27 October 2023 , 09:38
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Andi Peters is one of the most familiar faces in British broadcasting and he regularly appears on our screens on ITV's Good Morning Britain and Lorraine as a highly respected television presenter. He's been in the spotlight longer than most millennials, with his career shooting off in the eighties and continuing up until this day.
The TV star is reportedly worth £3.1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and his big break started at the BBC. Here we take a look at Andi's early fame and surprising Phillip Schofield sassy exchange, plus his personal life off-camera, including his relationship status, hobbies and his real age - which has shocked fans over the years.
Early fame
Andi with Edd the Duck in 1992Surprisingly, it was a somewhat awkward exchange with Phillip Schofield that inspired Andi to pursue a career in TV. He told an interviewer: "I wrote to Phillip saying that I'd like to be a presenter. I got a signed picture back, which I sent back with a note saying that I didn't ask for a signed picture, I wanted advice on how to become a Children's BBC presenter. Phillip then wrote on the back of the signed picture and sent it back saying 'get some local radio or hospital radio experience, and I'm sure you'll make it one day.' And he was right!"
Andi's first gig was for Top Man's in-store radio in Oxford Street, London, which led to a job linking shows on ITV. The BBC quickly took notice of the young talent, and signed the then 18-year-old in 1989, pairing him with TV legend Edd the Duck. In 1993, he moved to brand new Saturday morning show, Live and Kicking, which he presented for three years alongside Emma Forbes, catapulting the show to success.
But Andi had other plans and traded his coveted gig to go behind the camera at LTW. While some might have considered his break away from the spotlight to have been an odd move, it turned out Andi was a natural producer and after joining Channel 4 he became the architect of their entire T4 offering. Launching the careers of the likes of Vernon Kay, Alexa Chung, Dermot O'Leary, he even hand-picked the cast Shipwrecked - one of the first every reality TV shows.
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Andi at the Red Nose Awards 1994 (Comic Relief via Getty Images)In 2003, the BBC coaxed him back to run its music and lifestyle programmes for younger viewers, including Top of the Pops, Later with Jools Holland and the broadcaster's Glastonbury coverage. But he quit just two years later when TOTP was relegated to BBC2 amid dwindling viewing figures, although he denied that was why, insisting the time had come to get back in front of the camera to host BBC One's City Hospital.
Asked why the sudden 180, he told Metro: "[Presenting is] my passion. I started out as a presenter and without that I wouldn't have been able to produce anything. And unlike producing, you don't have to take the work home with you. Once you've done the show, it's done. When you're producing, you're sometimes managing big teams and that never stops. I thought I'd go through a phase of presenting for a while."
Since then he's narrated The Big Reunion and regularly appears hosting competitions from far-flung destinations on ITV's Good Morning Britain and Lorraine. He also works as a rugby agent and owns a fitness modelling agency. But what about his life away from the office? Andi has always kept his love life, making no mention of romantic partners in interviews.
Personal life
Andi loves working out and is actually 53 (ITV)Andi is not believed to be married and in October 2022, he appeared on Loose Women and confirmed he was single. Speaking about going on a lads' holidays, he revealed his relationship status for the first time. As Strictly star Ore Oduba discussed missing his wife, Andi admitted: "See, I'm single, so I just go by myself."
During lockdown, he gave viewers a good look at his house, with Andi even clearing out his garage to host one segment for GMB. And fans were in awe of his sprawling garden which featured a dazzling array of cottage garden flowers and mature shrubs.
The 53-year-old star is in famously great shape, doesn't drink alcohol and is heavily into fitness, working out three days on and one off. He said: "I have protein shakes at least every day. I go to the gym, so my muscles are fatigued a lot, so the shakes help keep the muscles strong." And just before he turned 50, fans were dumbfounded by the youthful-looking star's real age. "Cannot believe @andipeters is 50!! My jaw just nearly hit the floor. We need your secret! Look amazing," one fan tweeted.
But despite his clean living, Andi have a penchant for McDonald's and scones, which he bakes every Saturday morning and shares the results online. And Live and Kicking fans will be pleased to hear he's still great mates with Emma Forbes. "We were just really lucky that Emma and I got on so well," he said. "We still very much keep in contact. I'm godfather to one of her children, so we speak a lot."