19 Facts About Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup was born on 12 November 1962 and is a British-Norwegian journalist and presenter, known in British television and radio mainly for arts programmes.

Mariella Frostrup's Norwegian father, who died aged 44 when Frostrup was 15, was a journalist on The Irish Times, and her Scottish mother an artist.

Mariella Frostrup presented Thames Television's Video View from 1990 and, after Thames lost the London ITV franchise, reprised the role straight afterwards on The Little Picture Show for Carlton Television from 1993.

Mariella Frostrup has interviewed many celebrities, writers and artists and has presented a variety of television programmes, including one on travel, and has appeared in other television shows such as the series Have I Got News for You and the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

Mariella Frostrup made several guest appearances as herself in the series Coupling, including an episode where one of the characters fantasizes about her, then meets her in person.

Mariella Frostrup has appeared in fictionalised form in Michael Paraskos's In Search of Sixpence.

Mariella Frostrup is an art critic and has been on the judging panels for the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

In 2008, Mariella Frostrup received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of her contribution and commitment to journalism and broadcasting.

Mariella Frostrup presented the BBC Radio 2 show The Green Room and was from 2002 to 2020 the regular presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Open Book, interviewing authors and publishers and reviewing new fiction and non-fiction books.

Mariella Frostrup is the voice in lifts on the London Overground.

Mariella Frostrup was one of the celebrities portrayed as a puppet on that programme.

In 2018, Mariella Frostrup presented a documentary for BBC One called The Truth About The Menopause.

Mariella Frostrup later published a book on the subject and has spoken of her own experience of menopause.

In 2022, Frostrup is the presenter of the documentary series Britain's Novel Landscapes with Mariella Frostrup; which investigates how British landscapes have influenced some of the UK's best loved authors.

Since July 2024, Mariella Frostrup has been a regular panellist on ITV's flagship lunchtime show Loose Women.

On 17 October 2024, Mariella Frostrup was announced as the UK Government's Menopause Employment Ambassador.

Mariella Frostrup has been active in the charity sector for two decades, having worked on Bank Aid and Comic Relief along with various fundraising initiatives for Oxfam, The Children's Society and Save the Children.

Mariella Frostrup was first married to Richard Jobson, lead singer with the punk rock group Skids.

Mariella Frostrup is a close friend of television presenter Penny Smith and of actress Gina Bellman.