Well-known TV and radio presenter, animal lover and pescatarian Fearne Cotton, was born on September 3, 1981. To alternative therapist Lyn and sign writer Mick Cotton in Northwood, London. Her creative streak made Cotton take up art at A-level, which was put to good use when she hosted the children’s show Draw Your Own Toons, but what is Fearne Cotton’s net worth?
How was Cotton discovered and how did she make her millions?
In 1996, after being discovered in a talent search, Cotton began presenting the early morning GMTV children’s programme The Disney Club and its replacement Diggit, until she left in 2000 to pursue CITV projects Mouse and Draw Your Own Toons.
From 2001 to 2003, she presented children’s programmes for CBBC such as Eureka TV, Finger Tips, Smile, The Saturday Show and Petswap. Her 2003 move to mainstream broadcasting saw her regularly co-present Top of the Pops, which became the BBC’s flagship show; it aired until July 2006.
Following the Live 8 concert at Hyde Park in July 2005, she joined Reggie Yates, her CBBC co-host for Top of the Pops and Only in America, to present one of BBC Radio 1’s early morning slots. Taking over from Kelly Brook, she co-presented Love Island’s second series on ITV in 2006.
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Cotton hosted one series of The Xtra Factor, in 2007, a spin-off of The X Factor on ITV2, before leaving for the US. Her good friend Holly Willoughby, who replaced her on the show, later joined Cotton to co-host an ITV2 dating programme for singles called Holly & Fearne Go Dating. Cotton teamed back up with Yates that October to present The Chart Show on BBC Radio 1. Previously called The Official UK Top 40, the show had been hosted only once by a female presenter. With this, Cotton gained the distinction of becoming the first permanent female presenter to host a BBC radio chart show.
In 2008, Cotton hosted The Guinness Book of Records – Live, in the US and later co-hosted Last Comic Standing, an NBC reality show. The same year saw her host a Strictly Come Dancing special episode for Children in Need. Since 2008, Cotton has been a team captain for ITV 2 comedy quiz show Celebrity Juice, alongside Holly Willoughby and host Keith Lemon.
Her 2009 hosting schedule included ITV2’s Fearne and… (Cotton lives with famous personalities and experiences their lifestyle while getting to know them), the weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 1, and presenting the 2008 and 2009 Christmas and New Year one-off specials together with the Comic Relief special 2009 partnering Yates once again.
Sky1 recruited the Cotton in 2010 for one series of Must Be The Music, a judging panel based talent search. By this point, as presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show, she was drawing a reported salary of $330,000 from the BBC.
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The prolific TV personality also hosted The Nation’s Favourite Number One Single in 2012. When BBC covered the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012, Cotton’s presence among the presenters was inevitable.
Her other projects include Love Island, the Brit Awards, the Eurovision Song Contest, Nelson Mandela: Happy 90th Birthday, Oscars 2009: Live from the Red Carpet as well as presenting live from the Golden Globes.
Besides presenting charity telethons for BBC Two’s Children in Need, Cotton supports Macmillan Cancer Support and the CoppaFeel!breast cancer awareness campaign. She also braved a Kilimanjaro climb for Comic Relief with Denise Van Outen and Cheryl Cole in 2009, raising £1.4 million.
The TV and radio presenter is married to Jesse Wood, son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, with whom she has a son, Rex Rayne Wood.
