Toby Anstis | |
|---|---|
 Radio DJ and TV presenter Toby Anstis in January 2007 | |
| Born | 14 December 1970 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Radio and television presenter |
| Employer | Global |
Toby Anstis (born 14 December 1970) is an English radio and television presenter. He is a presenter on Heart and spin-off station Heart Dance.[1]
Early life
Originally from Northampton, Anstis was educated at Desborough School, an all-boys school in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He graduated in psychology and business studies from the University of Surrey Roehampton.[2]
Toby was adopted along with his twin sister as a child; his biological father was Italian and his biological mother, Gina, was English. He only met his birth parents as an adult and has commented that he was 'lucky' to have good adoptive parents.[3]
Career
Anstis began his career on BBC1's Broom Cupboard.[4] He was the show's last presenter and also spent three years on CBBC. He worked on the music show The O-Zone on BBC1 and BBC2, co-hosted Children in Need for two years running, presented cricket films for Grandstand, and hosted live outside broadcasts on National Lottery Live for the BBC.
Anstis also presented the first series of Trust Me I'm A Holiday rep on Channel 5, has won three episodes of Pointless on BBC1, hosted TV Scrabble, and guested on TV shows such as Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Take Away, Celebrity Egg Heads, and This Morning, as well as guest-starring in Mongrels on BBC2, and co-hosting a Celebrity Through the Keyhole with Keith Lemon and appearing in the spin-off show Lemon La Vida Loca.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, Anstis joined the supergroup The Celebs with Frank Bruno and X Factor winner Sam Bailey to raise money for both Alzheimer's Society and Action for Children. They recorded a new rendition of Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens and it was released digitally on 11 December 2020 on independent record label Saga Entertainment.[5][6]
Filmography
TV
- TV Scrabble (2001-2002) – Presenter
- I'm Famous and Frightened! (2004) – Guest
- Children in Need – Co-presenter
- Trust Me – I'm a Holiday Rep – Presenter
- The Mint – Guest
- I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2006) – Participant
- Big Brother's Big Mouth (2006) – Pundit
- Ready Steady Cook (2009)
- The Alan Titchmarsh Show (2009)
- Mongrels (TV series) (2010)
- Eggheads (2011)
- Loose Women – Loose Man
- Pointless Celebrities (2012,2016,2019) – Winning Contestant
- Celebrity Come Dine with Me: Christmas Special – Contestant
- Who's Doing the Dishes? (2015) – Celebrity chef
- Hacker's Birthday Bash: 30 Years of Children's BBC (2015) – Himself
- A Place in the Sun (2017) - Himself
- Merry Christmas Everyone[7] (2020) - Himself
- Richard Osman's House of Games[8] (2022) - Himself
References
- ↑ "Global to launch Heart Dance with Toby Anstis on Breakfast". RadioToday. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ↑ Fame and Fortune The Sunday Times Money 31 August 2008
- ↑ "Being adopted has a lasting effect". The Guardian. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ↑ "Bio". Toby Anstis Official Website. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ↑ "Good Morning Britain stars show off their vocals in charity Christmas single". Daily Mirror. 10 November 2020.
- ↑ "The Celebs - Merry Christmas Everyone". YouTube. TheCelebsVEVO. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ↑ "The Celebs - Merry Christmas Everyone". YouTube. TheCelebsVEVO. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ↑ "Richard Osman's House of Games, BBC Two". Beyond The Joke. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.