Kirsten O’Brien was back on the small screen (Picture: BBC)
Celebrity Mastermind’s most recent episode featured a recognisable face from BBC past.
Former kids’ TV star Kirsten O’Brien took on the notoriously tricky quiz show for a celebrity special and looked pretty much exactly the same as when she first started out in the industry.
Many people first became familiar with Kirsten, now 53, in 1999 when she took on co-hosting duties for CBBC art programme SMart, where she remained for a decade. Staying in the children’s TV genre she also co-hosted CBeebies spin-off programme SMarteenies, sharing duties with Jay Burridge, Lizi Botham, and the late Mark Speight before its conclusion in 2003.
This all formed perfect material for her Edinborough comedy show, Kirsten O’Brien – Confessions of a Children’s TV Presenter.
Kirsten then dabbled in a variety of TV, ranging from BBC lumberjack competition (yep, that happened) Bring It On to nature show Springwatch Trackers. She also released BBC documentary Kirsten’s Topless Ambition, in which it was debated whether posing for a lads’ magazine in order to shake off her children’s TV persona was a good career decision. She ultimately decided against it.
Further credits include on-the-ground reporting for GMTV, interviewing soap stars on EastEnders: The Aftermath in celebration of the 25th anniversary, and taking on epic car-based challenges for The World’s Toughest Driving Tests with friend Will Mellor.
Kirsten won the show (Picture: @RealKirstOBrien/x)
Nowadays, she’s specialised in radio, becoming a newsreader for Andrew Peach’s Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Berkshire, before being enlisted as the main presenter last year.
She was back on the small screen for yesterday’s episode of Celebrity Mastermind tackling the life of Daphne du Maurier as her specialist subject.
‘One of the consequences of having a “say yes, work it out later” personality is situations like this…’ she remarked on X about the appearance. She also revealed she was clutching her ‘inhaler and a tissue’ during rehearsals ahead of the nerve-wracking show.
After facing football commentator Guy Mowbray, Outnumbered actor Tyger Drew-Honey and former politician Justine Greening, Kirsten managed to win the show and donated her appearance fee to Babies in Buscot Support & Teesside Hospice.
After the episode aired Kirsten reflected on the experience and revealed that it was filmed in September and she’d been keeping her trophy hidden ever since. Proudly placing it on her windowsill, she said: ‘It doesn’t have to hide anymore, it can come out.’
‘Brilliant! Well done!’ wrote comedian Sarah McMillan in response. Author Daisy Buchanan weighed in: ‘Just watched it – YOU WERE AMAZING! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥.’
‘Leg-end!!! Xxxx’ wrote follower KatiePTyler. Mjwriter24 added: ‘Blooming ace that performance, that!!’
Impressed account All Things Quiz stated: ‘You can always tell when someone has prepared well. She may not have aced the subject but Kirsten had clearly put the work in.’
Kirsten with Jay Burridge and Mark Speight on SMart (Picture: BBC ONE)
Kirsten has barely aged (Picture: Luca Teuchmann/WireImage)
Off-screen, Kirsten is married to Mark Drake and they became parents to Fox Michael Drake in 2011. They added to their brood in 2017 when they welcomed twins Indigo and Kit.
Speaking to Hello! Kirsten said: ‘I always wanted to have a bunch of children and now we have that, and it’s absolute lunacy at all times. It couldn’t be better.’
Celebrity Mastermind is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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