The Booby Trap and Other Bits and Boobs

by Dawn O'Porter

  Kristin Hallenga started CoppaFeel! with her twin sister Maren one month after her breast cancer diagnosis at 23. Discovering a lump in her boob in June 2008, Kris went to her GP, only to be sent away. Within weeks Kris was appearing on TV and in national press sharing her story and raising money for a campaign that would prove to save lives and keep other young people from the same fate as hers. She won the Pride of Britain award with a Downing Street reception. After a secondary breast cancer diagnosis, Kris is not cancer free – and perhaps never will be. Whenever she’s not in the presence of doctors, she’s pouring her heart and soul into making a success of CoppaFeel!, not only refusing to let cancer wreck her party, but refusing to let it ruin yours too. To find out more go to www.coppafeel.org.

  CHERRY HEALEY

  Best known for her hugely successful BBC Three documentaries, Cherry is insightful, witty, challenging and compassionate about the subjects she covers, with a genuine desire to give voice to the true character of the contributors she encounters. Cherry’s documentaries for BBC Three include Cherry Has a Baby, Cherry Goes Dating and Cherry Gets Married (2010), Is Breast Best? (2011), a six-part series in 2012, Cherry Healey: How to Get a Life, and a second six-part series in 2013, The Year of Making Love.

  With a Degree in Drama Education/Drama for Social Change from Central School of Speech and Drama, Cherry has a particular interest in women’s ever-changing roles in society – giving light to new cultural trends in a (sometimes painfully!) honest and entertaining way. Whilst studying, she set up a company teaching dance to kids at risk of exclusion in community centres. She is a drama, hip-hop and break-dance teacher, having herself competed in several national competitions (and has also been a backing dancer for the infamous Ice T!). Cherry has also written for several publications including Grazia, You Me Baby magazine, and Cellardoor online, and has a unique and funny style that appeals to a wide audience.

  WILL HILL

  Will Hill is the author of the bestselling Department 19 series, and has contributed short stories and novellas to a number of award-nominated anthologies. He was a juror for the inaugural Hot Key Books Young Writers Prize and the 2013 Kitschies Awards.

  He grew up in the north-east of England and worked as a bartender, a bookseller, and a door-to-door charity worker in California before quitting a job in publishing to write full time. He lives in east London with his girlfriend.

  RUFUS HOUND

  Rufus Hound is a comedian, presenter and actor. You may have seen him in The Wedding Video, winning Let’s Dance for Sport Relief dressed up as Cheryl Cole or as the eponymous hero of CBBC’s Hounded. He hosts Radio 4’s Sony Award-winning My Teenage Diary and most recently took over as Francis Henshall in The National Theatre’s One Man, Two Guvnors. Of course, it may be equally true that you have no idea who he is, and no one would blame you for that.

  AMY HUBERMAN

  Amy Huberman was born in Dublin, and is a graduate of UCD and the Dublin Institute of Technology. She is an actress and a novelist.

  She made her first appearance on Irish television in the RTE drama On Home Ground and went on to star in The Clinic (RTE) for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress at the IFTA Awards in 2009. Amy has also appeared in several films including A Film With Me In It opposite Dylan Moran and Mark Doherty, Redux directed by P.J. Dillon, and Stella Days starring Martin Sheen. She has also appeared in the TV comedy sketch show Your Bad Self for RTE, and most recently took the female lead in two series of Comedy Central’s popular sitcom Threesome.

  Amy has also written two bestselling novels, Hello Heartbreak (Penguin, 2009) and I Wished For You (Penguin, 2012).

  JAMEELA JAMIL

  Jameela Jamil recently took on Radio 1’s The Official Chart Show, making her the first female presenter to host the show solo since its inception. Jameela began her presenting career in 2008 on the E4 Music Zone. In 2012 she featured in E4’s cult series, Playing It Straight. Jameela launched her first clothing range, JAM by Jameela Jamil, in 2012 with very.co.uk, and she was nominated for columnist of the year at both the prestigious PPA Awards and the BSME Awards for her monthly column in Company magazine. Jameela has also fronted a TV advertising campaign for international make-up brand Maybelline and has done fashion shoots with magazines including American and UK Vogue, InStyle and Esquire.

