22 Facts About Dan Wootton

Daniel John William Wootton was born on 2 March 1983 and is a New Zealand and British journalist and broadcaster.

In 2021 Dan Wootton left News UK to join the MailOnline as a columnist and present a show, four days a week, on GB News.

Daniel John William Wootton was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1983 to British parents; his mother was born in Basildon, Essex and his father was born on a British army base in Malta.

Dan Wootton grew up in Lower Hutt, and attended Naenae College and Victoria University of Wellington, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in media studies and political science.

Dan Wootton started his career as a journalist in New Zealand, writing an entertainment column for the Wellington-based broadsheet newspaper The Dominion Post and reporting for the daily television show Good Morning.

Dan Wootton emigrated to the United Kingdom when he was 21 and, after a period working for trade magazines, joined Broadcast magazine.

Dan Wootton joined the News of the World TV team in February 2007, becoming TV editor in November 2007, and show-business editor from November 2008 until its closure in July 2011; he then became a columnist and feature writer for the Daily Mail and editor-at-large for Now magazine.

Dan Wootton later testified to the Leveson Inquiry in 2012 about the News International phone hacking scandal, denying illegally publishing stories collected through phone hacking while an editor at the News of the World.

In 2013, Dan Wootton joined The Sun newspaper, launching a new column on Sundays.

Dan Wootton became editor of the newspaper's Bizarre column in 2014, and was promoted to associate editor in 2016.

Dan Wootton was named 'Showbiz reporter of the year' at the 2010,2013 and 2018 British Press Awards.

Dan Wootton made appearances as a showbiz reporter on ITV's morning show Lorraine between 2011 and 2019, and was a guest on BBC Radio 5 Live.

HIV policy adviser Lisa Power called it "vile" and expressed disappointment that Dan Wootton had "lent his name to such a shameful piece", saying that it reinforced stigma against people with HIV.

Dan Wootton has been credited with breaking the story about Megxit in The Sun on 8 January 2020, which prompted Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to announce within hours their plans for stepping back from their royal duties.

In January 2021, Dan Wootton announced that he would leave The Sun and talkRADIO to become a columnist for MailOnline and present a daily show, four days a week, on GB News.

In November 2021, his GB News programme, Tonight Live with Dan Wootton, was rebranded to Dan Wootton Tonight and shortened from three to two hours.

In February 2022, Andrew Brady, a former Apprentice contestant and ex-fiance of Caroline Flack, was jailed for four months for harassing Dan Wootton and making false accusations which the judge described as "deeply unpleasant nonsense".

Fox was dismissed by GB News following the incident and Dan Wootton was suspended pending an internal investigation.

Dan Wootton denied any criminality and said that he was the victim of a smear campaign.

News UK and DMG Media's separate investigations into Dan Wootton's behaviour remain ongoing as of February 2024.

In 2013, Dan Wootton announced on his Twitter account that he is gay.

In March 2023, Dan Wootton confirmed that he was in a relationship with Alan Longair.