# Natasha Kaplinsky
**Natasha Kaplinsky** (Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky OBE, born 1972 in Brighton, England) is a British newsreader, presenter, and journalist who has anchored news bulletins for [Sky News](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-news), BBC News, Channel 5, and ITN, and who since 2022 or 2023 has served as president of the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) (BBFC).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/) • [2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/) She is also known as the winner of the first series of the BBC's *Strictly Come Dancing* in 2004.[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1D27mPD5NbjxRj4W2lltxVn/natasha-kaplinsky)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972, Brighton, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/) |
| Education | English, Hertford College, Oxford (1992 entry)[3](https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/associate/natasha-kaplinsky-english-1992/) |
| Strictly Come Dancing | Winner of the first series, 2004, with professional partner Brendan Cole[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1D27mPD5NbjxRj4W2lltxVn/natasha-kaplinsky) |
| Channel 5 deal | Signed in 2007, reportedly the highest fee ever paid to a UK newsreader, supposedly worth £1 million a year[4](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/14/natasha-kaplinsky-channel-5) |
| Holocaust work | Member of the Prime Minister's Holocaust Commission from 2014; led interviews with 112 survivors; OBE in 2017[5](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky) |
| Current role | President of the British Board of Film Classification[2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/) |
| Family | Married Justin Bower on 21 August 2005; two children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/) |
## Early life and route into broadcasting
Kaplinsky grew up partly in Kenya, where her father, Raphael Kaplinsky, lived as a political refugee from South Africa who was not allowed into that country; she has said the family was followed by security services when out with her mother, and that she did not see television until she was six.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/17/this-much-i-know-natasha-kaplinsky) Her father was an anti-apartheid campaigner who, according to an IMDb trivia note, left South Africa at 24 hours' notice to avoid arrest by the pro-apartheid government.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/)
Her first job after A-levels, in the summer of 1991, was in the office of the Labour leader [Neil Kinnock](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-kinnock), where she assisted in the 1992 election organization; she has said that watching the press at work there, rather than politics itself, drew her to journalism.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/nov/01/mondaymediasection11) She then read English at Hertford College, Oxford.[3](https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/associate/natasha-kaplinsky-english-1992/) Finding work after graduating was difficult: she found only a place in the BBC secretarial pool, sent hundreds of letters to television companies, and went on unemployment benefit. The presenter [Jill Dando](https://www.edgepedia.org/jill-dando) answered one of her letters, invited her for coffee, and told her to believe in herself and never take rejection personally.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/nov/01/mondaymediasection11)
## Television news career
**Granada Talk TV and Meridian.** Kaplinsky's break came on the cable channel Talk TV, where she rose from a runner's job to presenting a live children's program alongside [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacha-baron-cohen); the youth chat show *F2F* on Granada Talk TV in 1996 was her presenting start.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/nov/01/mondaymediasection11)
**London and Sky.** While she was on the presenting team, Sky News won a BAFTA for Best News Channel.[8](https://primeperformersagency.co.uk/products/natasha-kaplinsky)
**BBC News.** The job required getting up at 3:15 am to go on air at 6 am, hours she often said were the only thing she disliked about the role.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/kaplinsky-to-present-early-evening-news-323496.html)
**Five News.** In October 2007 Kaplinsky was recruited from the BBC to help relaunch Five (now Channel 5), reportedly for the highest fee ever paid to a UK newsreader; the Guardian described the 2007 deal as supposedly worth £1 million a year.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/14/natasha-kaplinsky-channel-5) She fronted her first show on 18 February 2008, presenting the retitled *Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky*, and replaced [Kirsty Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirsty-young).[4](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/14/natasha-kaplinsky-channel-5)
**ITV and ITN.** Her first ITV presenting role was the Sunday entertainment series *Born to Shine* in the summer of 2011, which raised awareness for [Save the Children](https://www.edgepedia.org/save-the-children), a charity she serves as an ambassador.