  MAUREEN JOHNSON

  Maureen Johnson was recently crowned the 2012 Queen of Teen in the UK – but, as it turns out, she is American. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during a massive snowstorm. After a little dalliance with astronomy (she had a glow in the dark star chart) and archaeology (she had a little shovel), Maureen declared her intention to become a writer at the age of eight or nine or so. She is the New York Times bestselling author of ten YA novels (including Suite Scarlett, Scarlett Fever, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Name of the Star, and The Madness Underneath). She has also done many collaborative works, such as Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), and The Bane Chronicles (with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan). She writes frequently on the subject of Young Adult literature for many publications, and is well known for her online presence on Twitter (@maureenjohnson). Maureen lives in New York, and online on Twitter (or at www.maureenjohnbooks.com). She’s not giving that crown back.

  ALEX JONES

  Alex is the co-host of the BBC’s flagship magazine programme The One Show alongside Matt Baker and Chris Evans. Alex has also appeared as a panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats and co-presented Let’s Dance for Comic Relief for the third year running. In 2011 she was a semi-finalist on Strictly Come Dancing, and 2012 saw Alex dance at Buckingham Palace on The One Show.

  A fluent Welsh speaker, Alex’s television career began working for Welsh Channel S4C, and she went on to present a variety of shows for the channel. In 2009 Alex took part in The Magnificent Seven, a BAFTA-winning series which saw seven celebrities travel to a ranch in Arizona to learn how to become cowboys. Whilst in the Wild West she recorded a spin-off children’s series called Alex and the Cowboys, also for S4C. Alex went on to present BBC Wales’ contribution to the Children in Need network programme from the Millennium Stadium.

  In Summer 2010, Alex landed The One Show role and she hasn’t looked back since. She presents the daily magazine show from London and has become a mainstay on the channel, presenting Eurovision results and Let’s Dance for Comic Relief for BBC One.

  MARIAN KEYES

  Marian Keyes is a hugely successful Irish novelist, born in Limerick in 1963. She was brought up in a home where a lot of oral storytelling went on; however she studied law and accountancy. She finally started writing short stories in 1993 ‘out of the blue’. Marian is now published in thirty-three languages and has written articles for various magazines and other publications. Her novel Anybody Out There won the British Book Awards award for popular fiction and the inaugural Melissa Nathan prize for Comedy Romance. This Charming Man won the Irish Book award for popular fiction. In 2012, she published Saved by Cake, which combines recipes with autobiography, novel The Mystery of Mercy Close and ebook short, Mammy Walsh’s A–Z of the Walsh Family.

  ANNIE MACMANUS

  Having left her home town of Dublin at 17, Radio 1’s Queen of Dance Annie Mac has spent the last decade carving out a career as a tastemaker, talent-finder and international DJ.

  Annie currently hosts the prestigious Friday night 7–9pm slot on Radio 1, helping the nation to start the weekend. She also presents the 10pm–midnight Radio 1 show on Sunday evenings.

  She is also known for championing cutting-edge new artists and DJs through her own brand ‘Annie Mac Presents’.

  AMP, which started out as a club night at Fabric in London, now hosts stellar line-ups personally curated by Annie on international stages, tents at major festivals and club nights throughout the UK. The Annie Mac Presents compilation is one of the biggest albums in the dance music calendar each year.

  Her TV work has included presenting the music series Sound for BBC Two as well as
fronting the iTunes Festival and Ibiza Rocks for Channel 4.

  SARRA MANNING

  Sarra Manning has been a fashion, lifestyle and entertainment journalist for over fifteen years. Her writing career started on the music paper Melody Maker and involved a long stint on the legendary teen mag J17. She then worked on the launch of and edited Elle Girl and What To Wear, as well as consulting on a number of magazines including The Face, Look and More. Sarra also writes for Grazia, Red, The Guardian, Stylist, Fabulous, Stella, You Magazine, and InStyle.

