Wikipedia

Carrie Grant

For the Hollywood actor, see Cary Grant.

Caroline Vanessa Grant MBE (née Gray, born 17 August 1965) is an English vocal coach,[1] television presenter and session singer.

Carrie Grant
MBE
Carrie Grant at the 2008 Red Bull Flugtag
Born
Caroline Vanessa Gray

(1965-08-17) 17 August 1965 (age 59)
Enfield, London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupations
Years active1983–present
SpouseDavid Grant
Children4, including Olive and Tylan

Career

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Grant is known for her work on the television talent contests Fame Academy,[2] Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, and Pop Idol, and the children's television series Carrie and David's Popshop, together with her husband and colleague David Grant.[3] She first came to fame as a singer in her own right with the pop group Sweet Dreams in 1983, when they represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest that year with the song "I'm Never Giving Up".[4] They finished in the top six. In 2008, she was the spokesperson for the UK vote. In 2009, Grant was featured in the tenth episode of the second series of Total Wipeout.

Since 2010, she has been a regular reporter on BBC One's magazine programme The One Show. In 2012, she appeared on the ITV documentary, The Talent Show Story where she spoke about her time as a judge and coach. In May 2014, it was announced that Grant would be head of the United Kingdom national jury in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.[5] In January 2018, Grant participated in And They're Off! in aid of Sport Relief. In 2020, she appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Zoe, alongside husband David and Tylan, who regularly portrays Brooke Hathaway in the soap.[6]

In 2023 she was a guest on Channel 5's Eurovision: 30 Unforgettable Moments a chart countdown based on the song contest, with David, a regular music business talking head expert for Channel 5, joining her for the programme.[7][8][9]

Personal life

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She and husband David have four children: Olive, Tylan, Arlo and Nathan.[10][11] All of their children are neurodivergent,[12] and Grant herself was diagnosed with autism in January 2023.[13] Grant and David are both Christian, and run a church plant in their home.[14]

Grant has suffered from Crohn's disease since the age of 18[15] and has been praised by science education charity Sense about Science for her efforts in raising the profile of the disease without making any scientifically unsound claims about available therapies.[16] She is a supporter of the Labour Party and addressed its conference in 2012, about why she valued the National Health Service.[17]

Grant is also Patient Lead at The College of Medicine[18] and has spoken at their conferences on involving patients in treatment choices.

Grant was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to music, media and charity.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Secrets of singing revealed". The Daily Telegraph. 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  2. ^ "They've got the X Factor". The Guardian. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  3. ^ Kinnear, Lucy (18 February 2008). "The 5-minute Interview: Carrie Grant, vocal coach and session singer". The Independent. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Talking Shop: Carrie Grant". BBC. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Eurovision UK jury headed by vocal coach Carrie Grant". BBC News. May 2014.
  6. ^ "Hollyoaks welcomes two very SPECIAL GUEST STARS!". What's on TV. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^ "My5". www.channel5.com.
  8. ^ "My5". www.channel5.com.
  9. ^ "Bucks Fizz reminisce about their 1981 victory with Making Your Mind Up". HeraldScotland. 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ "'We were on suicide watch as school traumatised our autistic kids,' say Carrie and David Grant". inews.co.uk. 24 August 2021.
  11. ^ "'Too many suffer in silence': Why we urgently need to talk about autism and girls". www.telegraph.co.uk. 9 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Carrie and David Grant's daughter Talia lands role in Hollyoaks – and she is making TV history". Hello Magazine. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  13. ^ Autism: In conversation with auticon (26 September 2023). "Carrie Grant MBE Talks Exclusively to auticon About Her Autism Diagnosis". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Carrie Grant: "This is extreme parenting"". Woman Alive. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  15. ^ "'My life with Crohn's disease'". National Health Service. 28 August 2010.
  16. ^ "Celebrities and Science Review 2008" (PDF). Sense about science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  17. ^ Clare Horton (3 October 2012). "Today in healthcare: Wednesday 3 October". The Guardian.
  18. ^ "College leaders in specialist areas". 23 September 2016.
  19. ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B18.
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