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Yvette Fielding

Yvette Fielding (born 23 September 1968) is an English television presenter, producer, actress, writer, and paranormal investigator, best known for her long-running role as the youngest-ever host of the children's programme and as the co-creator and lead presenter of the paranormal reality series . Born in , , she began her career as a child actress at age 13, playing Sandy Shelton in the children's comedy-drama Seaview (1983–1985) and appearing in an episode of the police series (1985). Fielding joined on 29 June 1987 aged 18, replacing and becoming the show's youngest presenter to date; she remained until 29 June 1992, co-hosting with Mark Curry, , John Leslie, and during a period that included notable segments such as training with the and caring for the show's dog Bonnie. After leaving , she presented a range of programmes, including the ITV children's show What's Up Doc? (), (1995), and BBC One's City Hospital and Dear Denise (late ). In 2002, alongside her husband , whom she married in 1998, Fielding co-founded Productions and launched on Living TV (now Really), a series exploring allegedly haunted locations that became a cult hit, sold to over 90 international territories, and earned her the moniker "TV's first lady of the ." The show aired on Living TV from 2002 to 2010 before continuing independently with specials and live events; new episodes are released on as of 2025, and Fielding hosts related live ghost-hunting experiences through Most Haunted Experience. Beyond television, Fielding has pursued writing, authoring the young adult supernatural series The Ghost Hunter Chronicles (published by Andersen Press, including titles like The Ripper of Whitechapel) and the 2024 memoir Scream Queen: My Forty Years of Hunting Ghosts, which details her investigations and transition from child star to ghost hunter. A self-identified spiritualist with a quarter-Syrian heritage, she has shared personal experiences with the , including a sighting in her early 20s, and resides in a reportedly 16th-century lodge in , , with Beattie and their two children. Fielding also hosts the Paranormal Activity with Yvette Fielding, discussing hauntings and listener stories.

Early life

Childhood and family background

Yvette Fielding was born Yvette Paula Fielding on 23 September 1968 in , , (now part of ). Her grandmother emigrated from , , to Britain during the Second World War, making Fielding a quarter Syrian by heritage. She grew up in , a suburb in the area of northwest , during the late and . Fielding came from a working-class family and has described her upbringing as that of a "real homebird," highlighting a close and supportive family environment that remained important to her even after leaving home. She has one sibling, a brother named Rick Fielding. In her early home life, Fielding showed an early interest in performance, fostered by activities such as dancing and emulating pop icons like , whom she idolized and practiced songs for using a as a . Her mother played a supportive role in nurturing her ambitions, such as advising on outfits inspired by to prepare for opportunities. During her teenage years, Fielding took on part-time jobs to support herself, including working as a and a pot washer. These experiences reflected the practical, self-reliant aspects of her working-class background in the northwest of the era.

Education and early employment

Yvette Fielding grew up in the Stockport area of and attended Pownall Green Primary School followed by Bramhall High School in nearby . In her mid-teens, Fielding developed an interest in , joining a local band called as the lead singer at age 17; however, after a single disastrous gig marred by equipment failure, the group disbanded, leaving her embarrassed and prompting a shift to other pursuits. Instead of pursuing formal drama training, she entered the workforce early to achieve financial independence, taking jobs such as a cleaner in and a pot washer. These roles provided her with initial experience in manual labor and self-reliance during a transitional period before her professional career began.

Career

Early acting and television roles

Yvette Fielding began her professional career at the age of 15 with her debut role as the teenage protagonist Sandy Shelton in the children's comedy-drama series Seaview, which aired from 1983 to 1985. The show, set in a seaside guest house run by the Shelton family, followed the everyday adventures of Sandy and her brother George as they navigated family life and local escapades, with Fielding's performance earning her recognition as a promising young talent in British children's . This lead role marked her entry into scripted , building on performance training from a private stage school in that honed her skills through early auditions. Following Seaview, Fielding took on guest-starring roles in established dramas, including portraying Jill Cattrell in the 1985 episode "Flesh and Blood" of the police series . In this episode, her character was part of a storyline involving family tensions and community issues in a northern town, showcasing her ability to handle more serious dramatic material beyond children's programming. She also appeared in the 1984 educational comedy series Let's Parlez Franglais, contributing to an episode that humorously taught basic through sketches and scenarios. As a young entrant in the competitive British television industry during the early , Fielding faced challenges related to her age, including the pressure to prove her professionalism in auditions. On the set of Seaview, she experienced significant nervousness, driven by a strong desire to gain the approval of Marilyn , which intensified the demands of performing as the central character in a production aimed at young audiences. These early hurdles, including navigating adult-directed environments as a teenager, underscored the resilience required to transition from amateur performances to sustained professional roles.

