on BBC Four,[19] in which she followed the mountain routes of the renowned fell walker and guidebook author Alfred Wainwright. The series was later repeated on BBC Two and ran for two series. Her appearance in this and the Railway Walks series earned her the title of "Walking Man's Totty".[20] On 20 July 2009 her series Coast to Coast started on BBC Two.[21][22][23]

In 2010, Bradbury went to South Africa and embarked on a series of South Africa Walks as part of South Africa season for the BBC during the 2010 World Cup.[24]

In December 2010, she presented another walking-themed series, Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust on BBC Four in which she explored Germany and its Romantic movement through a series of walks across the country.[25] The series was repeated on BBC Two in January and February 2011.[26] In May 2011, she presented Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury.

Another walking programme, Julia Bradbury's Icelandic Walk, aired on 11 May 2011 on BBC Four. Her challenge was to walk the 60 kilometres of Iceland's most famous hiking route, which includes the newest hills on Earth. This route ends at Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano whose copious eruptions of volcanic ash brought air traffic across Europe to a standstill in April 2010. She also presented a new series in May 2011, following the routes of some of the UK's canals.[27]

From November to December 2011, Bradbury presented a series called That's Britain! with Nick Knowles, focusing on the good, the bad and the ugly in Britain. She presented with Hugh Dennis a four-part BBC One documentary series The Great British Countryside, which began in February 2012. She has co-presented (with Richard Hammond) a programme about the wildlife of different countries called Planet Earth Live in 2012, which has aired on BBC One.

In 2013, Bradbury co-presented the BBC One show Fightback Britain with Adrian Simpson and the BBC One show Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 with Matt Allwright.

On 3 March 2014, it was announced that Bradbury would be leaving Countryfile and the BBC completely later in the year before joining ITV full-time after doing odd jobs for them in the past. In 2016, she took part in the third series of Sport Relief's Famous, Rich and Homeless programme.

ITV

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She presented Wish You Were Here...? for ITV.[19]

In 2013, Bradbury co-presented the two-part ITV series Mystery Map with Ben Shephard. In the same year, she presented teatime quiz show Take On the Twisters, a summer replacement for The Chase.

In 2015, Bradbury presented an ITV primetime series called The Wonder of Britain.[28]

In 2016, Bradbury began presenting her own eight-part ITV series Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury. A book, Unforgettable Walks, was published alongside the series.

Beginning in January 2017, Bradbury presented Britain's Best Walks for ITV. In 2018,[29] she co-presented a one-off programme called Britain's Favourite Walks: Top 100, as voted for by the public. Ore Oduba co-presented.[30]

In 2019 she presented Australia with Julia Bradbury[31] and My £10K Holiday Home, a new primetime ITV series. In Episode 4 of Australia with Julia Bradbury she famously said "You won't find that on Wikipedia" when told by indigenous Australian Neville Poelina that putting a vegetable or fruit under one's armpit is a good way to find out whether or not it's safe to eat.

On 10 January 2020, she presented the first of a new ITV series entitled The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury.

Channel 5

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From 1997, she anchored Exclusive! for Five (now Channel 5).[6][32] With Tim Vine, she presented the launch of Channel 5 in 1997.[6][33]

Radio

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Bradbury has also presented on radio for BBC London 94.9,[6][34] and Radio 5 Live. She crossed NUJ picket lines to present Radio 5 Live's breakfast programme on 15 July 2011. She presented the programme with Ian Payne who also broke the strike.

Books

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  • Julia Bradbury's Railway Walks (7 October 2010)
  • Canal Walks (3 March 2011)
  • Julia Bradbury's Wainwright Walks (1 November 2012)
  • Julia Bradbury's Wainwright Walks: Coast to Coast (20 March 2013)
  • Unforgettable Walks (9 February 2017)
  • Walk Yourself Happy (14 September 2023)

Personal life

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Bradbury lives in Rutland and West London.[35] In summer 2006, Bradbury was treated for endometriosis.[36][37] Her long-time partner Gerard Cunningham, works in property and is father to her three children.[38] Bradbury was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2021 had a single mastectomy to remove a 6 cm tumour.[39][40]

Bradbury is an ambassador to several charities including the Pink Ribbon Foundation, The Outdoor Guide Foundation, Bowel & Prostate Cancer and Keep Britain Tidy.[citation needed]

