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The 2024 BMJ Industry Awards has announced that its host for the gala lunch in September is Mark Durden-Smith a sport and lifestyle presenter, last seen wowing the audience at the BMF Conference in Istanbul last year.
Durden-Smith’s versatility has seen him front everything from sports coverage to reality contests, cookery programmes to morning magazine shows.
Well-known to sports fans, he has led ITV’s Premiership and World Cup rugby coverage, as well as anchoring their Boat Race broadcast. He followed Premiership coverage as it moved to Channel 5, whilst for Sky he’s presented European golf, international cricket, Spanish football, and the daily round-up Sky Sports Centre, as well as rugby. He also hosted Sky’s reality show The Match, which pitted celebrities against professionals in a football match.
As well as prestige events like the BMF Conference, Durden-Smith has guest hosted This Morning and fronted Package Holidays Undercover and Wish You Were Here – Now and Then, as well as the reality show spin-offs I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Now!, and Hell’s Kitchen Extra Portions. He’s also hosted game and panel shows for ITV and Sky 1.
He also presented the game show Freeze Out, the BBC London Radio Breakfast Show, The National Lottery’s Millionaire Manor, and Design Wars. He’s also hosted American Princess, a primetime reality show for NBC in the States, and has written a regular column in the Metro.
BMJ Group Managing Editor Fiona Russell Horne said: “We’ve had our eye on Mark Durden-Smith as a host for years, but we could never get the dates to work. Following his reception in Istanbul, we redoubled our efforts, and I’m delighted that he will be joining us on September 27th.”
Entries and ticket sales are now open for the BMJ Industry Awards 2024.
