Biography

Gemma Nixon, presenter of shows on various channels including MTV, Legal TV and ITV2, was born in Ireland but has lived in the centre of London since she was 2 years old. She went to an all-girls convent school in Euston and then decided that she wanted to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a successful Presenter. Knowing how hard it would be to get into the world of TV, she felt it best to arm herself with as much experience and knowledge as possible. So, at the tender age of 20, she decided to leave full-time work to study Television Production at the City of Westminster University. She learned the arts of directing, producing, writing and editing, and can work on many different online platforms, including Final Cut Pro and Avid. Whilst at University, Gemma used her shrewd understanding of the importance of having a good showreel on completion of her studies, and stepped up to the plate to present as many projects as possible. Her sole purpose for taking on such a practical and production based course was so she could gain a better understanding of how the industry works, and therefore become a more well rounded, patient and knowledgeable Presenter.

After graduating with 3 distinctions and a credit (Lighting wasn’t her best subject!), she finished university and worked behind the camera for Sky News as a Script Runner, MTV as a Production Assistant and Channel 4 as a Compliance Editor on Big Brother (where she took up the chance to learn from the best by working with Davina McCall and Dermot O’Leary). During this time, she presented on low budget programmes for students and small production companies to gain as much experience as she could, and to continue building her portfolio.

Gemma then went on to work as an Assistant Producer in a successful post-production company in Soho. During this 3-year period, not only did she participate in the production of many TV commercials and castings, which included working alongside Cat Deeley and Rob Toay of Caboose, over the course of 12 months she also produced a documentary based on the history of ‘Garage’ music. She worked 16-hour days both in Soho and throughout the UK, arranging interviews, booking production equipment, hiring staff and sorting out the travel requirements for the crew. She even took on a second job to pay for it all! She presented the show and interviewed world-class producers and DJ’s on national radio stations such as Radio 1 and Kiss FM, and at major leading clubs such as the Ministry of Sound and Pacha. She flew to Ibiza over the course of 2 summers to interview renowned DJ’s and Producers, such as the Grammy Award winning Armand Van Helden who produced the number 1 hits ‘You Don’t Even Know Me’, ‘Barbara Streisand’ and the world famous ‘Bonkers’, which he created alongside Dizzee Rascal. Other interviewee’s for her documentary included Alex P, Brandon Block, Judge Jules, The Dream Team, Ramsey and Fen, Matt Jam Lamont, DJ EZ, Todd Edwards, Grant Nelson, The Wideboys (producers of the UK Chart number 1 hit ‘Sambuca’, who have also worked with the likes of Rihanna, The Saturday’s and The Wanted) and the classically trained MJ Cole, amongst many others. Working on such a large scale production gave her a greater understanding of the filming process and how to be an ever smiling face, both behind the lens and of course in front of it!

She finally left her Soho family to take on her first live television show presenting ‘Stash the Cash’ from Budapest, Hungary, broadcast in the UK on ITV2. She spent 3 months there making friends, seeing the sites, eating the food and presenting 2 hour, unscripted shows to an audience of over 400,000 UK viewers and an estimated 600,000 worldwide. Going from music to gaming was a big jump but one that Gemma was happy to make so that she could gain yet more experience and learn the art of Live TV, a style of production that she most aspired to work on.

Upon her arrival home from Budapest, she took on an even bigger challenge by accepting an offer to work in Japan! She presented the weather to 16 year olds in the UK and Ireland on their O2 and Orange mobile phones every morning. She relished the opportunity to read the weather and work with a fabulous crew, whilst playing with cartoon characters, jumping out of blue-screen helicopters or tackling make believe rugby players! In her spare time in Japan she hung out in Tokyo with Sumo Wrestlers and Geisha girls, ate Green Tea Ice Cream (a novelty at the time!), skied the Japanese Alps, jumped on the bullet train to spend 24 hours in Kyoto (where she picked up one of her greatest treasures, an original 2,000 year old silk Kimono!) and sang Karaoke throughout!

Gemma’s career has gone from strength to strength, presenting genres that range from light entertainment shows for MTV, and interviewing the likes of Julie Andrews and Antonio Banderas on the red carpet, to presenting more serious programmes for channels such as Legal TV, interviewing guests that ranged from politicians and lawyers to asylum seekers and prostitutes. She has hosted live events at the O2, presented shows on stage at business conferences and has worked as a voice over artist on radio adverts and jingles. She can also be found presenting on various websites for different companies.

Her open-mind and hard working ethic allow her to cope well under all kinds of pressure and she’s happy to take on any subject matter. Gemma’s fun loving, feisty and full of charisma. She’s also a very creative girl and takes pride in what the East End of London has taught her. Outside of work, she’s usually found either taking pictures around London, making dresses from old clothes, travelling the world and tasting all it has to offer or just hanging out with her good friends and family. To unwind, she likes to dance, paint with oils, write short stories and articles or fight it out in her local kick boxing gym, a hobby she took up as a teenager but still loves to do today!

For further details on Gemma’s work, please visit the CV tab of this site.


 
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