Biography - Jane Garvey

Who is Jane Garvey?

Jane Garvey’s voice was the first voice on BBC Radio 5 Live, the day it was launched on 28 March 1994 at 5:00 am. Yes, she is a broadcaster, a British radio presenter to be precise. She currently works for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and is also the co-founder of the weekly podcast series Fortunately. 

Jane Garvey – Age, Parents, Siblings

Jane Garvey’s birth took place on 23 June 1964 in Crosby, Liverpool, England. Her birth name is Jane Susan Garvey. Her father’s name is Ray Garvey and her mother Maureen Garvey (nee O'Neill) worked as a hospital receptionist. She is not the only child of her parents and has a sibling, a younger sister.

Not much is known about her family but has revealed some details of her childhood. She recalled her childhood as "cozy, predictable, and loving". Growing up, her maternal grandmother lived with her family and that experience contributed to her love of interviewing older women.

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Jane Garvey studied at the Merchant Taylors' Girls' School. After graduation, she enrolled at the University of Birmingham to study English and graduated from the same.

Her ethnicity is English.

Jane Garvey – Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Divorce

Jane Garvey was a married woman. She dated television presenter Adrian Chiles and married boyfriend, Chiles, on September 1998 in Swansea. Together they have welcomed two children, both girls. Their elder daughter Evelyn Katarina Chiles was born in January 2000 while their younger daughter Sian Mary Chiles was born in March 2003.

Sadly after almost 10 years of marriage, Garvey and her husband separated in June 2008. The divorce was finalized in October 2009.

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Jane Garvey – Career

Growing up, she wanted to become a bus conductor but was inspired by Ray Moore and Janice Long’s show Street Life.

Before Jane Garvey started to work as a broadcaster, she had a number of odd jobs. She had worked as a medical records clerk in a finance company, as a trainee for an advertising agency, and also held the job of a receptionist at the hospital where her mother used to work. 

Life before fame

Garvey was employed by Radio Wyvern as a promotions assistant. She later became the news editor for the company before leaving in 1988. She then worked as a reporter for BBC Hereford and Worcester.

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Worked in

In 1989, Jane Garvey was chosen to present The Breakfast Show at BBC Hereford and Worcester. Her voice was the first voice to be aired on BBC Radio 5 Live when it launched at 5:00 am on 28 March 1994.

Over the years, she has presented Everywoman for BBC World Service, Midday for BBC Radio 5 Live, and Drive for BBC Radio 5 Live. After 13 years, she left Radio 5 in May 2007.

She then joined Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 and on 29 March 2017 along with Fi Glover began a weekly podcast series on BBC Radio 4. The podcast was named Fortunately: A frank look behind the scenes with broadcasters Jane Garvey and Fi Glover as guests from Radio, TV and podcasting share stories they probably shouldn’t.

Worked with?

Jane Garvey has worked with Peter Allen, Fi Glover, Ben Cooper, and Jenni Murray. She had succeeded Martha Kearney in the program Woman's Hour.

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Jane Garvey – Awards, Nominations

For her astounding work in broadcasting, she has won six Sony Gold Awards, shared with Allen.

Jane Garvey – Net Worth, Salary

There has been no estimate of her net worth. However, her annual salary has been known to be around $200k. In a July 2019 interview with Time Times, she revealed that she is paid five times less than her BBC co-workers.

Jane Garvey – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media, Jane Garvey is active on Instagram and Facebook with thousands of followers and counting but is absent from other handles such as Facebook.

Also read: List of personalities who are Radio hosts