James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970)[1] is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor.
He co-presented the Saturday morning BBC One children's show Live & Kicking, alongside Zoe Ball between 1996 and 1999, and co-hosted the music programme Top of the Pops between 1998 and 2003.
He joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 13,[1] where he appeared in plays including Murder in the Cathedral and Marat/Sade alongside contemporaries such as Daniel Craig, but he was put off from pursuing a full-time acting career by the financial hardships that he encountered.
[4][5] Before embarking on a broadcasting career, he worked for auctioneers Christie's, and planned to study art history at the Courtauld Institute.
Between Bunton’s departure and Holden’s arrival, Heart DJ Lucy Horobin[7] was brought in as a temporary co host for Theakston.
On television, after presenting The O Zone with Jayne Middlemiss,[5] he has most notably hosted Top of the Pops (1998–2003), Live & Kicking (1996–1999) and The Priory.
Theakston's other presenting work includes fronting the Glastonbury Festival coverage for the BBC, the Oscars, the Grammys, A Question of Pop, UK Music Hall of Fame and Guinness World Records.
He has also starred in the West End in the plays Art and Home and Beauty at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
He was previously romantically linked to socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, actress Joely Richardson, and models Erin O'Connor and Sophie Dahl.
[18] On 4 October 2019, Theakston took a break from Heart Breakfast to set off on his Bike Britain Challenge, a cycling event for Global's charity Make Some Noise.
Along the way, he stopped at Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol, and met numerous life-threatened children and their families.