22 Facts About Penny Smith

Penelope Jane Smith was born on 21 September 1958 and is an English author, television presenter, newsreader and radio presenter.

Penny Smith has presented for Sky News, GMTV, Classic FM, BBC Radio London, TalkRadio and is a regular contributor to TalkTV launched in April 2022.

Penny Smith is a current presenter of the weekday mid-morning show on Scala Radio and credits her favourite classical composer as Giacomo Puccini.

Penny Smith was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, and grew up in Rutland.

Penny Smith attended Uppingham Primary School in Uppingham and the Rutland High School for Girls in Oakham.

Penny Smith began her career as a reporter and feature writer on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1977.

Penny Smith left the station toward the end of 1988 to help launch Sky News in February 1989.

Penny Smith has presented Crime Net, Crime File and Crime Fighters for Carlton, Crime Monthly and Britain's Most Wanted for LWT, Going for a Song for the BBC and Celebrity for ITV.

Penny Smith co-presented the 1995 series of The Krypton Factor alongside Gordon Burns.

In 2006, Penny Smith appeared in the BBC One show Just the Two of Us.

Penny Smith later appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2006 and several episodes of Have I Got News for You.

Penny Smith appeared in Garfield 2 when Garfield was watching television.

In July 2010, Penny Smith presented BBC Radio 2's Kiri Prize, a nationwide hunt to find an opera star.

Penny Smith has covered the Friday Night Arts Show on BBC Radio 2 when Claudia Winkleman was away.

From January 2013 to January 2016, Penny Smith co-presented the weekday breakfast show on BBC London 94.9.

Penny Smith joined digital radio station talkRADIO in 2016 presenting her first show on 26 March 2016.

Penny Smith presented the weekend breakfast show until February 2021.

Penny Smith continued to be the main News Reader of GMTV.

Penny Smith appeared briefly as herself in the partially-improvised comedy 1994 film There's No Business.

Penny Smith has written for a number of national newspapers and magazines, including a beauty column for "Femail" in the Daily Mail and articles in Essentials magazine, Good Housekeeping, and Woman and Home.

Penny Smith married journalist Tony Birtley on Saturday 12 May 1984 at St Wulfram's Church, Grantham, the reception was held in Colsterworth; the best man was Daily Star reporter George Dearsley.

Since September 2001, Penny Smith has been in a long term relationship with the actor Vince Leigh.