Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup is an acclaimed broadcaster, journalist and critic, known for her focus on artistic programming and her husky voice – known as “the sexiest female voice on TV”. Born in Oslo and brought up in Ireland, Frostrup began her career as PR executive for Parlophone records before moving to Thames Television in 1990. She has presented many different programmes over the years including Panaroma and Open Book (Radio 4). As a journalist, Frostrup is film critic for Harpers & Queen and has a weekly column in the Observer Magazine, for whom she writes major interviews. As a respected critic, Frostrup has sat on the judging panel for the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Amnesty International Media Awards. Frostrup’s foundation, The Gender Rights and Equality Action Trust (The GREAT Initiative) aims at fostering gender equality and raising awareness and funds to support the grass roots gender equality projects in Africa and beyond, with the premise that gender equality is a fundamental right for all – and nothing less.