Fiona Bruce’s life away from Question Time – rarely-seen hubby to celeb feud

With just two weeks to go until polling day, the General Election campaign is ramping up – and Fiona Bruce is no stranger to presenting the news during political chaos.

The broadcasting veteran is one of the most familiar faces on our screens, and tonight she will host a four-way panel of political party leaders in a Question Time special. Sinking Tory leader Rishi Sunak will be joined by Keir Starmer, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, and SNP frontman John Swinney. Fiona will moderate the debate, and each party leader will get 30 minutes to answer questions from a live audience.

The sizzling debate will feel like second nature to Fiona, who has a glittering career as a broadcaster. She made history as the first female anchor of the BBC Ten O’Clock News in 1999, having co-presented with Huw Edwards before taking the reins. The television presenter currently hosts Fake or Fortune?, Question Time and Antiques Roadshow, and was named the sixth highest-paid BBC star in 2022, reportedly earning nearly £400,000.

But throughout her hugely successful career, there’s a few things fans might not know about Fiona’s life on and off-screen, like the time she was awarded female Rear of the Year in 2010 – which she called ‘demeaning’ – or her tiff with Jeremy Clarkson after he commented on her ‘nice bottom’, and how she got her revenge. Ahead of tonight’s Question Time debate, we look at Fiona’s busy life away from the cameras.

First taste of fame

Fiona was born in Singapore, then a part of Malaysia, and moved to the UK for primary school. She got her first taste of fame when she modelled in the teenage girls’ magazine Jackie. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in French and Italian, she struggled to find work that suited her interests, but it was someone she met at a wedding that eventually gave Fiona her big break.

Editor of BBC’s Panorama, Tim Gardam, gave her a job as a researcher on the programme in 1989, and her career shot off from there. She worked her way up the ranks before becoming the face of BBC News. In 2010, she was awarded the female Rear of the Year and accepted it in person – but the following year, she declared her acceptance of it had been ‘hypocritical’.

The BBC star has hosted the likes of Crimewatch, News at Ten and Question Time, but her talents reach much further than presenting. She is also a revered motivational speaker and can speak three languages – including French and Italian.

Family life with husband and children

Away from the cameras, Fiona lives a low-key private life with her husband, businessman Nigel Sharrocks, and their two grown-up children. Fiona first met Nigel when they both worked at an advertising agency and they went on to tie the knot in July 1994.

They had son Sam in 1998 and daughter Mia in 2001, and currently have two homes, one in London and the other in Oxfordshire. Fiona previously told the Guardian that Nigel is “happy to be in the background and let her get on with her thing”.

Age

Fiona celebrated her 60th birthday in April this year. The journalist was quick to brush off the milestone day as she celebrated by hosting Question Time. When her audience tried to give her well-wishes for the big event, Fiona tried to move the conversation on, as she joked: “OK everybody I am 60 today lets just get that said, oh my goodness and thank you.”

Viewers were left shocked by her age, as they gushed at how ‘young she looks’. Meanwhile, others questioned why she wasn’t having a “night off to party” – but Fiona’s commitment to her presenting career clearly comes first.

But the TV veteran did celebrate away from the cameras, as she had a big birthday bash in July.

Reality TV nightmare

Fiona appeared on BBC’s Just The Two Of Us in 2006 and it made her swear off reality TV for life. She was partnered with Alexander O’Neal on the show, which was hosted by husband and wife team Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. Following her appearance she vowed ‘never again’ and has turned down every other offer to take part in reality telly.

It didn’t stop her from appearing on Top Gear twice – and taking on presenter Jeremy Clarkson when he made a comment about her ‘nice bum’ in 2007. Fiona shared a lift with Clarkson and had to push him out when she got stuck on a Peel P50. As she was walking away, Clarkson said – without her being aware – “She has got quite a nice bottom, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Returning to the series the following year, along with Kate Silverton in the segment Star in a Reasonably Sized Car, she got her own back at the presenter, who was later sacked from the show. She slapped Clarkson’s bottom and added that it “needs a bit of work”. And that wasn’t all – Fiona later stood in for Clarkson on his Sunday Times car review column and described it as the ultimate revenge for what he said about her. “Perching my bottom, nice or otherwise, on his patch,” she said.

Motherhood controversy

Fiona encountered some public controversy after she gave birth to her youngest, as she decided to return to work on Crimewatch 16 days after she became a mum for the second time. She addressed the concerns in The Telegraph, saying: “I’m not some mad career monster. I don’t want people to think I’m setting a terribly bad example here – the last thing I would advocate is women rushing back to work with a baby.”

In 2021, Fiona revealed that she was able to balance work and motherhood by “having the same nanny living with us for 20 years”. In a Good Housekeeping interview, Fiona spoke about spending not enough time with her children when they were young. She said: “I don’t think there’s such a thing as quality time with your children. I think it’s quantity. But there’s never been any question that they take precedence over everything in my life, and always have done.”

Question Time career

Fiona began presenting the BBC’s flagship current affairs show in 2019, becoming the show’s first female host. She took over from veteran presenter David Dimleby, who fronted the series for 25 years. Fiona was initially somewhat of a wild card for the major presenting gig, but she left BBC bosses impressed behind the scenes in tough auditions. She admitted to being ‘terrified’ before taking on the plumb job, but soon flourished with audiences.

The broadcaster’s Question Time stint has seen a fair few hair-raising moments. Ahead of the show’s 40th anniversay, Fiona appeared on This Morning with former presenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, where she revealed how she dealt with a near-disastrous point on the programme.

Moderating the often-fiery debates is no small feat, as Fiona shared a fight nearly broke out in the audience during an argument over Brexit. She told the This Morning hosts: “There was one guy who was very pro-Brexit and was making his arguments very forcefully. And there was a chap in front of him who was much more of a Remainer. I could see from his body language, he was disagreeing and shaking his head. I said ‘come on, why don’t you talk to each other? Let’s see what you’ve got to say, let’s just have a conversation. What a mistake! They just went for each other.”