Where are all the T4 presenters now? From Alexa Chung to Steve Jones

In the deepest recess of your memory lies an untouched thought. It’s dusty, it hasn’t been picked up since 2012. It’s glimpses of a pink and purple set, celebrities you half remember speaking into microphones and interviewing people like Paulo Nutini and Lily Allen. A distant image of a music festival in Weston Super Mare, with Calvin Harris headlining but he’s still in his Scottish disco glasses phase, not his LA hunk phase. Jameela Jamil is there for some reason. What is this memory? Where did it come from?

It’s T4 baby! T4, in case you really did forget, was a Channel 4 show that aired on weekends and was the perfect viewing for waking up after a hard night of year seven homework. It was hosted by a variety of young and trendy presenters who all went on to become stupidly famous. Like genuinely all of them are really famous now, just wait. T4 was massive by the time we were in our tweens. It had its own festival, T4 on the Beach, which was headlined by the likes of Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine (does anyone remember You Got The Dirtee Love or is that just me?). Clips from the T4 weekend program were even featured in the ever-iconic movie Chalet Girl, with Ed Westwick making an in character cameo on the show.

Basically, T4 was a pretty big deal. It also went on for waaaaay longer than you probably knew about (from 1998!) and it’s where some of the biggest British presenters today got their start. Even people you didn’t realise, like Dermot O’Leary and Vernon Kay started on T4. It was a cultural institution and quite frankly I’m still in mourning over its loss. However, for some comforting nostalgia, here’s where all the T4 presenters are now:

Alexa Chung

Alexa, a literal 2010s icon, presented on the show from 2008-2009. This was when she began her real rise to fame, walking for Vivienne Westwood at London Fashion Week 2008 and becoming the face of Oxfam’s ethical fashion brand. In 2009 she became the face of New Look, which seems almost laughable now because New Look and Alexa Chung are like, polar opposite vibes. She then signed with Select (of course) but moved to NEXT models the year after. Since her appearance on T4 she has also been the face of DKNY, Superga, Lacoste and Longchamp – who eventually dropped her because she was associated with “countless brands” lol. Most recently, Alexa launched her own fashion brand (unsurprisingly called “Alexa Chung“) and joined Queer Eye’s Tan France as co-host on Netflix’s Next in Fashion. She remains impeccably well dressed to this day.

Miquita Oliver

Miquita was one of the T4 presenters from 2006 to 2010, but was kicked off the show for insulting Kesha behind her back – allegedly calling her a certain “four letter word”. I hope it’s the C word because if they fired Miquita for calling Kesha a twat I’m throwing hands. She presented again for 4Music on their music show entitled Rock the Look with Rimmel London in 2014 which was a mix of fashion, music and artist interviews. Most recently she’s been broadcasting and hosting BBC documentaries, including Young British and Broke in 2013 and Vandals and Visionaries, a documentary on street art in Bristol, in 2017.

Dermot O’Leary

Big boy Dermot O’Leary, one of the UK’s most famous presenters, got his start as one of the T4 presenters in 1998. Dermot was one of the first ever T4 presenters. He was with T4 until 2001, when he moved on to present Big Brother’s Little Brother (the Big Brother companion show, if you didn’t realise) on E4. In 2007 O’Leary become the host of The X Factor, staying on for over eight years. He quit in 2015 and was replaced by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. He has also co-hosted the Brit awards, been a guest presenter on Good Morning Britain and currently presents for BBC Radio 2. In 2017 he started writing a series of children’s books called Toto the Ninja Cat.

Jameela Jamil

Jameela presented T4 from 2009 til 2012, when it finally met its untimely demise. After T4 she became the host of The Official Chart in 2001, making her the first female presenter for a BBC chart show. Jameela now plays Tahani Al-Jamil in The Good Place, and models for the likes of Vogue, Elle and Cosmo. Jamil has been in a long term relationship with musician and king of the sad boys James Blake since 2015. She’s an activist and feminist, but routinely ends up in hot water for her opinions and how she voices them on Twitter and Insta.

