Alice Esme Levine (born 8 July 1986)[2] is an English radio and television presenter and narrator.

Alice Levine
Born
Alice Esme Levine

(1986-07-08) 8 July 1986 (age 38)
Beeston, England[1]
EducationUniversity of Leeds (BA)
Occupation(s)DJ, narrator and television presenter
Years active2008–present
Employer(s)BBC, Channel 4, Wondery
Known for
Television

Early life and education

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Levine was born in Beeston, Nottinghamshire.[3] Her father is a retired lecturer at the University of Nottingham.[citation needed] Her mother is a caterer and former artist.[citation needed] She attended Alderman White School in Bramcote.[citation needed]

Levine studied English at the University of Leeds, where she met Jamie Morton and James Cooper, her collaborators on My Dad Wrote a Porno.[1] She played an active part in Leeds Student Television, the university's TV station.[3]

Career

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Levine was voted Best On-Screen Female at the National Student Television Awards in 2008.[4] Her first television job was hosting Celebrity Bites for MTV, which led to other shows including coverage of their Europe Music Awards.

Levine hosted Big Brother's Bit on the Side with Jamie East, from the reality show's revival in 2011 on Channel 5, until 2013 when they left the show. During this time, she was one of the voices of "Big Brother" herself, which included talking to housemates in the diary room and announcing tasks and news to the housemates. She also has worked on Channel 4's Pop Up Pop Quiz. In 2012, Levine appeared on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats.

On 7 January 2013, Levine joined BBC Radio 1 to present a show with Phil Taggart in the much coveted John Peel slot. The show was broadcast from 10pm to midnight on Mondays to Thursdays.[5] She hosted Lovebox coverage for Xbox. The same year, she was a presenter on the Red Bull Soap Box Race on Dave TV. In October 2013 she appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on BBC2 on Noel Fielding's team. In August 2014, she left her weeknight slot with Taggart to present a solo weekend afternoon show on the station (1pm–4pm) taking over from Huw Stephens.[6] In 2014 she hosted Barclaycard Mercury Music Sessions for Channel 4, as well as coverage of the Mercury Music Prize.

On 16 November 2014 it was announced Levine, with several other celebrities and choirmaster Gareth Malone, had reached Number 1 in the UK music chart with their cover version of Avicii's "Wake Me Up" in aid of the charity Children In Need.[citation needed]

She is one of the three co-creators of the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno.[7]

In February 2017, as well as in 2018 and 2019, Levine presented backstage at the BRIT Awards for ITV2. She was also the red carpet and backstage host for the BAFTA Craft Awards, followed by the BAFTA TV Awards in May the same year. Levine presented Levine on Love, a series on BBC iPlayer in which she explored the world of modern romance. She also appeared in the fifth series of Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled for Dave.[citation needed]

In 2018, Levine was one of five contestants in the sixth series of the comedy game show Taskmaster on Dave. She appeared in series 7 of Room 101 on BBC2. Levine also co-hosted a series of Channel 4's reality show, The Circle, with Maya Jama. However, they were replaced in the second series by Emma Willis.[citation needed]

In 2019, Levine visited Tallinn in Travel Man for Channel 4, as well as presenting Sleeping with the Far Right, also for Channel 4. Levine has hosted the Women in Music Awards for seven years running as of 2022.[8]

In addition to her broadcast work, Levine co-founded a food and lifestyle brand, Jackson & Levine, with business partner Laura Jackson. As a pair, they are the food columnists for Marie Claire, take part in the monthly column, the Food Club with Jackson for Company magazine,[9] and have published a book. Levine has designed three blouses for Finery and designed two ranges for Habitat under Jackson & Levine; the first range was a linen collection followed by a ceramics range which sold out within three hours.[citation needed]

On 15 July 2020, Levine announced that she was leaving Radio 1 after nine years at the station. She revealed the news via an Instagram post.[10] Her last show was on 9 August 2020 after a series of three farewell shows.

In August 2020, it was announced that Levine would become curator of a BBC Radio 4 programme The Museum of Curiosity and co-host alongside John Lloyd, its chief host. Series 15 of the show aired from September to October 2020.[11]

In February 2021, Channel 4 announced a new series called Sex Odyssey, which would be presented by Levine. Among the producers was documentary maker Louis Theroux.[12][13] Later retitled Sex Actually with Alice Levine, it began airing on 22 September 2021.[14] A second series began airing on 27 February 2023.[15]

Levine began hosting two podcasts in 2021. In April 2021, Levine began hosting Wondery true crime podcast British Scandal with Matt Forde.[16] The series was nominated for Best Entertainment Podcast and won The Spotlight Award at the British Podcast Awards in 2022.[17] In June 2021, Very Modern Quests, a role-playing comedy podcast presented by Levine was released as an Audible Original.[18] The series featured participants such as Greg James, Joe Lycett and Phil Wang.

