CELEBRITY FAME ACADEMY 2005:
For 2005 the series was made even bigger with thirteen celebrity students giving their time and singing talents for Comic Relief. Monarch of the Glen's Dawn Steele, Radio 1 DJ & Winner Edith Bowman, ex Casualty doc Christopher Colquhoun, impressionist Jon Culshaw, Eastender Kim Medcalf, Corrie star Debra Stephenson, writer/comedienne Jenny Eclair, TV Presenter Nick Knowles, TOTP host Reggie Yates, comedian Al Murray, actor/comedian Adrian Edmondson and comic Gina Yashere. The 13th student was kept under wraps until the Live Launch when Blue Peters Konnie Huq took to the stage. The series continued nightly from Wednesday March 2nd to Red Nose Day Friday 11th March.
OTHER CONTESTANTS:
EDITH BOWMAN:
Age: 30
Occupation: TV/Radio Presenter
Born: Fife
Edith made her first TV appearance on MTV in 1996 reading the news. She went on
to become one of the main faces of MTV, later becoming an anchor for Channel 4's
RI:SE.
Along with co-presenter Colin Murray, Edith hosts The
Colin and Edith Show, weekdays on BBC
Radio 1.
She is a self-proclaimed music fanatic who loves nothing more than going to
gigs, listening to the latest sounds or larking around with bands who feature in
the hit parade.
CHRIS COLQUHOUN:
Age: 34
Occupation: Actor
Chris was most recently seen dying, quite tragically, on screen as Dr Simon
Kaminski in Casualty, but was
resurrected in time to appear in the Olivier Award-nominated play Simply
Heavenly at Trafalgar Studios.
Chris has an eclectic taste in music and particularly enjoys rock, jazz, R&B
and hip-hop.
He loves playing guitar at home to relax and claims there's a frustrated rock
star on the inside trying to get out. Let's hope said star shouldn't stay there.
His other major passion in life is photography and he hopes to have an
exhibition of his current work in near the future.
JON CULSHAW:
Age: 36
Occupation: Impressionist/Comedian
Born: Lancashire
Jon realised his talent for impersonations as a child by mimicking the teachers
at school, the young scamp.
He did more than 40 different voices for Spitting Image and he currently stars
in Dead Ringers, a series that
transferred from radio to TV and won six major comedy awards.
He made international headlines on Steve Penk's radio show when his William
Hague impression got him through to Tony Blair live on air.
JENNY ECLAIR:
Age: 44
Occupation: Comedienne/Writer
A stand-up comedienne and writer, Jenny was the first (and, to date, only) solo
female artist to win the coveted Perrier award.
Her most recent stage show is a one-woman affair, The Andy Warhol Syndrome,
which explores the 15 minutes of fame bestowed on the participants of reality
television.
In 2005, she has also released her second novel, Having a Lovely Time, and is a
regular contributor to Celebrity Homes magazine.
KONNIE HUQ:
Age: 29
Occupation: TV Presenter
The affable star loves life on Blue Peter, citing the exciting and challenging
nature of the show as her favourite part of the job.
Konnie is a music fan and her tastes are eclectic - usually putting on whatever
suits the mood.
Before Blue Peter, Konnie used to scoop ice creams as a weekend job.
NICK KNOWLES:
Age: 43
Occupation: DIY expert/TV Presenter
Known for his hands-on approach to presenting, Nick has hosted many programmes
including DIY SOS, City Hospital, UK's Worst..., Death by DIY and Land Fit to
Live In.
He's a self-proclaimed music fanatic and has played in various bands including
one he formed with his brother after leaving school, which toured bars and clubs
in London and the Midlands.
Nick recently went to Zambia with Liza Tarbuck to film Comic Relief's Great Big
Celebrity Red Nose Job.
KIM MEDCALF:
Age: 30
Occupation: Actress
Kim originally hails from Bromley, Kent and broke into British television in
2002, replacing Daniella Westbrook as Sam Mitchell in EastEnders.
Kim studied Law at Bristol University before putting herself through the Central
School of Speech and Drama.
Kim has featured in the last two EastEnders Christmas Specials, singing
alongside her famous co-stars.
AL MURRAY:
Age: 36
Occupation: Comedian
After many nominations, Al finally won The Perrier Award in 1999.
He starred in Time Gentlemen Please, a comedy series on Sky One based around
Murray's Pub Landlord character. He has also appeared in Gordon Ramsey's Hell's
Kitchen.
Al read Modern History at Oxford University, which is where he began performing
comedy. He has played drums since he was nine.
DAWN STEELE:
Age: 29
Occupation: Actress
Glasgow-born Dawn is most famous for playing feisty housekeeper Lexie in Monarch
of the Glen, a plum role which she played for five years. More recently, she
has been seen in Sea of Souls as
new girl Justine.
In 2003, she was roundly applauded by critics for her turn in the BBC
drama, The Key.
DEBRA STEPHENSON:
Age: 32
Occupation: Actress
Coronation Street's Debra was born in New Zealand and grew up in Hull.
She knew from a young age that she wanted to perform, winning Opportunity Knocks
at the age of 15.
As a result Debra appeared at The Edinburgh Festival, Manchester's The Green
Room and London's The Comedy Store performing stand-up. She then went on to
drama school in Manchester.
Debra has also appeared Bad Girls for which she was twice nominated for the
National Television Awards Most Popular Actress, as well as winning the TV Quick
Award for Best Actress.
Other television roles include Reckless, Mad About Alice and Playing the Field.
REGGIE YATES:
Age: 21
Occupation: Actor/Presenter
Reggie began his television career at the age of eight and began presenting at
10.
