Ben Shephard

For the American musician and Soundgarden bassist, see Ben Shepherd. For the English historian, see Ben Shephard (English historian).

Ben Shephard
Born	Benjamin Peter Shephard 11 December 1974 (1974-12-11) Epping, Essex, England
Education	Chigwell School, University of Birmingham
Occupation	Journalist, Presenter
Spouse(s)	Annie Perks (2004-present)
Children	2
Ethnicity	White British
Nationality	British
Notable credit(s)	Goals On Sunday GMTV The Xtra Factor Krypton Factor Champions League
Website
www.officialbenshephard.com

Benjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" (born Wednesday 11 December 1974) is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.

Personal life

Shephard attended Chigwell School in Essex, and went on to achieve a 2:1 BA Hons degree from the University of Birmingham in Dance, Drama & Theatre Arts. A West Ham United supporter, he has also received honours in both rugby and football.

Media career

1998

• Presented both Control Freaks and The Bigger Breakfast for Channel 4
• In October, he launched the cult Sunday morning TV show T4
• Played Syd in the game Hardwar

2000

• Eastenders Revealed for BBC Three
• Planet Pop and Maths 4 Real on Channel 4
• He also appeared in a series of shows, educating maths on Channel Four
• Co-presenter MTV Select on MTV
• He joined GMTV as a presenter on Entertainment Today

2004

• Shephard presented The Xtra Factor on ITV2, a spin off from The X Factor. He quit after three series' in 2006, after he failed to get the presenter's job, and was replaced by Fearne Cotton for the fourth series in 2007

2005

• Promoted at GMTV to a presenter of the flagship programme
• In this year, he guest presented the award winning ITV1 programme This Morning, where he stood-in for the male host Phillip Schofield

2006

• Alongside co-presenter Fern Britton, he presented the reality TV show Soapstar Superstar. But Britton and Shephard were both replaced from hosting the second series of the show by Zoe Ball. This also resulted in Ben Shephard's departure from the X Factor.
• He also took part in the ITV1 programme Soccer Aid
• Shephard has also reported for ITV1's All*Star Cup
• He presented The Xtra Factor – Battle of the Stars for ITV2
• He presented a radio show on Magic 105.4 called Saturday Breakfast

2007

• During the second series of the hit ITV1 show Dancing on Ice, Ben presented the spin off show, Dancing on Ice Exclusive alongside Andi Peters
• Appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show as a guest, where he modestly admitted to have been voted as the 73rd sexiest male in the world
• He presented the new BBC One show DanceX. However it didn't return in 2008, due to poor viewing figures

2008

• He had a short stint presenting Hot or Not for Heat Radio, which aired every Monday at 7pm
• He boxed singer Lemar on 15 March for BBC One's Sport Relief after training with Ricky Hatton and Andy Mayo at Mayo's Gym. He won by decision after 3 rounds
• Shephard became the host of the BBC One's National lottery quiz show 1 vs. 100 for its third series, which began in April 2008 This show was eventually axed in 2009, costing him a place at the BBC.
• From July–August, he co-presented a new Saturday night entertainment series for ITV1, alongside Denise Van Outen, called Who Dares, Sings!. The premise of this included 100 members of the studio audience to hitting the right notes in the largest karaoke competition on TV. The show ran for 7 episodes. It returned in December, for a one-off Christmas special
• In September, he took part in ITV1's Soccer Aid for the second time

2009

• Shephard hosted an updated version of ITV1 game show The Krypton Factor, which returned on 1 January after a 14-year absence
• In February, Shephard become the Guinness World Record Holder for tossing the most pancakes in one minute as part of a challenge on Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show. He flipped his pancake 108 times, however he was beaten the next day on Blue Peter by Aldo Zilli, who flipped his 117 times
• In early 2009 Ben climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief. Joining him on the climb were Girls Aloud members Cheryl Cole and Kimberley Walsh, Fearne Cotton, Gary Barlow, Alesha Dixon, Ronan Keating, Denise Van Outen and Chris Moyles
• On 26 May, he appeared in an episode of Gok's Fashion Fix on Channel 4, where he controversially admitted to the fact that he doesn't wear underpants; However, he confessed to Metro in March 2010 that it was only a joke
• Guest appearance in the Harry Potter movie the Half Blood Prince in which Ben plays the role of a father of four children in the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop. He is noticeable (behind a beard and moustache) just before Ron acknowledges his new love interest
• In late 2009 he presented An Audience with Rod Stewart for ITV1
• In December he narrated Ads of the Decade for ITV1

2010

• Ben presented his second series of The Krypton Factor for ITV1 from January. The Krypton Factor has been on a hiatus since 2011.
• Since 15 January, Ben co-presented Dancing on Ice Friday alongside Coleen Nolan on ITV1
• On 19 January, he made a guest appearance on the ITV daytime programme Loose Women, where he revealed his commando business to the women under the table to avoid controversy; only to confirm in March that his "Going commando" business was only a joke
• On 21 April, it was confirmed that Ben Shephard was quitting GMTV after 10 years, after earlier telling management he would not be renewing his contract. His two year contract expired at the end of April however he will stay with GMTV during the transitional period throughout the summer
• On 2 May, he was a contestant on Scream if you Know the Answer
• On 6 June, he once again played for England in Soccer Aid 2010 along with Robbie Williams, Ralf Little, and Paddy McGuinness
• On 11 June, he went to South Africa to provide World Cup coverage for GMTV, and remained there until England were knocked out of the competition
• On 28 and 29 June, he hosted Phil Collins...For One Night Only ITV show, introducing live songs recorded and visited places from Phil Collins' life with him
• On 30 June, he announced his departure from GMTV two months earlier than planned in order to spend time with his family and do some charity work across Britain
• On 27 July, he announced he is signing a new contract with Sky Sports. He will work on live football and co-present Goals On Sunday in a deal worth a reported £495,000 a year
• On 30 July, he presented his final GMTV show.
• On 8 August 2010, he started doing work for Sky Sports on the show Goals on Sunday whilst doing a number of new projects with ITV.
• He returned to This Morning on ITV guest presenting: twice in July alongside Myleen Klass, on 29 October alongside Coleen Nolan, 26 November alongside Ruth Langsford, 29 and 30 November, 1 and 2 December alongside Holly Willoughby.
• DJ at Guildford Spectrum and compère/host for annual ice pantomime.
• At the end of the year (30 December), he narrated Ads of the Year for ITV1

2011

• He returned as a guest presenter for This Morning on ITV1.
• On 27 July 2011, Sky have given Ben a new gameshow called "Safebreakers" to present. It began on the 15th August via Sky 1, and ended on the 30th October via Sky 2.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	A Bear's Christmas Tail	Carol Singer #1	TV Movie
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	Diagon Alley Father	(Uncredited)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Friends	Man with Microphone	Season 8, Episode 22 - The One Where Rachel is Late (Uncredited)

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Hardwar	Syd	Voice Role

External links

• Official website
• Ben Shephard at the Internet Movie Database
• Ben Shephard at Sky Sports

Preceded by None

Host of The Xtra Factor 2004-2006

Succeeded by Fearne Cotton