Blue Peter and children's programming

Yvette Fielding joined the BBC children's programme Blue Peter on 29 June 1987, at the age of 18, becoming the show's youngest presenter to date. She served for five years, departing on 29 June 1992, and co-presented alongside Mark Curry, Caron Keating, John Leslie, and Diane-Louise Jordan during her tenure. Fielding's early acting experience on shows like Seaview had caught the attention of producers, leading to her audition and selection after replacing Sarah Greene. During her time on Blue Peter, Fielding participated in a variety of engaging segments that highlighted adventure, education, and hands-on activities. Notable moments included training with the to perform an acrobatics display, a trip to where she explored the film industry, and caring for the show's pet dog —the first female presenter to take on that responsibility. She also joined a 1992 summer expedition to as part of the programme's annual overseas adventures, showcasing cultural and natural highlights for young viewers. Memorable episodes featured her canoeing lesson on the River Dee in Bala, , and a chaotic pancake-tossing attempt on that became a lighthearted viewer favorite, later revisited in retrospectives. Another highlight was her exhilarating rollercoaster ride with co-presenter Mark Curry at , which years later was voted the all-time favourite Blue Peter moment by audiences. These experiences contributed to the show's reputation for inspiring curiosity and resilience in children. Fielding's popularity peaked in 1990 when she won the SOS Star Award for Most Popular Woman on Television, voted by viewers over competitors including , , and . The award recognized her engaging on-screen presence and contributions to children's programming during a period when reached millions of households daily. Following her departure from , Fielding transitioned to other children's television projects, co-hosting the anarchic Saturday morning ITV show What's Up Doc? from 1992 to 1995 alongside and . She also presented in 1995. The programme What's Up Doc?, produced initially in Maidstone and later , featured live entertainment, games, and celebrity guests, running for three series before Fielding exited midway through the final run.

Mainstream presenting and awards

Following her tenure on children's programming, Yvette Fielding transitioned to mainstream adult television, co-presenting on from 1998 to 2002, a Sunday morning magazine programme that explored spiritual, ethical, and lifestyle topics. The show featured discussions with guests from various faiths and walks of life, blending interviews, music performances, and human interest stories to engage a broad audience. Fielding also served as a presenter on City Hospital and Dear Denise, BBC One daytime series that aired in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with City Hospital offering fly-on-the-wall insights into hospital life at Bristol's , including patient stories, medical procedures, and staff interactions from 1998 to 2007. Her role involved on-site reporting and live segments, contributing to the programme's focus on healthcare realities and community issues during the early 2000s. In addition to these anchored roles, Fielding made guest appearances on lifestyle and magazine formats such as ITV's This Morning, where she participated in post-jungle interviews and light-hearted segments in the mid-2010s, and Loose Women, joining panel discussions on topics like career transitions and personal experiences starting from 2007. These outings highlighted her versatility in daytime television, often drawing on her established presenting style to connect with viewers on everyday matters. Fielding's participation in the fifteenth series of ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2015, where she entered the jungle on day one and was eliminated third, finishing in tenth place overall, significantly boosted her mainstream visibility among a wider demographic. The stint, which involved survival challenges and camp interactions, reignited public interest in her personality beyond niche formats, leading to increased media invitations and reinforcing her status as a recognizable figure.

