BBC Live And Kicking stars now – Peppa Pig, x-rated statue gaffe and Amanda Holden link

Live And Kicking was must-watch TV in the nineties – bringing viewers the biggest celebrities, cartoons, phone-ins and even a random competition to find the UK’s biggest crisp.

Between 1993 and 2001, the popular BBC children’s show was hosted by a number of huge names including Lorraine’s Andi Peters, Emma Forbes and Heart Radio host Jamie Theakston.

Its world collided with other huge TV icons too, with Mr Blobby even causing chaos on the third series of the show.

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On the anniversary of Live And Kicking’s first broadcast in 1993 (October 2), Daily Star looks at where the original hosts are now.

Andi Peters

Although viewers might know Andi as presenting the cash prize on Lorraine and This Morning, the popular host has been a familiar face on our TV screens for many years.

He began his career as children’s TV royalty, after following in the footsteps of Philip Schofield to host CBBC’s The Broom Cupboard in 1989 – where he had an unusual sidekick called Ed The Duck.

After four years with Ed The Duck, he became one of the first hosts of Saturday morning TV show Live And Kicking in 1993, where he co-hosted the programme alongside Emma Forbes and John Barrowman.

He presented Live And Kicking for more than three years until 1996, and since then, has hosted programmes including Top Of The Pops, Shipwrecked, The O-Zone, Dancing On Ice and even had a minor speaking role in the Hollywood film Toy Story 2 as an airport baggage handler.

It is no surprise then that he has an estimated net worth of more than £3.1m.

However, he is best known for appearing on Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and This Morning as a competition presenter – where he has amused viewers with a number of hilarious TV moments.

This included winners not opening the door because they were “naked,” to breaking his at home set during the pandemic and being blown away by the wind.

One segment even left Lorraine Kelly in tears, after Andi did not realise there was an x-rated statue behind him.

At the end of the segement, Andi was surprised to see the statue and had to position himself to hide the genitals in full view of the screen, saying: “Lorraine, I’m so sorry.”

He later held up a card in front of the statue, adding: “Excuse me.”

Lorraine however could not stop laughing, telling the presenter: “I know my eye was strangely drawn.”

Away from the limelight, Andi has rarely spoken about his personal life and it is not known if he is in a relationship.

However, The Sun reported that in 2016, he tweeted a picture of a sign, which read: “I’m single because I’m a superhero,” and captioned the snap, “Now that’s a fact I like!”

John Barrowman

Long before he landed on our TV screens as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who, John Barrowman MBE was actually one of the original presenters of Live And Kicking.

He co-hosted the programme from 1993 to 1996, after beginning his career as a musical theatre performer in productions such as Anything Goes, The Phantom Of The Opera and Sunset Boulevard.

However, he is best known for playing Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, as well as being a judge on Dancing On Ice and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

As well as appearances on TV series including Arrow, The Strictly Come Dancing 2010 Christmas Special and Hotel Babylon, he also finished third in the 2018 series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

However in May 2021, John came under fire after it was revealed that he had been removed from the show Doctor Who: Time Fracture, after he was accused of exposing himself on the set of the BBC drama.

Speaking about the accusations during an appearance on daytime show Lorraine, John said: “I think that if it was now it would be crossing the line. I think that something that happened 15 years ago – it was bawdy behaviour, silly behaviour.

“It was being done in the confines of the set and we were like a family working together. The fact that it was stories that I’ve already told, I’ve been telling them for years. I haven’t hidden anything.

“They have been exaggerated and they have tried to turn them into sexual harassment, which it absolutely is not.

“The one thing that for me, all the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there. They don’t know the context of things that were done. Like I said, I would never do it now.”

Away from TV, John has released own line of skin-care products called HIM, John has also released a 2008 memoir and performed at the 2014 Commonwealth games in Glasgow.

He has also worked with the charity Stonewall on the Education For All campaign against homophobia in schools.

Away from the limelight, John is married to his husband Scott Gill, who he first met at the Chichester Festival in 1993.

They married 20 years later in 2013 in California.