In 2009, she competed in the Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge[41] with her sister, Gina Fox, raising £7,000 towards the £105,000 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support. Later that year, she travelled from Kazakhstan to Mongolia with Countryfile co-star Matt Baker in BBC's Around the World in 80 Days in aid of Children in Need.[42]

Bradbury was president of the Friends of the Peak District from 2008 until 2016 (remaining now as a vice-president) and she is vice-president of the CPRE in South Yorkshire.[43] In April 2010 she became president of the Ramblers.[44][45][46]

Bradbury works with the British Heart Foundation to encourage people to exercise more.[6]

In February 2012, Bradbury was appointed an ambassador for the Scout Association.[citation needed]

In October 2013, she became president of the Camping and Caravanning Club,[47] whose previous presidents included Dr David Bellamy, Lord Baden-Powell and Scott of the Antarctic.[citation needed] This made her the first woman to hold the post.

Awards and honours

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On 14 November 2013, Bradbury was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University.[48]

Filmography

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Television
Year Title Channel Role
1997–1998 Exclusive Five Main presenter
1999 Pump It Up CITV Co-presenter
2005–2009 Watchdog BBC One Co-presenter
2006 Are We Being Served? BBC Co-presenter
2007 Wainwright Walks BBC Four Presenter
2008 Rough Guide To... Channel 5 Co-presenter[49]
2008–2011 Kill It, Cook It, Eat It BBC Three Presenter
2009–2014 Countryfile BBC One Co-presenter
2010 Railway Walks With Julia Bradbury Presenter
2011 That's Britain! Co-presenter
2012 The Great British Countryside Co-presenter
Planet Earth Live Co-presenter
2013 Take On the Twisters ITV Presenter
Mystery Map Co-presenter
Fightback Britain BBC One Co-presenter
The One Show Stand-in presenter
Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 Co-presenter
2015 The Wonder of Britain ITV Presenter
2016 Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury Presenter
Famous, Rich and Homeless BBC One Participant
2017 Britain's Best Walks with Julia Bradbury ITV Presenter
2018 Britain's Favourite Walks: Top 100 Co-presenter
My £10K Holiday Home Presenter
2019 Australia with Julia Bradbury Presenter
2020 The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury Presenter
2020–2021 For the Love of Britain ITV Co-presenter[50]
2021 Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury ITV Presenter[51]
Orkney: Britain's Green Islands with Julia Bradbury and Alex Beresford ITV Co-presenter[52]
2022 Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me ITV Presenter[53]
2023 Julia Bradbury's Irish Journey Channel4 Presenter[54]
The Real Full Monty ITV Participant[55]
2024 Warship: Life in the Royal Navy Channel 5 Co-presenter[56]
Guest appearances
DVDs
  • Wainwright Walks Series 1 – presented by Julia Bradbury (2007)
  • Wainwright Walks Series 2 – presented by Julia Bradbury (2008)
  • Julia Bradbury's Railway Walks (2009)
  • Wainwright Walks: Coast to Coast (2009)
  • The Julia Bradbury Collection (2009)
  • German Wanderlust with Julia Bradbury (2010)
  • South Africa Walks[60][61] (2010)
  • Julia Bradbury's Canal Walks (2011)
  • Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury (2016)
  • Britain's Best Walks with Julia Bradbury (2017)

