After leaving school, Phillips worked for a short time at Mr Kipling's Bakery in Eastleigh, near Southampton.

Phillips graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) in English; she also undertook a PGCert in journalism.

Moving from radio to television several years later, she joined BBC South East's Weekend programme as co-presenter, before becoming a reporter with CNN News, later moving on to become the station's entertainment editor, producing, reporting and presenting CNN News' entertainment output.

Phillips currently writes an opinion column in the Daily Mirror on Saturdays and works as an agony aunt in New!

For over two years Phillips provided daily and weekly reports and covered a number of big news stories including the Michael Jackson alleged child molestation case, the LA earthquake, the first O.J.

She also interviewed some of the industry's biggest stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt and Mel Gibson among others.

[15] She attended the 2009 Labour Party Conference in Brighton, where she introduced an address by the Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

[18] Phillips is a patron of the anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate, which has the slogan "Celebrating Britain's diverse society".

[19] In August 2014, Phillips was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

From 15 October 2007, she reported from Geita, North Tanzania, for one week to visit Neema, a 13-year-old girl who Phillips has been sponsoring, and her family, friends and local schools.

[citation needed] On 7 November 2007, Phillips received an Honorary Master of Arts degree from Southampton Solent University, for "being a person distinguished in eminence and by attainments".