Ben Shephard

Ben Shephard was one of the T4 presenters from 1999-2000, then went on to present GMTV in 2000 and The Xtra Factor in 2004. In 2005 he was a stand in presenter on This Morning, covering for the one and only Philip Schofield. He has also hosted game show Tipping Point since 2012, and currently hosts Good Morning Britain alongside Kate Garraway and Susanna Reid on Thursdays and Fridays. At one point he also held the record for Highest Reverse Bunjee jump. Impressive!

Alex Zane

Alex Zane, who I repeatedly confuse with Zane Lowe (entirely different men), presented on T4 from 2007 to 2008. He went on to host E4 show RudeTube (now that’s a throwback) and now hosts Sky Cinema. Fun fact: He did Medicine at UCL for a year then dropped out. Smart boi.

June Sarpong

June hosted T4 from 2000-2007, making her the longest running T4 presenter alongside Steve Jones. After T4 she went on to become a panelist on Loose Women and is currently a panelist on Sky News’ ‘The Pledge’. June was appointed Director of Creative Diversity for the BBC in 2019, and has been awarded both an MBE and OBE for her broadcasting work. She’s kind of a big deal.

Steve Jones

Sexy, sexy Steve Jones. Steve presented T4 from 2003-2010, which means his seven year run makes him the joint longest serving T4 presenter alongside June Sarpong. Steve started his career as a model for Esquire (!) then moved to T4. Afterwards he hosted Let’s Dance For Comic Relief, Guiness World’s Records Smashed (with Konnie from Blue Peter) and The X Factor USA. His most notable post T4 appearance was his small but life changing cameo in Angus Thongs, where he plays the beautiful house remodeller Jem. He now does Formula 1 coverage for Channel 4.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiuuuDfnmqe/

Simon Amstell

That’s right, Simon Amstell was once a T4 host. It shocked me too! Simon presented T4 from 2003 to 2006. He’s gone on to become a successful stand up comedian, hosting Never Mind The Buzzcocks and writing and starring in comedy Grandma’s House. He has also written and directed two features films – one of which stars Merlin from, you guessed it, Merlin.

Vernon Kay

Also a surprising name on the previous T4 hosts list, Vernon Kay presented the show from 2000 to 2005. He has since presented All Star Family Fortunes, Beat The Star, Splash! and guest hosted five episodes of The One Show. He’s married to Tess Daly and now presents Formula E, Formula 1 racing coverage for Channel 5 and YouTube.

Rick Edwards

The hunky king of T4 presented the show from 2007-2011. Before this, 6 ft 5 Rick Edwards actually attended Pembroke College at Cambridge (!!!), solidifying his position as marriage material. (The 6 ft 5 thing has nothing to do with Cambridge but a lot to do with marriage material.) Since T4 Rick has hosted Channel 4’s Reading and Leeds coverage and Tool Academy, a program about fed up girlfriends pulling up on their no-good boyfriends. The prize of the show is not that you get to date Rick, but I wish it was. Most recently he has starred in History’s YouTube miniseries River Hunters (he did natural sciences at Cambridge) and married Eastenders and Father Brown actress Emer Kenny. Marriage material indeed.

That’s Daniel Radcliffe not his wife by the way.

Nick Grimshaw

Yep, Grimmy was on T4 too! It wasn’t actually his first gig, as he’d been presenting a BBC Radio One youth radio show called “Switch” since 2007 alongside Annie Mac. Then in 2008 he hosted BBC Radio One’s Weekend Breakfast Show, eventually replacing Chris Moyle’s on the non weekend version of the show in 2012. He’s also a regular guest host for The One Show (honestly at this point everyone on this list is a regular guest host for The One Show) and has appeared in cameos on EastEnders, Corrie and Hollyoaks. He still currently works for BBC Radio 1.

Matt Edmondson

Matt was one of the T4 presenters in its final year, from 2011-2012. Before T4 he was actually a presenter for CBBC in 2004 and a roving reporter for Channel 4’s Richard and Judy. After T4 he did a lot of festival coverage for the Isle of Wight festival and T in the Park, as well as providing voiceovers for 4Music. In 2016 he and Rylan Clark Neal were enlisted to present The Xtra Factor Live, and he currently DJs for BBC. He was also in Skepta music video (?Unlikely pairing but okay?). Sometimes he shows up on Love Island AfterSun.

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