# Celia Walden
**Celia Walden** is a British journalist, novelist and critic, a columnist, interviewer, feature writer and US Editor-at-large for the Daily Telegraph, and the author of the novels *Harm's Way*, *Payday* and *The Square* and the memoir *Babysitting George*[1](https://www.celiawalden.com/). She is the daughter of the former Conservative MP and education minister George Walden and the wife of the broadcaster [Piers Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/piers-morgan)[2](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/celia_walden).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Paris, France; sources give 1975 (Bloomsbury, MyHeritage) or 1976 (IMDb, biographies.net)[3](https://www.bloomsbury.com/UK/author/celia-walden/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/bio/) |
| Education | Westminster School, then Newnham College, Cambridge, where she studied French and Italian[5](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/piers-morgan-walks-off-set-celia-walden-1786615) |
| Telegraph career | Hired in March 2003 to edit the Spy diary column; later senior feature writer and US Editor-at-large[6](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/09/pressandpublishing.woman) • [1](https://www.celiawalden.com/) |
| Books | *Harm's Way* (2008), *Babysitting George*, *Payday* (September 2022), *The Square*[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about) |
| Screen deal | June 2025: Universal International Studios and Working Title won rights to *Little Hands* in a 10-way bidding war[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/news/) |
| Marriage | Married Piers Morgan on 24 June 2010; daughter Elise born 2011[9](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-346871/celia-walden-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people) |
## Early life and education
Walden was born and raised in Paris[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about). Her father, George Walden, was a Conservative Member of Parliament and Minister for Education under [Margaret Thatcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-thatcher); her mother, Sarah, was an art historian and picture restorer[2](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/celia_walden) • [10](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773).
She was educated at [Westminster School](https://www.edgepedia.org/westminster-school) and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she studied French and Italian[5](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/piers-morgan-walks-off-set-celia-walden-1786615).
## Journalism
**Gossip and features.** Walden trained on London's Evening Standard and wrote the Mail on Sunday's "It's A Gossip Thing" column before the Daily Telegraph hired her in March 2003 to edit its Spy diary column[6](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/09/pressandpublishing.woman). She made her name as a celebrity gossip columnist gathering scoops at star-studded parties for the Telegraph from 2004, and has said her public profile was bolstered in part by her relationship with Piers Morgan[10](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773).
Her role at the Telegraph has since broadened. Bloomsbury's author page describes her as the paper's Senior Feature Writer, GQ Magazine's motoring correspondent and an interviewer for Glamour magazine[3](https://www.bloomsbury.com/UK/author/celia-walden/); her own site describes her as a columnist, interviewer, feature writer and US Editor-at-large for the Telegraph[1](https://www.celiawalden.com/). Her columns cover current affairs, health, fashion and motoring, and she has written for GQ, The Spectator, Glamour, [Elle](https://www.edgepedia.org/elle-magazine), Standpoint, Russian Vogue, Tatler, Harper's Bazaar, Red Magazine, Net-a-Porter's The Edit, Grazia, Stylist and Country & [Townhouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/townhouse)[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about). Her health writing treats the subject as a way to examine how people live, parent and care for their bodies, blending research and expert quotes with anecdote and social critique[11](https://www.presscontact.co/journalists/celia-walden).
**Television.** Walden has been a regular guest on US and UK shows including The Today Show, BBC Breakfast, Sky News, GMTV, GB News, Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, and has served as a Special Correspondent for big events including the Oscars on Lorraine and the [Royal Wedding](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-wedding) on NBC's Today Show[1](https://www.celiawalden.com/). In 2011 she was a regular fixture on the morning show Daybreak[10](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773).
## Books
Her first book, *Harm's Way*, was published in 2008 and translated into four languages; the Observer called it a "gripping debut" and Grazia "a subtle, sensual, absorbing tale"[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about).
