Victoria Coren off camera - poker millionaire, adult film and David 'destiny'

02 November 2023 , 09:25

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Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell and her husband, Peep Show star, David Mitchell have become parents for the second time (Image: Getty)

Victoria Coren Mitchell has been a staple on our screens for years both as a panellist and presenter on shows, including BBC 2's Only Connect.

Married to Peep Show star, David Mitchell, 49, she delighted fans on Wednesday announcing the couple had become parents for a second time after welcoming daughter, June, into the world. Aged 51, Victoria has packed a lot into her life off-screen, including player poker professionally and making a porn film.

So, as we congratulate the presenter and David on their lovely baby news, here's the low down on what the vivacious star gets up to when she's not dishing out the questions on quiz shows.

Professional poker player

Victoria has made history multiple times as a professional poker player, including in 2014 when she became the first two-time winner of the European Poker Tour. The mum-of-two has won a staggering £1.5m hedging her bets on the card game, admitting there's a surprising contrast between her different interests.

Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell and her husband, Peep Show star, David Mitchell have become parents for the second time (Getty Images for BFI)

She's also a professional poker player (Getty Images Europe)

She once told PokerStarsBlog she has been known to stay up until 6am, smoking, drinking and gambling. “But I like cooking and gardening too,” Victoria clarified, “which makes me sound like a strange mix of an old lady and a teenage boy”. In 2016, the presenter was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, something she was 'immensely proud' of.

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Making a porn film

After working as a reviewer of porn films for the Erotic Review, Victoria and pal Charlie Skelton made a porn film called the Naughty Twins. Screened for "friends, colleagues and some blokes off the telly", The Independent said the film was "labyrinthine" with a particularly interesting "lesbian bath scene where a muscular plumber enters the room with an enormous spanner, consults his pager, then says, "Oh dear, wrong day!" and promptly disappears."

Victoria and Charlie wrote about making the flick in their book Once More, with Feeling: How We Tried to Make the Greatest Porn Film Ever. With their only experience of the porn industry stemming from their time as journalists for the Erotic Review, the book is their account of the time they spent researching and shooting the film.

Unlikely matchmaker that introduced her to David

Opening up about meeting the Peep Show host for the first time, Victoria, admitted she knew within hours she would marry David one day. Introduced to one another by fellow comedian, David Baddiel, at a film premiere in 2007, Victoria said: "He specifically said to me, 'There’s David Mitchell over there, I think you should probably marry him, I’ll get the ball rolling by introducing you'. I thought that was ridiculous but, a couple of hours later, I thought I would probably marry him."

The couple didn't date for another three years, but waltzed down the aisle soon after before welcoming daughter Barbara few years a few years later.

David hasn’t shied away from how “hopelessly in love” he is with the sister of writer, Giles Coren. In his book, Back Story, the actor gushed: "She’s not only too wonderful, she’s too right for me. She’s funny, bright, sexy, nervous and confident in ways that could have been meant for me. I feel very lucky."

Back in 2013, Victoria told The Telegraph she was smitten and feels lucky to call David her husband. She said: “I mean, he's a hugely successful television comedian, he could have had a gorgeous 24-year-old skinny wife with a tiny nose and a string bikini, but he chose me! Me!"

Giles Coren is Victoria's brother (BBC)

Famous family

Victoria is the sister of journalist, food writer and presenter of shows, including 500 Questions and presented Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby alongside Monica Galetti, Giles Coren.

The siblings' father, Alan Coren, previously editedPunch Magazine for 10 years and wrote columns for a number of broadsheet newspapers. He also appeared as a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz The News Quiz and a team captain on BBC television's Call My Bluff, which explains Victoria's love of quizzing.

Victoria Johns