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Anna Williamson is an experienced TV and radio broadcaster, No. 1 bestselling author, counsellor, life coach, and Master NLP Practitioner.
She uses her diverse skillset as the dating expert and presenter of Celebs Go Dating (2019-23), One Night Stand (2022), and Save Well, Spend Better (2019). She is also the mental health expert on FYI: For Your Info (2021), and reporter on hard-hitting films for BBC’s Inside Out (2017-20).
Anna has two very successful podcasts: Breaking Mum and Dad, where Anna brings the no-nonsense conversation about parenting and paternal mental health from her book to life, alongside her partner and other celebrity parents. This podcast is now a double British Podcast Award nominee! She also co-hosts LuAnna, with Luisa Zissman, a light-hearted podcast where they debate and talk openly about topical issues, and boasts over 1 million downloads per month!
She is a passionate campaigner for mental health and wellbeing; with her experiences of post-natal depression, she is an excellent speaker on parental mental health issues, having suffered from GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) which is what inspired her to write her first book. Anna’s first-hand experience with mental health difficulties and her extensive portfolio of broadcasting jobs make her an ideal fit for live events.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book presenter, podcaster, mental-health and wellness ambassador Anna Williamson for your next event.
EARLY MEDIA CAREER
Anna Williamson had her first taste of fame at the age of 15 when she was part of the girl group Blush, but it was two years later when she would get her break on television. She joined the children’s programme Milkshake! (1997) on Channel 5, alongside Konnie Huq and Angelica Bell, which then let her to a role presenting on the Disney Channel. She has since presented for CiTV, Nickelodeon, ITV, Sky, Channel 5, BBC, Channel 4, and MTV, as well as broadcasting on Five Live, Virgin Radio, Radio 1, and Capital FM.
This combination of working for popular networks such as Nickelodeon, meant Anna was soon being snapped up to present everything from Scary Sleepover (2004), Toonattik (2005), Jamie and Anna’s Big Weekend (2010), Camp Orange (2011-12), and House of Anubis (2011-13). She was then seen on the second series of the ITV reality show Splash! (2014), making it to the semi-final.
HOSTING AND REPORTING
In 2011, Anna started appearing as a guest entertainment reporter for ITV’s Daybreak (2010-14), followed by This Morning (2013-20) in 2013 as their agony aunt. In 2014 she became a regular on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (2015-18), and Lorraine (2014-19), covering everything from celebrities to hard-hitting news and competitions. She has also hosted the National Lottery Xtra and the Wednesday Lotto draw for several years.
Her increasing fame saw her co-hosting Channel 5’s Big Brother’s Bit on the Side (2013-17) with Rylan Clark, as their on-screen psychology expert.
Anna and her podcast co-host Luisa Zissman took their show on tour in 2022, with the 19-date tour selling out in minutes. The podcast is so popular it has been voted the Top 20 Listeners Choice two years running!
WRITING
Alongside her presenting work, Anna has transferred her skills to the written word, writing a column for the Digital Spy website, regularly reaching over 100,000 people. She is also the weekly therapist and life coach columnist for Closer magazine, and monthly relationship expert and columnist for Psychologies magazine. She also has her own agony aunt columns in magazines such as Girl Talk, Women Fitness, Top Sante, and Mother and Baby.
Aware that not everyone can access her sessions, Anna put pen to paper and has written a number of successful books on mental health and wellbeing:
– Breaking Mad: The Insider’s Guide to Conquering Anxiety (2017) was written with clinical psychologist Dr Reetta Newell and was a national bestseller
– Breaking Mum and Dad: The Insider’s Guide to Parenting Anxiety (2018) was published alongside a podcast that was frequently in the number one spot on the iTunes chart
– How Not to Lose It: Mental Health Sorted (2019) aimed predominantly at young people, covering topics such as anxiety, panic attacks, low mood, depression, exam stress, social media, divorce, grief, blended families, and toxic relationships
– Where is the Love: The Honest Guide to Dating and Relationships (2022), shortlisted for the Health and Wellbeing Awards, this is a 21st Century bible for anyone looking for love
Anna also wrote a short story, Flo & The Funny Feelings (2017) in collaboration with the NHS to help raise awareness of mental health in children.
