Alison Holloway
Encyclopedia
Alison Holloway is an English
journalist
and media personality, now living in the United States. She was the original presenter of Sky Television
's Sky World News Tonight and is now a television producer and reporter based in Los Angeles
.
, Holloway began her television career at the age of 17 as a continuity announcer and newsreader at Westward Television
. She then went to HTV
West in Bristol, at first joining the company as a reporter-presenter, then anchoring HTV News. Holloway remained with the station through most of the 1980s, combining her news duties with presenting many other local programmes for HTV West, including the Good Neighbour Show and the networked Animal Express.
She co-presented ITV
's Olympic Games coverage in 1988, and moved to Sky at the launch of Sky News in 1989. She helped launch the Southeast edition of Meridian Tonight in 1993. She also hosted the current affairs show Newsline, as well as numerous news, game, and quiz shows, and was correspondent for the 1994 Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race and ITV’s Rugby World Cup, and London-based correspondent for the American syndicated newsmagazines Hard Copy
(Paramount Television
) and A Current Affair
(Fox
).
In 1994, she moved from Britain to America to anchor a news magazine, Premier Story and covered the O.J. Simpson murder case and trial. Remaining in Los Angeles, she later hosted programs for Court TV
, ABC
, UPN
, Showtime and other channels. She also worked as director or producer for Fox's network primetime series The Swan and "Kitchen Nightmares
", NBC's "America's Got Talent
", Court TV's documentary film, Death of A Beatle; Fox Television’s Bizarre World specials; produced specials for Court TV and Animal Planet
. In 2005, she was supervising producer and on-air talent for a short-lived revival of Twentieth Television’s A Current Affair.
in 1987, divorcing him just two years on. It was later revealed that he had been violent towards her, and in his book Tabloid Baby
, her current husband, fellow tabloid journalist Burt Kearns
, with whom she now has a son and a daughter, wrote that he considered having Davidson knee-capped
as penance.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and media personality, now living in the United States. She was the original presenter of Sky Television
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
's Sky World News Tonight and is now a television producer and reporter based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Career
Born in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Holloway began her television career at the age of 17 as a continuity announcer and newsreader at Westward Television
Westward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise holder for the South West of England from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not...
. She then went to HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
West in Bristol, at first joining the company as a reporter-presenter, then anchoring HTV News. Holloway remained with the station through most of the 1980s, combining her news duties with presenting many other local programmes for HTV West, including the Good Neighbour Show and the networked Animal Express.
She co-presented ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Olympic Games coverage in 1988, and moved to Sky at the launch of Sky News in 1989. She helped launch the Southeast edition of Meridian Tonight in 1993. She also hosted the current affairs show Newsline, as well as numerous news, game, and quiz shows, and was correspondent for the 1994 Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race and ITV’s Rugby World Cup, and London-based correspondent for the American syndicated newsmagazines Hard Copy
Hard Copy
Hard Copy is an American tabloid news television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. Hard Copy was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence....
(Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
) and A Current Affair
A Current Affair (US TV series)
A Current Affair is an American television newsmagazine that aired in syndicated from July 1986 to 1996 before reappearing briefly in March 2005. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox, and long based at Fox's New York flagship WNYW.-Overview:...
(Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
).
In 1994, she moved from Britain to America to anchor a news magazine, Premier Story and covered the O.J. Simpson murder case and trial. Remaining in Los Angeles, she later hosted programs for Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
, Showtime and other channels. She also worked as director or producer for Fox's network primetime series The Swan and "Kitchen Nightmares
Kitchen Nightmares
Kitchen Nightmares is an American reality television series broadcast on the Fox network, in which Chef Gordon Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business. It is based on the British show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. The show is produced by ITV Studios...
", NBC's "America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
", Court TV's documentary film, Death of A Beatle; Fox Television’s Bizarre World specials; produced specials for Court TV and Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. In 2005, she was supervising producer and on-air talent for a short-lived revival of Twentieth Television’s A Current Affair.
Personal life
Holloway married comedian Jim DavidsonJim Davidson (comedian)
Jim Davidson OBE is a British comedian, actor and television presenter. He has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment, particularly of British service personnel in conflict zones.- Biography :The son of a Glaswegian father, Davidson was born in...
in 1987, divorcing him just two years on. It was later revealed that he had been violent towards her, and in his book Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby is a 1999 memoir by veteran journalist and television news producer Burt Kearns detailing his years as producer on tabloid television shows like A Current Affair and Hard Copy. Regarded as the definitive work on the rise and fall of the tabloid television genre...
, her current husband, fellow tabloid journalist Burt Kearns
Burt Kearns
Burt Kearns is an American television and film producer, writer, director, journalist and author, known for his influential work in reality television and his controversial 1999 tabloid television memoir, Tabloid Baby.-Early career:...
, with whom she now has a son and a daughter, wrote that he considered having Davidson knee-capped
Knee-capping
Kneecapping is a form of malicious wounding, often as criminal punishment or torture, in which the victim is injured in the knee, often using a firearm or power drill to damage the knee joint and kneecap.- Use :...
as penance.