Melanie Sykes (born 7 August 1970 in Mossley, Lancashire) is an English television presenter and model.
Melanie Sykes was born to an English father, and an Anglo-Burmese/Anglo-Indian Mother.
Sykes first came to public attention as the bikini-clad girl in the Boddingtons beer advertisements with the broad "Northern" accent in the mid 1990s. Amongst other work during the 1990s she also modelled for Berlei lingerie.[citation needed]
After initially reporting for The Big Breakfast, she has continued her television career, including reporting for I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and presenting Eastenders Revealed.[citation needed] In 1999 Sykes presented Melanie Sykes' Southall stories a documentary for BBC2 on Asian culture in Great Britain. She has also hosted a variety of awards shows, including Miss World, the BAFTAs and the Q Awards and presented her own radio show on Galaxy FM.[citation needed]
Her television career stalled for a period, although she made a successful comeback when she became the host of Today with Des and Mel (with Des O'Connor) in 2003. On the 12 May 2006 ITV announced that the show would be one of a number to be axed in a "painful, but utterly necessary" move.[1]
Sykes' other work for the ITV network includes the prime-time shows The Vault, Celebrities Under Pressure, National Television Awards Party of the Year, and the British Soap Awards and appearances as a panellist on the ITV daytime chat show Loose Women.[citation needed]
Sykes presented The A List, a national radio chart show based on total sales, produced by Unique the Production Company at the studios of London's Heart 106.2. She left the show towards the end of 2006 and was replaced by Gail Porter.[citation needed]
In 2006, the book Blooming Beautiful: My Plan for Looking Great, Being Healthy and Surviving Hormonal Havoc, Throughout Pregnancy and as a New Mum, co-written by Sykes with Hilary Boyd, was published by Michael Joseph Ltd.[citation needed]
In recent years she has been the face of Head & Shoulders shampoo in the UK, appearing in print and television advertising and the high street chain Matalan.[citation needed]
In November 2006, Sykes filled in for Paul O'Grady when he took leave from The Paul O'Grady Show. On 8 May 2007 and 5 November 2007 she again filled in for O'Grady when he took leave from the series. She again filled in for Paul O'Grady on The Paul O'Grady Show while O'Grady was ill from 15 April-18 April and 22 April and later on 2 November 2008 with Des O'Connor. She has most recently been seen as the presenter of the daytime series Gene Detectives for BBC One.[citation needed]
In 2008 she became a judge on The Sofa Factor for GMTV, where viewers send in short clips and the winner gets to present TV Pick of the Day plus win a trip to Las Vegas.
Melanie was heard on BBC Radio 2 with Aled Jones sitting in for Steve Wright In The Afternoon on 22, 23 and 24 December 2008.
Sykes filled in for O'Grady once again on 8 April 2009. She has recently featured in a number of advertisements for Morrisons, Wynsors World of Shoes & Churchill Insurance
