Saira Khan

Saira Khan
Born	(1970-05-15) 15 May 1970 Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England
Occupation	TV presenter and entrepreneur
Television	The Apprentice (2005) The Martin Lewis Money Show (2012—) Guess This House (2015) Loose Women (2015—)
Spouse(s)	Steven Hyde
Children	2
Website	Official website

Saira Khan (born 15 May 1970) is a British television personality of Pakistani descent. She was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality television show The Apprentice in 2005. Since then Khan has co-presented The Martin Lewis Money Show (2012–present) and in 2015, she presented a new ITV daytime show called Guess This House. She is an occasional panellist on Loose Women.

Career

Khan has since become a regular face on British TV. In 2006, she presented Temper Your Temper, a programme dealing with anger management. She has presented several documentaries for the BBC including "Saira Khan's Pakistan Adventure" in 2007 and "Adopting Abroad, Saira's Story" in 2011, as well as appearing as a guest on a variety of BBC and ITV shows such as Ready Steady Cook and Countdown. She presented the CBBC show Trade Your Way to the USA and previously presented Beat the Boss. She presented an edition of the BBC's Money Programme about entrepreneurial mothers.

Khan has also contributed to radio notably to Radio 4's Woman's Hour and Radio 2's The Jeremy Vine Show as well as Radio 4's Any Questions?

In 2006, Khan set up a new campaign called OUR SAY to campaign for local and national referenda on issues of major public interest. Khan also runs her own baby-products business called Miamoo.

She has also written a self-help book, P.U.S.H. For Success. Since 2012, she has co-hosted The Martin Lewis Money Show alongside Martin Lewis. In 2015, she appeared with her son on Big Star's Little Star where they won £14,000 for charity. In 2015, she began hosting Guess This House, a new daytime game show for ITV. The first series aired for 25x60 episodes. In 2015, she became an occasional panellist on Loose Women, appearing on alternate Mondays. In 2015, she appeared on Pointless.

Early life and family

In 1965 Saira's parents emigrated from the city of Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir to England. She was born to Muslim parents and brought up in a Muslim culture, but is not herself a practising Muslim: "I like the way I was brought up, my parents taught me about family values, tolerance, generosity and self respect - these are values I hold dearly, but I believe these values are shared by all good people, not just people from one faith. My issue with religion is the way it's practised by the majority of people. I don't like how it can create a divide and lead to hatred - that's not what religion is about. I'd rather say I practise nothing and be a good person than say I'm a Muslim and be ignorant and selfish."

Saira went to Brighton Polytechnic and then on to the University of Nottingham, where she gained an MA in Environmental Planning in 2003. She became a Town Planner after graduating and worked for a small private consultancy called Michael Parker Associates based in Lewes in East Sussex.

Her father died from a heart attack in 1998 while visiting relatives in Kashmir – "I was absolutely devastated. For the first time I felt really alone."

Awards and nominations

In January 2013 and 2015, Khan was nominated for the Services to Media award at the British Muslim Awards.

Personal life

She is married to Steven Hyde. In 2008 Khan gave birth to a baby boy, Zachariah via IVF. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis. In March 2011, she adopted a baby girl, Amara, from the Edhi Orphanage in Karachi, Pakistan.

See also

• List of Lollywood actors

External links

• Official Website
• Beat the Boss (BBC Press Office)
• Saira Khan at the Internet Movie Database
• MediaAmbitions : Saira Khan
• Woman's Hour: Saira Khan
• 60 SECONDS: Saira Khan Metro
• Interview in Marie Claire
• Pushy Saira's aiming for business success
• icBerkshire 'I'm an entrepreneur - not an apprentice'