Holly Willoughby: Biography

At the age of 14, Holly was discovered by Storm Modelling Agency whilst on a school trip. In just a few years she had been the face of Rimmel, the body of Pretty Polly and appeared on the covers of various magazines. Holly appeared in numerous TV commercials and proved herself as a natural in front of the camera. It was then she decided that TV presenting was the job for her.

Joining a friend for a casting led Holly to land her first job in television when a production company were looking for a team of fresh and young presenters to host their new Saturday morning show, S Club TV.

In 2003, Holly recorded Call The Shots and Xperimental, along with coverage of Fame Academy (BBC) and Xchange for CBBC. In 2004, Holly co-presented the Game Star Awards, Junior Eurovision for ITV1 and the 19 Management's Anniversary Party at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

2005 was a busy year, as she continued with Ministry of Mayhem and regularly guest presented CD:UK. She also co-hosted the ITV2 coverage of Celebrity Wrestling: Bring It On, and recorded a brand new show for CiTV called Feel The Fear. In 2006, Holly continued to record Ministry of Mayhem (re-named Saturday Showdown) each week and also co-presented Dancing on Ice for ITV1 alongside Phillip Schofield which she is still co-presenting to date. In February she copresented ITV2's coverage of the BAFTAs and in May of that year, Holly recorded a new ITV2 show Lip Service which brought together all the weeks' gossip and clips from celebrity chat shows around the world.

Holly's hard work in children's television was soon recognised and in November 2006, she won the Children's BAFTA award for Best Presenter. Holly soon joined best friend, Fearne Cotton to record Holly & Fearne Go Dating, which aired last year on ITV1 and then her own dating show - the revamp of Streetmate for ITV2.

On becoming the presenter for The Xtra Factor Holly said of the new project: "I am thrilled to be joining The X Factor team, I have always been a big fan of the show and I am looking forward to going on the road with the team and meeting some of the colourful characters the UK has to offer as well as this year's potential new stars."