References

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  1. ^ "Julia Michele BRADBURY – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. ^ Walker, Tim (17 April 2009). "Julia Bradbury: A lady of an uncertain age". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b "My Secret Life: Julia Bradbury, television presenter, 39". The Independent. London. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  4. ^ Industrial Minerals, collected issues 232-243, 1987, p. 81
  5. ^ a b "- Official Website of Julia Bradbury –". Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g My Life In Media: Presenter Julia Bradbury The Independent, 29 October 2007
  7. ^ "BBC – Consumer – TV and radio – Are We Being Served?". Archived from the original on 28 November 2006. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
  8. ^ "Kill it, Cook it, Eat it". BBC Three. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  9. ^ My perfect day: Julia Bradbury Walk – The Magazine of the Ramblers, 28 August 2009
  10. ^ Kill it Cook it Eat it Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Pipers Farm, 8 January 2010
  11. ^ "Kill it, Cut it, Use it". BBC Three. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Julia statement". Watchdog. BBC. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  13. ^ Watchdog host Julia Bradbury linked to £20,000 air mile scam Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine London Evening Standard, 20 February 2009
  14. ^ Presenter to return to Watchdog, BBC News, 15 April 2009
  15. ^ Countryfile peak-time move sparks ageism row, Guardian.co.uk, 28 November 2008
  16. ^ Presenter O'Reilly seeks BBC "ageism" compensation, BBC News, 2 February 2010
  17. ^ Leigh Holmwood. "Watchdog's Julia Bradbury cleared of involvement in alleged £20,000 fraud | Media". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  18. ^ Anne Robinson returns to Watchdog, BBC News, 11 May 2009
  19. ^ a b c d Julia Bradbury Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Womenspeakers.co.uk
  20. ^ INTERVIEW: Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury Caravan Times, 1 March 2010
  21. ^ "England Walking Tours | England Hiking Tours | Walking Hiking England". Thecoasttocoastwalk.info. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  22. ^ Stick-in-the-mud Julia's Coast-to-Coast will screen in spring Grough.co.uk, 20 October 2008
  23. ^ Wainwright Walks: Coast to Coast, BBC Four
  24. ^ South Africa Walks, Guardian.co.uk, 16 June 2010
  25. ^ TV review: Al Murray's German Adventure and Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust guardian.co.uk, 2 December 2010
  26. ^ "BBC Four – Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust – Next on". BBC. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Julia Bradbury's Canal Walks on BBC4". Waterways.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  28. ^ "The Wonder of Britain Episode 1". Itv.com. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  29. ^ Bradbury, Julia (16 October 2017). "My £10k Holiday Home starts on @itv in the New Year and @ITV100Walks Britain's Favourite 100 Walks in the Spring Tony" – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "ITV commissions £10K Holiday Homes". Press Centre. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Australia with Julia Bradbury launches in the UK". Tourism.australia.com. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Personal file". Evening Standard. London. May 1999. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
  33. ^ Comedy – Tim Vine, Croydon Advertiser, 12 September 2008
  34. ^ "BBC Radio London – The Breakfast Show with Gaby Roslin and Paul Ross, 21/02/2011". BBC. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  35. ^ Ali Hussain (11 March 2007). "Watchdog host is happy to be well heeled". Times Online. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  36. ^ Pregnant Julia Bradbury tells of delight Scotsman.com News, 28 February 2011
  37. ^ Julia Bradbury: "Miracle" baby for TV star at 40, Fertility-ovulation-pregnancy.com
  38. ^ "Who is Australia with Julia Bradbury's husband Gerard Cunningham?". 4 April 2019.
  39. ^ "TV presenter Julia Bradbury is diagnosed with breast cancer at 51". The Guardian. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  40. ^ Ellie Muir (19 March 2023). "Julia Bradbury says she is 'grateful for every single day' after breast cancer diagnosis". The Independent.
  41. ^ "Mac 4x4 2009 Article". Mac4x4.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  42. ^ a b Around the World in 80 Days BBC One, 15 November 2009
  43. ^ Julia Bradbury: New President of Campaign to Protect Rural England, Peak District & South Yorkshire Derbyshire Life, 27 February 2009
  44. ^ "New face for walking as Julia Bradbury elected President". Ramblers. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  45. ^ "Update from General Council 2010". Ramblers. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  46. ^ Kennet and Avon Canal relay marks Ramblers' anniversary, BBC News, 8 May 2010
  47. ^ "Julia Bradbury voted president of C&C Club". Practical Caravan. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  48. ^ "Dr Julia Bradbury". Sheffield Hallam University. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.[dead link]
  49. ^ "Rough Guide To..." tvmaze.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  50. ^ "For the Love of Britain". Itv.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  51. ^ "Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury". Itv.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  52. ^ "Orkney: Britain's Green Islands with Julia Bradbury and Alex Beresford". Itv.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  53. ^ "Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me". Itv.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  54. ^ "Channel 4 tours Ireland with Julia Bradbury". c21media.net. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  55. ^ "The Real Full Monty 2023: Line-up revealed". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  56. ^ "Warship: Life in the Royal Navy". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  57. ^ Just the Two of Us – About the Show BBC, December 2006
  58. ^ Who's cooking in Celebrity Come Dine With Me Channel 4, 9 February 2009
  59. ^ "Julia Bradbury – Celebrity Come Dine with Me". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  60. ^ "5 minutes with... Julia Bradbury". Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  61. ^ South Africa Walks With Julia Bradbury (DVD) BBC Shop, 7 June 2010
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