Lauren Laverne

Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer.

She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock band Kenickie.

The group's album At The Club reached the top 10, although her greatest chart success came when she performed vocals on Mint Royale's single "Don't Falter".

Laverne has presented numerous television programmes, including 10 O'Clock Live for Channel 4, and The Culture Show and coverage of the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC.

She has also written a published novel entitled Candypop: Candy and the Broken Biscuits.

She first attended St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in 1982, where she befriended Marie Nixon, later to become a fellow Kenickie guitarist, and then St Anthony's Girls' Catholic School between 1989 and 1994, where she and Nixon met Emma Jackson.

Laverne went on to study at City of Sunderland College from 1994 to 1996.

During her time at college, Laverne, Nixon and Jackson, then all aged sixteen, formed Kenickie with Laverne's brother Peter, taking the stage names Lauren Laverne (originally Lauren Le Laverne), Marie du Santiago, Emmy-Kate Montrose and Johnny X (originally just X).

Initially affiliated to the Slampt label and the local punk scene, the band later signed with EMI.

In all, Kenickie achieved four top-40 hit singles and a top-10 hit album.

Laverne, Du Santiago and Montrose became as known for their funny and acerbic onstage banter and interview style as for their music, making all three of them popular contestants on comedy panel shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Laverne would later appear on Have I Got News for You.

In 2000, she brought out a solo EP, Take These Flowers Away, contributed a version of "In the Bleak Midwinter" to Xfm London's It's a Cool, Cool Christmas album, played at the Reading Festival, and made the top 20 for the only time in her singing career as vocalist on "Don't Falter" by Mint Royale.

She was also working on a solo album at this time, but this was permanently put on hold by the collapse of Deceptive Records.

In 2000, Laverne provided the voice of Shinobu in the BBC's one-off dub of Urusei Yatsura.

This aired when the show was returning for its sixth season in 2001.

In 2003, Laverne was a regular team captain, along with Jason Byrne, on Elvis Has Left The Building a comedy music panel show hosted by Colin Murphy for BBC Northern Ireland.

She subsequently provided guest vocals on the Divine Comedy's 2004 single "Come Home Billy Bird".

Laverne's first television presenting role was for Play UK's series The Alphabet Show, with Chris Addison, made while Kenickie were still together.

She subsequently presented Planet Pop and Loves Like A Dog for Channel 4, Fanorama for E4, Party in the Park with Melanie Brown and Pop for Five and Orange Playlist for ITV, as well as reporting for RI:SE, leading the house band on Johnny Vaughan Tonight and appearing as an expert in a music special of BBC One's Test the Nation.

Later, she became one of BBC Two's main presenters for their coverage of the Glastonbury Festival and the host of ITV2's coverage of events such as the British Comedy Awards and the BRIT Awards.

She also presented a documentary for Sky One on the rise of popularity of the US hit TV Show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, called Buffy: Television With Bite.

In 2004 she was a regular guest on the quiz show HeadJam.

In 2005, she became host of ITV's Saturday morning music show CD:UK, along with Myleene Klass and Johny Pitts.

The show finished in April 2006.

in April 2006, Laverne appeared as guest host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

In August, she presented Channel 4's coverage of the V Festival.

From 2006 to 2010, she was a regular presenter with the weekly BBC arts magazine programme The Culture Show, alongside Mark Kermode.

She also presented the second series of the late-night Channel 4 music show Transmission with T-Mobile opposite Steve Jones.

In March 2007, she presented the NME Awards live from the Hammersmith Palais.

In July 2007, Laverne appeared on the satirical comedy show Mock the Week, and on Have I Got News for You on 14 December that same year.

She appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 10 January 2008, this time as a guest.

In September 2008, Laverne appeared again on Mock the Week.

In March 2008, Laverne appeared on the Lily Allen and Friends show with fellow Sunderland musicians the Futureheads, and on Would I Lie to You?.

She presents the breakfast show on BBC Radio 6 Music, and in 2018 became the host of the long-running radio show Desert Island Discs.

Born Lauren Gofton, she was brought up in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, in a large family.

Her father was one of nine and her mother was one of six.

One grandfather had been a shipbuilder, the other a coalminer.

Her father, Leslie Gofton, was a sociology lecturer at Newcastle University, and her mother was a teacher.

The family lived on Dunelm South, the A690.