Her second book, *Babysitting George*, is a memoir of the three months in 2003 she spent in Malta for the Mail on Sunday accompanying the footballer [George Best](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-best) at the height of his alcoholism[10](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773). "Babysitting" is a journalistic term for minding a celebrity to prevent them selling their story to a rival newspaper[10](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773). The book was [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4)'s Book of the Week and was nominated for the William Hill 2011 Sports Book of the Year prize[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about), although [Kirkus Reviews](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirkus-reviews) lists its release date as December 11, 2012, published by Bloomsbury[12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/celia-walden/babysitting-george/). Kirkus praised her prose as "often observant and strikingly original" and called the book an "unusual and affecting reflection on the toxic combination of achievement, addiction and celebrity culture"[12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/celia-walden/babysitting-george/).
In September 2022 she published her first thriller with Little, Brown, *Payday*, an instant Amazon bestseller selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about). A Hachette US rights list from May 2022 describes *Payday* as her first novel published by Sphere in 2021[13](https://www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/US-rights-list-fiction-May-2022.pdf). Her second thriller, *The Square*, also published by Little, Brown, is about a man who manipulates his neighbors' lives through virtual "nudges", building to a snapping point at a square's bicentenary party[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about) • [13](https://www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/US-rights-list-fiction-May-2022.pdf).
## Little Hands and screen adaptation
In June 2025, [Universal International Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-international-studios) and Working Title won the rights to Walden's then-forthcoming novel *Little Hands* in a 10-way bidding war that played out in London and Los Angeles[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about). The deal was reported to be in the six figures against seven figures, remarkable for a partial manuscript, with no publishing deal yet made[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/news/). Said to be the first book in a series, *Little Hands* follows a young British woman with a mysterious past who inadvertently joins a ruthless gang of female thieves robbing the ultra-wealthy along the [French Riviera](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-riviera)[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/news/). Walden will executive produce the series alongside 42's Peter Dealbert, Josh Varney and Ben Pugh[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about).
## Personal life
Walden met Piers Morgan when he interviewed her for a magazine in 2006, while he was separated from his first wife[14](https://www.vogue.com/article/piers-morgan-the-man-who-would-be-king). They married on 24 June 2010 in a private ceremony in Swinbrook, Oxfordshire[5](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/piers-morgan-walks-off-set-celia-walden-1786615) • [9](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-346871/celia-walden-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people). Their daughter, Elise Morgan, was born in 2011, her first child and Morgan's fifth[2](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/celia_walden). Walden is stepmother to Morgan's three sons from his first marriage, Spencer, Stanley and Albert[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/bio/).
Born and raised in Paris, she now divides her time between London and Los Angeles[7](https://www.celiawalden.com/about).
## References
1. [Celia Walden, official site](https://www.celiawalden.com/)
2. [Celia Walden, Biographies.net](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/celia_walden)
3. [Celia Walden, Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)](https://www.bloomsbury.com/UK/author/celia-walden/)
4. [Celia Walden, IMDb Biography](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/bio/)
5. [Who is Celia Walden? Quick Facts on Piers Morgan's Wife, IBTimes UK](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/piers-morgan-walks-off-set-celia-walden-1786615)
6. [Life as a gossip girl, The Guardian (9 July 2006)](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/09/pressandpublishing.woman)
7. [About, celiawalden.com](https://www.celiawalden.com/about)
8. [Universal International Studios & Working Title Win Bidding War For 'Little Hands', via IMDb News](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2326256/news/)
9. [Celia Walden, MyHeritage Biographical Summaries of Notable People](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-346871/celia-walden-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people)
10. [Interview: Celia Walden, Stylist (16 May 2011)](https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interview-celia-walden/11773)
11. [Celia Walden, Health Journalist, The Telegraph, PressContact profile](https://www.presscontact.co/journalists/celia-walden)
12. [Babysitting George, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/celia-walden/babysitting-george/)
13. [Untitled novel by Celia Walden, Hachette US rights list, May 2022](https://www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/US-rights-list-fiction-May-2022.pdf)
14. [Piers Morgan: The Man Who Would Be King, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/piers-morgan-the-man-who-would-be-king)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Journalism › Journalists (biographies and roles) › Journalists of Europe*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license