# Kate Silverton
**Kate Silverton** (born 1970) is a British former BBC news presenter who retrained as a child therapist and became a Sunday Times bestselling parenting author. She presented [BBC News](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-news) at One, BBC Weekend News, and [BBC Breakfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-breakfast), reported from the frontline in Iraq and Afghanistan, and left the BBC in 2021 to qualify as a child therapist in 2023.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html) • [2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Waltham Abbey, Essex, England; middle child of three girls[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton) |
| Education | BSc in Psychology, Durham University[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/) |
| BBC career | Main presenter on BBC News 24 (2005–2007); BBC News at One (2008); relief presenter and co-presenter on BBC Breakfast[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/question-time-kate-silverton-presenter-1639971.html) |
| Field reporting | Frontline reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan; documentaries for BBC Panorama[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton) |
| Strictly Come Dancing | Series 16, 2018, paired with professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec; finished eighth[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html) |
| Career change | Left the BBC in 2021; qualified as a child therapist in 2023 after training through the Place2Be charity[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html) • [2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/) |
| Books | *There's No Such Thing As 'Naughty'* (2021), a number-one Sunday Times bestseller; *There's Still No Such Thing As 'Naughty'* (2024)[2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/) |
| Family | Married Mike Heron, a former Royal Marine commander, in 2010; two children, Clemency (born 2011) and Wilbur (born 2014)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1176615/bio/) • [7](https://globegist.co.uk/media-journalism/kate-silverton-career-husband-books-and-life) |
## Early life and education
Silverton was born in Waltham Abbey in Essex, the middle child of three girls. Her father was a [hackney carriage](https://www.edgepedia.org/hackney-carriage) licensed driver who had served in the Merchant Navy, and her mother was first a stay-at-home parent and later a nursery school teacher[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton). After high school she took a two-year gap year, backpacking around Europe, living on a kibbutz in Israel, hitchhiking into the Sinai desert, and trekking across Zimbabwe and Namibia[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton).
She studied at St Cuthbert's Society, Durham University, for a BSc in [Psychology](https://www.edgepedia.org/psychology)[8](https://www.palatinate.org.uk/interview-kate-silverton/). She later said that independent travel prepared her for journalism more than her degree did, and that she had wanted to be a journalist from the age of 12 but chose the City instead because she feared she might not be good enough[9](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/r4/2012/R4_2012_1006-1012_3columns_6pt_16pages.pdf). After graduating she spent about two years working in investment banking[8](https://www.palatinate.org.uk/interview-kate-silverton/).
## Journalism and BBC career
She has described her move into journalism as triggered by the death of a close friend, after which she confronted her fear of failure, gave up a high-paid corporate job, and took work experience at the BBC while making sandwiches to pay the rent[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton). She trained with the BBC on Look North before becoming a reporter and presenter at Tyne Tees Television[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/). Before joining BBC News she was a panellist on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, hosted ITV's The Psychic Show in 2002, and contributed to The Heaven and Earth Show and Weekend Breakfast on [BBC Radio 5 Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-5-live)[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/).
At BBC News she was a presenter on BBC News 24 from 2005 to December 2007, also serving as a regular relief presenter for BBC Breakfast[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/). In December 2007 she was named presenter of the BBC News 8 p.m. summary, a 90-second round-up on [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one), and in 2008 she presented BBC News at One[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/). Her 2009 interview with The Independent listed co-presenting BBC Breakfast with [Bill Turnbull](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-turnbull) as her main role[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/question-time-kate-silverton-presenter-1639971.html).
**Field reporting and documentaries.** She reported for the BBC from around the world, including from the frontline in Iraq and Afghanistan, and produced and presented documentaries for Panorama[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton). In a 2009 interview she named reporting from Iraq as the high point of her career, saying she returned from a Christmas posting with an exclusive story that kick-started the debate about accommodation conditions for troops[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/question-time-kate-silverton-presenter-1639971.html). Her other BBC work included the BBC One adventure program Ultimate Wild Water, in which she tackled British rivers and seas by kayak; Big Cat Diary (2008); New Year Live aboard [HMS Belfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/hms-belfast) (2008); the [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) mentoring series The Speaker (2009); and the documentary 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep (2009)[10](https://rts.org.uk/person/kate-silverton) • [4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/).
In June 2012 she produced a BBC documentary on rhino horn poaching and secured an exclusive interview with Prince William, spending an afternoon with him at a wildlife park in Kent discussing Africa's illegal rhino trade[10](https://rts.org.uk/person/kate-silverton) • [11](https://www.psychologies.co.uk/therapy-helps-us-live-in-multicolour-kate-silverton-reveals-why-shes-gone-from-interviewing-clint-eastwood-to-counselling-children/).