LIVE EVENTS
Anna quickly became a go-to host for red carpet events, such as the 2008 Kung Fu Panda red carpet, backstage at the BAFTAs, the Bounce Festival, Nickelodeon’s Skills Aware, the European Music Awards, and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, interviewing big stars such as Jack Black, One Direction, and the Kardashians.
She was also chosen as the host of the 2015 Gumball 3000, an international motorsports rally where she was seen in the company of Robbie Fowler, Dolph Lundgren, and Lewis Hamilton.
CORPORATE PRESENTER
Anna has worked for a variety of blue-chip companies, advertisement campaigns, and charities, such as Barnardo’s, Camelot, Dream Toys, Elderman, Viacom, and Weetabix. She has also been the voiceover of the Smyths Toys’ Christmas campaigns, Transport for London, and Sony. Other clients include American Express, Argos, BAFTA, BP, Chad Valley, Champneys, Childline, Disney, HomeSense, Land Securities, Nickelodeon, Princes Trust, TK Maxx, and the World Label Awards.
To book Anna for your voiceover campaign, contact our celebrity V/O booking agent Alex at Great British Voices.
MENTAL HEALTH SPEAKER
Away from public life, Anna suffered from an almost crippling battle with generalised anxiety disorder. She spoke out about her experiences and realised there was still a stigma around having mental health difficulties. To help fight these stigmas, Anna became an ambassador for charity Mind, qualified as a counsellor and life coach, and now runs her own private coaching practice. She is also a proud spokesperson for Childline and The Prince’s Trust, co-hosting the Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards alongside Ant and Dec and the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles. Anna can be seen discussing hard-hitting topics such as mental health and family relationships on This Morning, but she also takes her experiences to schools and businesses, whilst fronting awareness campaigns for AOL, The Telegraph and YouTube.
WELLBEING PRESENTER
Anna has taken her interest in wellbeing and used it in a number of popular television shows. She was the behavioural coach for MTV’s Single AF (2017-2018), the dating and relationship expert on E4’s Celebs Go Dating (2016-2023) the agony aunt for The Anna Williamson Show on Talk Radio and The Mental Health Show on BBC3 Counties Radio. She has been a part of a number of wellbeing awareness campaigns for a number of companies including American Express, YMCA, NHS, TK Maxx & HomeSense, WOMANUP, Derby Homes, Champneys, Nutra Concepts, Viacom, Busy Bees, Argos, Land Securities, Haven and Barnardo’s.
Anna’s wealth of experience and versatility means that she can offer a wealth of presenting styles, such as web videos, broadcast, live presenting, narration and voiceovers. She is engaging, thoughtful and experienced and adept in front of live audiences.
“Anna is a passionate speaker, drawing on her own experiences to explain how she has overcome mental health issues to forge a successful career in TV and radio, whilst also providing tips to attendees on how they can improve their own mental health. A post briefing survey of staff concluded that over 95% of those attending felt better informed about mental health, having listened to Anna.”
– Maria Murphy, Managing Director, Derby Homes
“We worked with Anna on the creation of a video for a children’s toy brand, alongside some child models. Anna maintained her energy and positive atitude throughout a long day of filming and our whole crew on site found her a pleasure to work with. She totally understood the messages we were trying to deliver and worked well with the kids on the shoot – a consummate professional whom we would not hesitate to recommend (and have done so to our other clients since!)”
– Lucy Daies, Senior Account Manager, Markettiers4DC
“Anna has successfully hosted the Land Securities Community Employment Awards for several years. She is always very professional but also brings fun and laughter to the awards as we celebrate those individuals who have overcome significant barriers to complete training and sustain employment. Anna is engaging, emotive and witty and we love working with her year on year.”
– Debbie Akehurst, Head of Economy and Community, Land Securities
“Absolutely amazing. I left feeling energised and with the feeling, it’s ok to talk about issues without feeling embarrassed or ashamed. Anna was so relateable and refreshing! More like this please, definitely the best Network event.”
– Employee at Anna’s talk in the American Express Brighton office.