Paranormal media and production

In 2002, Yvette Fielding co-founded Antix Productions with her husband , establishing a dedicated to supernatural-themed content, with the series as its inaugural project. Fielding served as the lead presenter and primary investigator on , which aired from 2002 to 2010 on Living TV, exploring alleged hauntings at historic sites using mediums, historians, and scientific equipment. The series returned in 2014 on the Really channel, with Fielding resuming her role for new episodes investigating locations across the and . Antix Productions expanded the Most Haunted franchise with spin-offs, including Most Haunted Live!, a format that broadcast extended overnight investigations allowing viewer interaction via phone-ins and online participation. From 2006 to 2010, Fielding hosted Ghosthunting With... on ITV2, guiding celebrity guests such as Girls Aloud, Paul O'Grady, and Jennifer Ellison through haunted venues in the UK and abroad, blending entertainment with purported spirit encounters. In 2008, Fielding and Beattie launched The Paranormal Channel, a dedicated Sky digital station featuring Most Haunted reruns and original supernatural programming, which was rebranded as The Unexplained Channel in 2009 before closing in 2010. Fielding's production oversight through emphasized accessible explorations of the , prioritizing atmospheric storytelling and team-based investigations over rigorous scientific validation. The company's output faced scrutiny in 2005 when investigated complaints alleging fakery and deception in episodes; the regulator cleared the series, classifying it as rather than factual investigation and ruling that viewers should not interpret it as genuine evidence of the . Post-2020, Fielding has sustained Most Haunted's presence through the official YouTube channel, hosting live streams of investigations and annual Halloween specials at sites like derelict asylums and castles, drawing thousands of concurrent viewers. In 2021, she launched the podcast Paranormal Activity with Yvette Fielding, a weekly series recounting global hauntings, listener-submitted encounters, and expert interviews on topics from haunted airfields to extraterrestrial sightings. Complementing these digital efforts, Fielding participates in live events, including a ghost hunt at Clifton Hall in scheduled for November 29, 2025, where attendees join her for overnight vigils in the notoriously haunted former mansion.

Personal life

Marriages and children

Fielding married actor Barry Sweeny in 1993; the couple had one son, William, before divorcing in the late 1990s. In 1999, she married and producer , with whom she co-founded Productions in 2001, a company that has produced her paranormal television series. Fielding and Beattie have one daughter together, Mary. The family resided in a 17th-century house in , , where they raised their children as a blended family unit, with Beattie playing a key role in both their professional endeavors and home life. Fielding has quarter-Syrian heritage through her paternal grandmother, who emigrated from , , to during the Second World War. She identifies as a spiritualist and has described personal experiences, including seeing a as a child. In October 2025, Fielding and Beattie announced they were moving out of the property after 23 years.

Health issues and public disclosures

Yvette Fielding was diagnosed with , an autoimmune skin condition that causes loss of pigmentation, at the age of 11 after noticing a white patch on her thumb while at school. By the time she was 21, the depigmented patches had spread across her entire body, including her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, which she dyes every two weeks to maintain color. The condition heightens her sensitivity to , making her prone to sunstroke and severe burns, prompting her to apply factor 50 daily, wear long sleeves outdoors, and favor dark filming environments like those on Most Haunted. To manage the visible effects on her face and body during her television career, Fielding relies on professional makeup artists but has chosen not to use heavy camouflage products, opting instead to live openly with the condition. She publicly disclosed her at age 18 while presenting on , stripping to her underwear live on air to demonstrate the patches and raise awareness for children with skin disorders, an act that drew supportive responses from viewers. In May 2024, Fielding revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by entertainer Rolf Harris during her time as a Blue Peter presenter in 1987 or 1988, when she was 18 or 19 years old. She described an incident in a BBC TV studio where Harris, who was recording a segment, squeezed and patted her bottom while they were alone, leaving her shocked and too embarrassed to report it at the time. Fielding also recounted being left unsupervised with Jimmy Savile on another occasion, where he stroked her hand and urged her to gaze into his eyes, an encounter she found deeply uncomfortable and indicative of his predatory behavior. Following these disclosures, Fielding probed the in 2024 about its historical failures to protect young presenters from known abusers like Harris and Savile, criticizing the corporation for leaving her unsupervised and questioning the broader culture of oversight in the industry. She highlighted how such incidents were often dismissed or ignored, contributing to a pattern of inadequate that enabled scandals involving both men. Through her public statements, Fielding has advocated for survivors of abuse in the entertainment sector, emphasizing the need for and stronger safeguards to prevent similar traumas for future generations of performers.

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