  Her first adult novel, Unsticky, was Heat magazine’s book of the week. Her other adult novels are You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me and Nine Uses For An Ex-Boyfriend. Sarra is also the queen of UK YA fiction. Her bestselling teen novels include Adorkable, Guitar Girl, Let’s Get Lost and the iconic Diary Of A Crush trilogy. Sarra has both an adult novel It Felt Like A Kiss and a YA title, The Worst Girlfriend In The World set for publication in 2014.

  Sarra lives in North London with her beloved Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Miss Betsy, and prides herself on her unique ability to accessorise.

  JULIE MAYHEW

  Julie Mayhew is an actress-turned-writer who still acts but mostly writes. She is author of the novel Red Ink (Hot Key Books), which features the character Melon from her story; was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award for her most recent radio play, A Shoebox Of Snow; and is co-founder and host of quarterly short story event The Berko Speakeasy.

  DAVINA MCCALL

  Davina McCall was born in London in 1967 and currently hosts hit series The Million Pound Drop, Long Lost Family and Stepping Out. In addition, Davina has been the face (and hair) for the L’Oréal brands Garnier and Nutrisse for the past ten years and is currently the UK’s Number 1 fitness DVD franchise. Davina also starred in the BBC documentary Let’s Talk Sex, looking at how sex education is taught in Britain, and hosted all eleven series of Big Brother for Channel 4.

  In October 2012, Davina, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Carr, Dr Christian and Cancer Research UK, launched the UK’s version of the epic US charity fundraising show Stand Up to Cancer, hosting over six hours of TV for Channel 4 and raising £7million … and counting! She is also an active supporter and campaigner for the charities Focus 12 and Action Medical Research.

  SARAH MILLICAN

  Sarah Millican has fast established herself as a household name since winning the 2008 if.comedy Best Newcomer Award (formerly the Perrier Award) for her debut solo stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

  Crowned The People’s Choice: Queen of Comedy at the 2011 British Comedy Awards, Sarah has completed two sell-out national tours, playing to over 200,000 people, and she will embark on her third tour in the autumn of 2013, performing over 140 dates across the UK. Sarah’s debut DVD, Chatterbox Live, became the biggest selling stand-up DVD by a female comedian of all time.

  This year, Sarah was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance for her own series on BBC Two, The Sarah Millican Television Programme. The show combines stand-up inspired by what she has seen on TV as well as unique interviews with television stars who have impressed her. Filming has just wrapped on the third series. Other TV appearances include QI, Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and The Graham Norton Show.

  SIMITCHELL

  SiMitchell is a professional artist from the UK. He loves cartoons, punk music, his lady and his cat! He also loves to draw and spray paint silly things. He has been producing artwork for clients such as Green Day, The Midnight Beast, Mcfly, E4 and RockSound among many many others.

  LEE MONROE

  Lee Monroe was born in London, but spent a short time living by the sea with her family when she was a teenager. She moved back to the heart of the city as soon as she could, and now lives in London.

  Lee was an obsessive reader as a child, and still is. She works in publishing and has written fiction for children and adults, including a paranormal trilogy under her own name for young adults, called Dark Heart, and more recently a contemporary romance called Love is a Number.

  CAITLIN MORAN

  Caitlin Moran wrote her first novel, The Chronicles of Narmo, at the age of fifteen. At sixteen she joined music weekly Melody Maker, and at eighteen briefly presented the pop show Naked City on Channel 4. She wrote as columnist on The Times – both as a TV critic and also in the most-read part of the paper, the satirical celebrity column ‘Celebrity Watch’ – winning the British Press Awards’ Columnist of The Year award in 2010 and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011.

  The eldest of eight children, home-educated in a council house in Wolverhampton, Caitlin read lots of books about feminism. Caitlin isn’t really her name. She was christened ‘Catherine’. But she saw ‘Caitlin’ in a Jilly Cooper novel when she was thirteen and thought it looked exciting. That’s why she pronounces it incorrectly: ‘Catlin’. It causes trouble for everyone.