Emma Forbes

Emma Forbes was another of the original Live And Kicking presenters, alongside Andi Peters and John Barrowman, between 1993 to 1996.

She was also famous for appearing in a series of Head And Shoulder adverts during the nineties, and was also voted as one of FHM’s top 100 sexiest women.

Since her Live And Kicking Days, Emma has co-hosted shows on BBC Radio 2 alongside Steve Wright and Alan Carr, as well as appearing as a regular contributor on Alan Titchmarsh’s programme.

That’s not all, as Emma branched out into acting and lent her voice to the character of Mummy Hippo in children’s TV favourite Peppa Pig.

In her personal life, Emma has been married to her husband Graham Clempson since 1987 and the couple have two children together.

That’s not all, as Emma herself is reported to have been the god daughter of acting legend Richard Attenborough.

It is reported that the star now lives in America, and hosts an internet show with her journalist sister Sarah Standing, who discuss topics of the day from every day issues to Hollywood news.

She even surprised former Live And Kicking co-host Andi Peters on Lorraine in 2020, when she popped up during an appearance on the daytime show.

Speaking on Lorraine, she told Andi: “It’s so great Andi because quite frankly you are television gold. I can honestly tell you [Live & Kicking] were the best days of my life.

“Andi has been my rock, my friend through everything, we did so many fun things together.”

Zoe Ball

Zoe Ball is no stranger to presenting roles, after becoming the face of programmes including Live & Kicking, The Big Breakfast and Top Of The Pops in the nineties.

She also branched out into acting, appearing in hit children’s TV programme Play Days and had a cameo in the 1997 film Still Crazy, opposite Bill Nighy.

Zoe also delights listeners with her breakfast show on BBC Radio 2.

Away from the limelight however, Zoe is as famous for her relationship with DJ Norman Cook, also known as Fat Boy Slim, who she was married to from 1999-2016.

Together they had two children called Woody and Nelly, but Zoe revealed that it took a while for her and Norman to get to know one another, telling her radio show listeners: “It took us a while to get to know each other. There was a bit of wooing involved and the old way of wooing of course, was the classic mixtape.

“So, I made Norman a mixtape,” she confessed. “Who makes a DJ a mixtape?”

One year later, Zoe began dating Antiques Roadshow crew member Billy Yates in 2016 after the pair built a strong friendship working in the BBC offices.

However, the cameraman was found dead in his home in Putney on May 4, 2017 after he took his own life at the age of 40.

She has since paid tribute to Billy Yates and during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, the star confessed getting over his death was the “hardest thing” she’s ever dealt with.

She said: “He’d lived with depression for a huge chunk of his life. It’s so hard to sit and watch someone you love and care for struggle with mental health.

“Losing his was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life.”

Zoe has since revealed that she is dating boyfriend Michael Reed, after the couple were introduced to one another via mutual friends in 2017.

In 2021, the famous presenter also gave fans a glimpse inside her stunning £1.5m home in East Sussex, which boasts a tennis court, swimming pool and acres of land.

Zoe regularly posts snaps of the vintage furnishings in her home such as 60s film posters, as well as her huge allotment, where she regularly grows her own food.

She shares the home with her children Woody and Nelly, as well as her partner Michael Reed.

Jamie Theakston

Jamie Theakston co-hosted Live And Kicking from 1996-1999 alongside Zoe Ball, as well as becoming a regular face on Top Of The Pops during this time.

However, he could have had a completely different career, as Jamie originally planned to study art history at university, and previously worked as an auctioneer for Christies.

However, he was spotted by BBC’s Head Of Sport at the time after hosting a number of football and cricket reports for Radio 5 Live – and the rest as the say is history.

Jamie currently hosts a breakfast show on Heart Radio alongside Amanda Holden, who he previously acted opposite in the 2004 series Mad About Alice.

Away from the limelight, Jamie had a number of high profile romances with Lady Victoria Harvey, Joely Richardson, Erin O’ Connor and Sophie Dahl.

He has been married to jewelry maker Sophie Siegle since 2007 and the couple have two children together.

Fans may also have spotted that Jamie and Sophie appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox in 2020.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk