star Bev Turner has been turning heads since she first stepped onto her daytime show in 2022.
Originally a presenter for Radio 5 Live, Bev has done everything from F1 reporting on ITV to hosting entertainment sections on This Morning, before stepping into her own weekday show Bev Turner Today on GB News.
But what about her life off-screen? Born in Prestwich, Lancashire, Bev headed to the University of Manchester to study English Literature and Language, eventually earning a first class degree. In 2001 she was even named on FHM’s ‘Sexiest Women’ list, coming in at number 47.
Bev also has plenty of high-profile connections in the world of sport. In 2002, she tied the knot with Olympic Gold medallist and rower, James Cracknell.
The pair exchanged vows at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, going on to welcome son Croyde in 2003, and daughters Kiki and Trixie in 2009 and 2011.
Bev Turner lives a wild life away from the cameras (Image: Getty)
Tragic split
Tragically, Bev’s marriage broke down and the pair split in 2019 after 17 years together. Bev confessed she experienced a “nagging doubt” while on holiday with her partner “some years ago”.
She admitted: “On the face of it, sitting on that beach in Barbados, my life was just about perfect — yet I had a nagging doubt that I didn’t have what it took to be married to someone who, for good and bad, was always ultra-focused on their next challenge, whether that was running a marathon or pursuing political ambitions.
“Like many wives of successful men (and no one can say my then-husband, James Cracknell, the champion rower and double gold Olympic medallist, is not successful), I was tired of that life and exhausted by never having any head space to work out what I wanted to do besides a whole lot of mothering.”
Bev was loved up with an Olympian for 17 years (Image: Getty)
Brain injury
James – who starred on and – faced tragedy of his own in 2010 when he suffered a brain injury. While cycling across America for a TV show, he was hit by a fuel truck travelling at 70mph.
The incident left him with epilepsy and a short temper, with Bev confessing to the Daily Mail: “Being with someone who survives a brain injury is to carry a little grief every day. And, just as with any bereavement, once you find a place of acceptance, you can be a much better version of yourself again.”
Famous family
Bev also has a famous brother – swimmer Adrian Turner. Adrian won silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and became a semi-finalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
On her website, Bev states her three kids are “nothing special”, writing: “I have 3 kids. Lots of people do. Mine are nothing special. But they are polite and kind (not always to each other) and they can read and write.
“They are my biggest achievement and the biggest pain in my a**e. I love them with an annoying fierceness which means although they drive me mad, I love their company and would throw myself under a bus for them. But even then they wouldn’t be grateful.”
And James isn’t Bev’s only famous ex – she used to date Heart FM star Jamie Theakston. She learned of his throat cancer diagnosis live on GB News, with Jamie explaining doctors diagnosed him with stage 1 laryngeal cancer when listeners noticed something not quite right with his voice.
Bev aired the breaking news live on-air, confessing: “Sorry, I was a little bit distracted then. Can we just bring you some breaking news regarding a friend of mine? Actually an ex-boyfriend in fact. All the best, Jamie.”
Bev is now happily loved up with her younger boyfriend (Image: Getty)
New romance
Now Bev is happily loved up with her new partner James Pritchett, who she met through a friend. The 50-year-old says James, 36, had to Google her name to find out who she was – and branded him the “perfect man”.
Bev explained: “I was expecting a hairy-a***d builder, but there was this hot young man at my door. ‘I thought ‘oh, hello!’ There was obvious chemistry, but I was a middle-aged woman with three kids. I never thought for a minute this man would come into my life, and transform it.
“I mean, this is a man who tidies hotel rooms! He makes the bed and folds the towels and puts things in the bin and leaves it all neat for the cleaners.”
She added: “When we were first falling in love, I realised he was reading my mind in terms of what I needed. Not in the bedroom, although he was good at that, too, but in general. He’d say, ‘I bought some washing powder because I noticed we needed it’. I remember saying to him, ‘who are you and who do you work for? MI5?’”