Known for being a long-time newsreader and host on many English shows, Penny Smith is an iconic TV personality who has been in the industry since the 80s. Smith has also been a part of various crime shows like Crime Net and Crime File.
Besides television, Penny used to work as a radio host, but as her career moved forward, the Eastwood-born reporter chose to focus on her newsreader side instead. Smith used to be a writer for Peterborough Evening Telegraph back in the 70s. This gave her enough exposure to get a co-presenter role at Lookaround, an evening news program that used to air in 1987.
If you’re the kind of person who has been watching the news in England for quite a few decades, you’ll inevitably come across Penny Smith at least once. That’s how popular she is within this genre of TV. From LWT’s Britain’s Most Wanted to BBC’s Going For A Song, Penny has been a part of countless shows ever since she entered the TV industry.
Penny Smith: About GMTV’s Well-Known Newsreader
Born and raised in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, Penny Smith was able to attend a high school in Oakham, where she developed a keen interest in journalism. She started her career by working as a reporter for the local newspaper company, Peterborough Evening Telegraph.
Working there for four years gave her enough experience and exposure to try something different, and soon enough, Penny packed her bags and became a field reporter who traveled to places like Central and South America, Asia, and various other parts of the world.
This field reporter’s job was for the Hong Kong broadcasting service called Radio Television Hong Kong. After a while, Smith joined another radio program named Radio Trent, where she was a regular reporter and presenter until she moved to Central Television to star as a press officer in interesting documentaries of all sorts.
Smith then proceeded to work as a presenter on Lookaround and Thames News, both of which were well-known programs. However, after working here for a couple of years, Penny moved into Sky News, where she worked for 5 years. Penny then joined GMTV, which is probably the program that many of her fans first witnessed her in.
When Penny became a part of shows like Never Mind The Buzzocks and Have I Got News For You, her career shifted from just a TV reporter/presenter to an actual host who would appear in countless programs for big-name companies. This includes BBC’s Kiri Prize, Friday Night Arts Show, and Scala Radio.
Who Is Penny Smith’s Partner? The Presenter’s Relationships
At the time Penny joined Radio Trent as a reporter, she married journalist Tony Birtley at a church in Grantham. This was a time when Penny had not starred as a news program host on any platform yet and was mostly a radio presenter and a journalist on the side. Smith was also involved in a handful of documentaries during this time.
The Best man at her wedding was none other than George Dearsley, a well-known Daily Star reporter. After getting married, Penny and Tony moved to Nassington, where they stayed in a love-filled marriage for 3 years. Things started to get messy by the end of the third year, and Penny came out with an announcement that she was going to be divorcing Tony around the same time.
Birtley and Smith ended their marriage in 1987, and Penny didn’t get into a serious relationship for a long time following the divorce. She revealed in an interview that she and Rory Bremner, a Scottish impressionist and comedian, had a short fling sometime after the split with Tony.
Another person that Penny Smith dated was Paul McKenna, a scientist and hypnotist who also works as a presenter on shows. While all of these ended a few months after they started, Penny’s longest relationship has been with Vince Leigh, an actor known for starring in productions like Trial & Retribution, Silent Witness, and Marple.
They met sometime around the early 2000s and have since stayed by each other’s side through all these years. For now, Smith and Vince Leigh can be spotted traveling all over the world whenever they’re not busy shooting for their news programs and movies.
