Born in Guildford, Surrey, Byrne graduated from Southampton University with a degree in English literature, before gaining a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Highbury College, Portsmouth.

[4] The couple's first child, a daughter, was born in 2019, after being conceived naturally; Byrne had previously been told by doctors that she would likely "never be able to carry her own pregnancy" and spent seven years undergoing IVF treatment.

Byrne's ITV career began in 2004 when she joined Meridian Tonight as a reporter.

[6] It was while here that she produced a series of special reports on the Royal Air Force, reporting on pilots and their training at RAF Odiham before they were posted to Afghanistan,[7] which was also shown nationally on ITV2 and placed runner-up in the regional Royal Television Society awards.

On 17 December, it was announced that she had beaten 80 other applicants to the post,[1] and undertook her first show opposite Jonathan Hill on 14 January 2008.