  PATRICK NESS

  Born in America, Patrick Ness now lives in London. He is the author of seven novels, a short story collection, varied journalism and radio plays. You might have heard of his trilogy Chaos Walking, his latest book for adults The Crane Wife, which came out earlier this year, or even A Monster Calls, which became the first book ever to win both the Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Medals in 2012. His books are published in over twenty languages and among others Patrick has won the Carnegie Medal twice, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Costa Children’s Book Award and the Red House Children’s Book Award. Watch out for his daring new YA novel More Than This, forthcoming later this year from Walker Books.

  ERIN O’CONNOR

  Erin O’Connor was born in 1978 in Walsall. Erin’s big break came during a shoot in Brazil, with photographer David Sims and hairdresser Guido, when she decided to get her hair cut off. She first modelled for Juergen Teller in a 1996 issue of i-D and she was described as ‘freak chic’ – but went on to model for most of the luxury brands, top photographers, always at couture and, in 2007, the revamped Marks & Spencer. Swan-like, porcelain-skinned, hard-working, and tall (6ft 4in in heels). ‘She isn’t only a model,’ Jean Paul Gaultier famously raved, ‘she is quite art. She is like theatre. She is extraordinary inspiration. I should love to be with her every day.’

  The illustrator David Downtown made her his muse.

  CHRIS O’DOWD

  Chris O’Dowd is from Roscommon, Ireland. He studied politics at Dublin University before training at LAMDA.Chris is well known for his starring role in Bridesmaids opposite Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. For his role in the film, Chris was nominated for a BAFTA ‘Rising Star Award’, a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture’ and won the Irish Film and Television Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor – Film’. Chris has also recently starred in Wayne Blair’s The Sapphires, Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 and Lena Dunham’s HBO series Girls, and is currently starring in the hit HBO series Family Tree.

  Chris wrote and produced an award-winning TV series based on his childhood titled Moone Boy. Having premiered on Sky One in the UK and Hulu, the show has been picked up for a third season, and in addition to writing and producing, Chris will direct all the upcoming episodes. Chris’s other upcoming features include John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary opposite Kelly Reilly and Brendan Gleeson and James Griffiths’ Cuban Fury opposite Nick Frost and Rashida Jones.

  Chris’s television credits include starring in the cult comedy series The It Crowd for Channel 4 and the critically acclaimed series Crimson Petal & The White for the BBC.

  DERMOT O’LEARY

  Dermot O’Leary spends his Saturday nights hosting ITV1’s The X Factor and, to the sometime annoyance of his family, who occasionally like to see him on a weekend, has done since 2007. His specialist subjects include scalding judges, hugging, and the occasional dance. He hosted The X Factor following his success as host of Big Brother’s Little Brother on E4. Dermot established the hugely successful T4 for Channel 4.

  He spends his Sa
turday afternoons presenting The Dermot O’Leary Show on BBC Radio 2 (a mix of indie and interviews), winning the Sony Radio Award for The Best Music Programme in 2008, 2010 and recently in 2013.

  2010 saw Dermot chairing BBC Three political debate First Time Voters Question Time and Dermot Meets, where he interviewed David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg.

  He owns his own production company (Ora et Labora), is a very active partner in his fish restaurant in Brighton (Fishy Fishy), and is a keen Arsenal fan … for his sins in a previous life.

  DAWN O’PORTER

  Dawn O’Porter is a broadcaster and print journalist who lives in London with her husband Chris, cat Lilu and dog Potato. She has made numerous documentaries about all sorts of things, including polygamy, childbirth, geishas, body image, breast cancer and even the movie Dirty Dancing.

  Dawn has written for many UK newspapers and magazines including Grazia and Stylist and she is currently a columnist for Glamour magazine. Her first fictional novel, Paper Aeroplanes, was published by Hot Key Books in 2013. Although Dawn lives in London she spends a lot of time in LA and travels a lot. She is obsessed with cats, mad about dogs, has an addiction to vintage dresses and she loves food.

  THE VAGENDA