Josephine d’Arby is a Welsh television presenter and painter from Newport, Wales. She presented a number of high profile shows, and in 1999 became the youngest British woman to host her own chat show on Channel 5
1972
Newport, Wales
Jamaican
She is one of six celebrity ambassadors attached to the British Red Cross. Her work here has taken her to projects in South Africa and Cambodia and in 2003 she was chosen as a guest speaker at the British Red Cross National Assembly, to inspire volunteers on the topic of HIV AIDS In South Africa. D’Arby also works closely with SURF, a charity that supports survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
D’Arby began a presenting career while still a student at RADA. From 1994 to 1997 she presented on CBBC, and on SMart from 1996 to 1998, and had her own show, Josie, on Channel 5 in 1999. She presented a number of high profile programmes including the Bigger Breakfast (a spinoff from The Big Breakfast) and Top of the Pops. Recently, she has been a presenter on BBC Young Musician of the Year, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Songs of Praise, BBC Four’s Choir of the Year and BBC Proms 2021.
Her first high profile acting role was as series regular WPC Jodie Finn, in the BBC drama Merseybeat. From February 2005, she starred as Peally Maghti, one of the presenters of the BBC’s award winning spoof of 1980s science programming Look Around You.
She was one of the six cast members in the Channel Four sketch series Spoons, and has made guest appearances in the BBC comedy series Mirand. She and appears as herself in the Working Title movie Blackball with Vince Vaughan.
She has also worked in radio, as a co-presenter of The Steve Wright Show for BBC Radio 2 and has presented a number of documentaries for BBC Radio 4. D’Arby presented a live edition of The Choir for BBC Radio 3 and in 2017 hosted the BBC Radio 2 Young Choristers of the Year final. In November 2011, she wrote and directed the off-beat New York Comedy A Magpie in the Mirror. The festival arts documentary National Eisteddfod 2017 with Josie d’Arby was broadcast in the summer of 2017 on BBC Four and BBC Two Wales. She regularly presents Proms in the Park.
D’Arby has also appeared on the stage. In 2012 she wrote and directed the play, The Newport Monologues, about life in her hometown, which opened to rave reviews from press and audience She produced and directed the arts project Private View, which featured the actor Michael Sheen.
D’Arby won a Royal Television Society award for her work presenting the current affairs programme Inside Out for BBC West.
On 23 August 2018, d’Arby hosted the final of Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, alongside Petroc Trelawny.
Josie d’Arby was born and raised in Newport, Gwent. As a teenager she attended the Anna Scher Theatre in London, before winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie_d%27Arby accessed 21/03/2022
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0195402/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm accessed 21/03/2022
https://www.josiedarby.com/about accessed 21/03/2022