In 2018, aged 48, she competed in the sixteenth series of [Strictly Come Dancing](https://www.edgepedia.org/strictly-come-dancing), paired with [Aljaž Škorjanec](https://www.edgepedia.org/aljaz-skorjanec), and finished eighth[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html). She has said she took part with a view to leaving journalism to train as a child therapist[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html).
## Career change to child therapy
In 2021 Silverton left the BBC after about two decades, saying her decision was inspired by her love of child psychology and by becoming a mother[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html). She had begun training in psychotherapy in 2018 after her Strictly appearance and a two-year maternity break following the birth of her son Wilbur in 2014[11](https://www.psychologies.co.uk/therapy-helps-us-live-in-multicolour-kate-silverton-reveals-why-shes-gone-from-interviewing-clint-eastwood-to-counselling-children/) • [1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html). She trained as a children's counselor with the charity Place2Be and qualified as a child therapist in 2023[2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/).
Her clinical work includes volunteering in a primary school supporting children with complex needs and working privately with parents[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html) • [3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton). She describes the two careers as connected: "In journalism and as a therapist you're helping people tell their stories, to have a voice and be heard"[12](https://inview.org.uk/news/162809-bbc_newc_star_kate_silverton_updates_on_new_career_after_ditching_london/print). She has also become a conference and awards host on wellbeing themes, booked by organizations including KPMG, Transport for London, NatWest, Lloyds, McLaren, and [American Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-express)[2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/).
## Books and advocacy
Her first parenting guide, *There's No Such Thing As 'Naughty'*, published in 2021, reached number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list; it is a guide for parents of children aged 0-5 rooted in research on child brain development[2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/) • [13](https://www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Spring-2021-Online-Catalogue.pdf). The follow-up, *There's Still No Such Thing As 'Naughty'*, published in 2024, covers the primary years for parents of children aged 5-12 and also became a Sunday Times bestseller[2](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/) • [3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton).
Silverton is an ambassador for Place2Be, the Anna Freud Centre, and Trauma Informed Schools UK, and supports the Prince and [Princess of Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/princess-of-wales)' Shaping Us campaign on the importance of the early years in child development[3](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton). She became a Place2Be ambassador in 2022, having supported the charity's BBC Lifeline Appeal in 2019[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/).
## Personal life
Silverton married Mike Heron, a former Royal Marine commander, in 2010[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1176615/bio/) • [7](https://globegist.co.uk/media-journalism/kate-silverton-career-husband-books-and-life). Their daughter Clemency was born in 2011 and their son Wilbur in 2014[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1176615/bio/). She has spoken publicly about fertility treatment, saying the couple tried IVF unsuccessfully before conceiving their children naturally[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html).
## References
1. [Kate Silverton reveals why she left BBC news career to become child therapist, The Independent (31 May 2023)](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/kate-silverton-bbc-therapist-children-b2348744.html)
2. [Kate Silverton, Speakers Associates profile](https://www.speakersassociates.com/speaker/kate-silverton/)
3. [About Kate, katesilverton.com](https://www.katesilverton.com/about-kate-silverton)
4. [Kate Silverton, MN2S booking agency profile](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/kate-silverton/)
5. [Question Time: Kate Silverton, Presenter, The Independent (9 March 2009)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/question-time-kate-silverton-presenter-1639971.html)
6. [Kate Silverton Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1176615/bio/)
7. [Kate Silverton: Career, Husband, Books and Life Today, Globegist](https://globegist.co.uk/media-journalism/kate-silverton-career-husband-books-and-life)
8. [Interview: Kate Silverton, Palatinate (11 October 2011)](https://www.palatinate.org.uk/interview-kate-silverton/)
9. [BBC Radio 4 listings, One to One, 6–12 October 2012](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/r4/2012/R4_2012_1006-1012_3columns_6pt_16pages.pdf)
10. [Kate Silverton, Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/person/kate-silverton)
11. ['Therapy helps us live in multicolour': Kate Silverton, Psychologies (2022)](https://www.psychologies.co.uk/therapy-helps-us-live-in-multicolour-kate-silverton-reveals-why-shes-gone-from-interviewing-clint-eastwood-to-counselling-children/)
12. [BBC News star Kate Silverton updates on new career after ditching London, InView (18 February 2024)](https://inview.org.uk/news/162809-bbc_newc_star_kate_silverton_updates_on_new_career_after_ditching_london/print)
13. [Little, Brown Book Group Spring 2021 catalogue](https://www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Spring-2021-Online-Catalogue.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Broadcast journalists and news presenters › Broadcast journalist roles and subfields › Surnames Mc to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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