Awards and nominations

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In 2008, Levine won the National Student Television Award for "Best On-Screen Female."[3]

Levine has received many awards and nominations as the co-creator and presenter of My Dad Wrote a Porno, dubbed the "most successful podcast in British history."[19] The series received nominations at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards, Lovie Awards and British Podcast Awards, as well as winning a Webby Award in 2019.[20][21]

Personal life

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Levine was in a relationship with guitarist Edward Ibbotson of indie rock band Life in Film between 2014 and 2017.[22][23]

Filmography

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Television
Year Title Role Notes
2008 B-box Main presenter Web show
2010 Celebrity Bites Main presenter
2011–2013 Big Brother's Bit on the Side Main weekend presenter
2012–2013 The Hot Desk Presenter
2013 Crazy Beaches Narrator
Red Bull Soap Box Co-presenter with Ed Leigh
2013–2019 Radio 1's Big Weekend Co-presenter with various
2014 Invasion of the Job Snatchers Narrator 1 series
2015 Girls Can Code Presenter 2 episodes
My Dad Wrote a Porno Herself Special; also executive producer
2015, 2017 Glastonbury Festival Presenter
2016 Debatable Panel member 4 appearances
Books That Made Britain Presenter
Bargain Hunt Contestant Children in Need special
Celebrity Advice Bureau Herself 3 episodes
2016–2017 Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Panellist
2017–2019 Brit Awards Backstage presenter
2017 Levine on Love: Radio 1 Stories Presenter Web show
2018 The Circle Co-presenter with Maya Jama
Taskmaster Participant Series 6
2018-2021 QI Panellist
2019 Sleeping With The Far Right Presenter Documentary
Travel Man Herself Series 9, episode 3 - "48 Hours in Tallinn"
Baewatch: Parental Guidance Narrator 1 series
2019-2021 Would I Lie to You Participant Series 13, Episode 5 & Series 14, Episode 1
2019–2020 Eating with My Ex Narrator 21 episodes
2020 I'll Get This Participant
Have I Got News For You Participant Series 60, episode 10
Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future Herself[24]
2021–2023 Sex Actually with Alice Levine Presenter
2022 Goodbye Brooklyn Nine Nine Narrator Special
Saturday Kitchen Guest
2023 The Festive Pottery Throw Down Contestant
Radio
Year Title Role Slot Station Notes
2013–2014 Phil Taggart and Alice Levine Co-presenter 22:00–00:00 Mondays-Thursdays BBC Radio 1 with Phil Taggart
2014 Newsjack Voice actor 22:30–22:55 Thursday BBC Radio 4 Extra 1 episode
2014–2018 Alice Levine Presenter 13:00–16:00 Saturday-Sundays BBC Radio 1
2018 Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show Co-presenter 06:00–10:00 Friday-Sundays with Dev
2018–2020 Dev & Alice 13:00–16:00 Friday-Sundays
2020 The Museum of Curiosity Curator 18:30–19:00 Sunday BBC Radio 4 Series 15; with John Lloyd
Podcasts
Year Title Role
2015–2022 My Dad Wrote a Porno Co-presenter
2018 Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast Guest
2019 Table Manners Guest
2020 Changes with Annie Macmanus Guest
2021 Very Modern Quests Presenter; Audible Original
2021– British Scandal Co-host
2022 Off Air... with Jane and Fi Guest
2022 Sport's Strangest Crimes Guest
2024 The Price of Paradise Presenter

References

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  1. ^ a b Wilson, Simon (1 June 2018). "Beeston's Alice Levine lands new role at Radio 1 as Nick Grimshaw quits". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. ^ GRO reference: August 1986, Vol. 8, Page 1396
  3. ^ a b c Mirror.co.uk (26 February 2009). "How Alice Levine became an internet TV star with Bebo". The Mirror. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Awards 35 – NaSTA History Wiki". Wiki.nasta.tv. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Newsbeat – New shows announced for Radio 1 late evening slots". BBC. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Radio 1 announces new Rock Show". BBC. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
    - "Radio 1 and 1Xtra announce schedule changes". BBC. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  7. ^ Ling, Thomas. "13 secrets of My Dad Wrote a Porno". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  8. ^ "MusicWeek – Alice Levine returns to host Women In Music Awards 2022". Music Week. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Laura & Alice #Food Column". Company. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  10. ^ @thisisalicelevine (15 July 2020). "End of an era 🎙📻🎙📻🎙📻🎙 I've decided it's the right time for me to hang up the headphones (not a thing) and say goodbye to Radio 1". Retrieved 30 December 2020 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ "Alice Levine to curate Radio 4's The Museum Of Curiosity". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Channel 4 to embark on Sex Odyssey (w/t) with Alice Levine | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Alice Levine to present new Channel 4 series Sex Odyssey". Royal Television Society. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Channel 4's Sex Actually: Alice Levine's new doc starts this week". 21 September 2021.
  15. ^ Geall, Lauren (23 February 2023). "Channel 4's Sex Actually: Alice Levine documentary returns for S2". Stylist. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  16. ^ PodcastingToday (9 April 2021). "Wondery to release its first UK originated podcast - PodcastingToday". Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Winners 2022". British Podcast Awards. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Taskmaster's Alice Levine and Joe Lycett in hilarious new podcast". Digital Spy. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  19. ^ "My Dad Wrote a Porno enters podcasting Hall of Fame". 28 September 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  20. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  21. ^ "My Dad Wrote a Porno (Podcast Series 2015–2023) - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  22. ^ Rimi, Aisha (22 September 2021). "Alice Levine's New Show Would Make Even Louis Theroux Blush". Bustle.
  23. ^ Billen, Andrew (11 May 2019). "How Alice Levine made My Dad Wrote a Porno such a success". The Times.(subscription required)
  24. ^ "Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future". Channel 4. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
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