He is currently one face of Top of the Pops
along with Fearne Cotton, who starred in the previous Comic Relief
Does Fame Academy.
He has also appeared in Grange
Hill, The Bill, Family Affairs and Desmonds to name but a few, and has
presented The Disney Club, Diggit, Blue Peter Jubilee Special and Smile.
GINA YASHERE:
Age: 31
Occupation: Comedienne
Gina's TV break came on The Big, Big Talent Show hosted by Jonathan Ross,
followed by appearances on The Stand Up Show, The Comedy Store and Gas.
Gina won Best Female stand-up at the Black International Comedy Awards in 2002.
As well as being a sought-after comedienne here in the UK, Gina has fan bases in
Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Holland and Nigeria.
Her other TV credits include The Lenny Henry Show and The
Crouches.
THE JUDGES:
RICHARD PARK:
Voted most influential person in the music industry by Record and Radio
Industry Executives in 2001, Richard Park started his career as a radio reporter,
then turned presenter specialising in music and sport programming.
He worked his way up to be Head of Entertainment at Radio Clyde and then moved
to become Programme Controller at Capital Radio. He was instrumental in breaking
new talent including Pete Tong, Tim Westwood and Neil Fox.
He was responsible for hiring Chris Tarrant on Capital, which became one of the
most successful breakfast shows in the UK.
In 1996, Richard formed Wildstar Records, uniting Capital and Telstar Records.
As Director, he was responsible for signing Craig David.
In 2001, after 14 years with Capital, he left to set up his own consultancy
company, Park Management. Two years later, he set up Park Records, a joint
venture with Universal Music.
He is also Radio Consultant for Emap, working on Magic and Big City networks.
LESLEY GARRETT:
Lesley Garrett is widely known as Britain's most popular
soprano and a multi-award winning artist - mostly recently for her dance moves
in BBC ONE's Strictly Come Dancing.
Lesley joined the English National Opera in 1984 and is now a member of the
Board of Directors.
She has sung opera and pop classics with Bryan Ferry, Eurythmics and Mick
Hucknall.
Her TV credits include The Lesley Garrett Show, Lesley Garrett...Tonight, Jobs
for the Girls, Viva La Diva, The Lily Savage Show, The South Bank Show, Sacred
Songs, Lesley Garrett - Desert Dreams, The Little Prince and Who Do You Think
You Are?
Lesley was awarded a CBE in 2002 and the following year joined Classic FM as a
regular presenter.
Her autobiography, Notes from A Small Soprano, was published in 2000.
CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD:
Craig Revel Horwood is a top theatre choreographer and received an Olivier
Award for his work on the West End musical Spend, Spend, Spend.
Recently Craig Revel Horwood directed and choreographed The Beautiful and the Damned, which
played at The Lyric Theatre in London's West End. Craig was also on the judge
panel for Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC.
Craig's has worked on a host of other shows including Sophie Tucker, The Last of
the Red Hot Mamas, Crazy for You, Fairy Tales, and Jack in Review.
He was Resident Director on Miss Saigon and assisted Bob Avian on the
Olivier-Award winning choreography of Martin Guerre.
TUTORS:
CARRIE GRANT:
Carrie began her career as a dancer on TV and moved into presenting
children's television programmes such as How Dare You, Freeze Frame and Heart
and Soul.
She then moved into session singing, working with the likes of Diana Ross,
Roberta Flack, Rod Stewart, Lighthouse Family and Fatboy Slim.
Together with her husband David, Carrie then worked together on their highly
acclaimed gospel album Watching and Waiting, which went on to win them a
prestigious MOBO Award in 1997.
Carrie followed this with vocal coaching and producing, working with Take That,
Melanie C, S Club 7, Atomic Kitten, Will Young, Victoria Beckham, Vanessa Mae,
Emma Bunton and Charlotte Church.
DAVID GRANT:
David formed a funk/soul duo called Linx with bass player Sketch in the
Eighties - they had four hits and two albums before the duo split in 1983.
In the late Eighties, David wrote songs for other artists including Gavin
Christopher and Hot Chocolate. He has also worked as a session singer with the
likes of Diana Ross, Lighthouse Family and Fatboy Slim.
David started working with his partner Carrie under the name Suga Shak and the
duo had a top five club record before embarking on a gospel/R&B album.
More recently David has worked with S Club 7, Atomic Kitten, Gareth Gates and
Will Young.
KEVIN ADAMS:
Kevin is an experienced choreographer, fitness instructor and personal
trainer.
He has been the UK/European aerobics champion and was fourth ranking in the
world in 1993-1994.
He teaches all styles of dance including street, ballet, jazz, body popping,
breakdance, ballroom, salsa and contemporary, as well as yoga.
His choreographer credentials include the likes of The Spice Girls, Victoria
Beckham, Elton John, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Steps, Cher, Boyzone, Louise and
Dannii Minogue. Kevin has also been training with Big Brother's Jade Goody.
His most recent projects have been reporting for GMTV as a fitness instructor in
Inch Loss Island and Inch Loss Beach.
JEREMY MILNE:
Jeremy is a trained actor and a drama teacher as well as a communication,
confidence and assertiveness tutor.
In between acting jobs and qualifying as a Samaritan Listener, he works as a
student Parent Learning mentor at the Quintin Kynaston School in north London.
Jeremy's acting credits include the lead male role in the film The Vapour Trail,
television appearances in The Bill and 99-1, as well as numerous roles with
touring theatre companies.
Jeremy is also known as the confidence coach on BBC TWO's Would Like to Meet.
DONATE TO COMIC RELIEF: RED NOSE DAY
7th March
8th March
9th March
10th March
11th March
Information taken from BBC's Celebrity
Academy website