[5](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky) Her agent credits list her as an ITN Network lead anchor, with an ITN period of 2011–16.[2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/)
## Strictly Come Dancing and entertainment work
Kaplinsky took part in the first series of *Strictly Come Dancing* in 2004 and won the competition with her professional partner [Brendan Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/brendan-cole).[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1D27mPD5NbjxRj4W2lltxVn/natasha-kaplinsky) She later said she had fought hard to avoid participating at all, describing dancing as a nightmare, and that winning took considerable courage; the final drew nine million viewers.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/nov/01/mondaymediasection11) • [10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/natasha-kaplinsky-strictly-ambitious-302467.html) In March 2005 she won a hat-trick at the [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) and Radio Industries Club (Tric) awards: she was named best newscaster, beating [Huw Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/huw-edwards), George Alagiah, and Nicholas Owen, and *BBC Breakfast*, which she co-hosted with Murnaghan, won best TV daytime program.[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/kaplinsky-triumphs-in-newsroom-and-on-dance-floor-with-awards-hattrick-527745.html)
Her entertainment and factual credits include *Children in Need*, *The Proms*, *New Year Live*, *The Royal Variety Performance*, and one-off documentaries such as *The People's Medal* (2013), *On the Run* (2013), and *Missing Without Trace* (2013).[5](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky) • [2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/) She has also appeared as herself or as a newsreader in film and television, including *Mike Bassett: England Manager* (2001), *My Hero* (2002–2005), *The Gunman* (2015), and *Hellboy* (2019).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/)
## Holocaust commemoration and later roles
After appearing as the subject of an episode of *Who Do You Think You Are?*, in which she learned that members of her family had suffered in the Holocaust, she joined the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.[8](https://primeperformersagency.co.uk/products/natasha-kaplinsky) In 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron appointed her to the Prime Minister's Holocaust Commission, where she led a project interviewing 112 [Holocaust survivors](https://www.edgepedia.org/holocaust-survivors); her agent page describes hundreds of hours spent interviewing more than 100 British survivors in 2015.[5](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky) • [2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/) She was appointed Officer of the [Order of the British Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/order-of-the-british-empire) (OBE) in 2017 for this work.[5](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky)
Sources agree that she serves as president of the British Board of Film Classification, the body whose certification appears before films in the UK, but they date the appointment differently: her profile on the Wikiwand-derived encyclopedia lists the term as 2022–present, while her talent agency says she was appointed in 2023.[2](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/)
## References
1. [Natasha Kaplinsky, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1040439/)
2. [Natasha Kaplinsky, KBJ Management](https://kbjmanagement.co.uk/clients/natasha-kaplinsky/)
3. [Natasha Kaplinsky (English, 1992), Hertford College, University of Oxford](https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/associate/natasha-kaplinsky-english-1992/)
4. [Natasha Kaplinsky to leave Channel 5, The Guardian (14 October 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/14/natasha-kaplinsky-channel-5)
5. [Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/people/natasha-kaplinsky)
6. [This much I know: Natasha Kaplinsky, The Guardian (17 July 2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/17/this-much-i-know-natasha-kaplinsky)
7. [How to be ... Natasha Kaplinsky, The Guardian (31 October 2004)](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/nov/01/mondaymediasection11)
8. [Natasha Kaplinsky, Prime Performers Booking Agent](https://primeperformersagency.co.uk/products/natasha-kaplinsky)
9. [Kaplinsky to present early evening news, The Independent (31 October 2005)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/kaplinsky-to-present-early-evening-news-323496.html)
10. [Natasha Kaplinsky: Strictly ambitious, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/natasha-kaplinsky-strictly-ambitious-302467.html)
11. [Kaplinsky triumphs in newsroom and on dance floor with awards hat-trick, The Independent (9 March 2005)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/kaplinsky-triumphs-in-newsroom-and-on-dance-floor-with-awards-hattrick-527745.html)
12. [BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - Natasha Kaplinsky](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1D27mPD5NbjxRj4W2lltxVn/natasha-kaplinsky)
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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 A to Ma*
*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