We continue with these little pieces on the personalities that form a huge chunk of So You Think You Can Dance: the judges, the choreographers, and of course, the host.  This time, it's Cat Deeley, perhaps the most underrated host in American television.  Can I say she still should win an Emmy?

Back in my student days, I was a considerable British broadcasting geek.  (Actually, until now, I still am.)  But I never thought Cat Deeley was a very ubiquitous presence in television screens across the pond.  I mean, I remember reading, from one of those websites, that she had a television show in the late 90s on the BBC, entitled Roadtrippin', where she went around the world with fellow British personality Edith Bowman.  That, turns out, was just the tip of the iceberg.

Born on October 23, 1976 in Birmingham, England, Cat got her start as a fashion model.  At age 14, she joined a competition set up by a fashion-oriented television show, which led her to a modeling agency; she didn't work full-time, though, until four years later, when she finished her A-levels.  She quit modeling in 1997, when she began presenting shows for MTV, often co-hosting with Edith, the girl I mentioned earlier.

Cat broke out in 1998, when she co-hosted the Saturday morning children's strand SM:TV Live.  Working with similarly famous Brit personalities Ant and Dec, it was, apparently, a pretty big thing back then, providing a mix of established kids' shows, segments and sketches.  And by sketches, I mean "Cat the Dog", also known as Cat with black, frizzy hair and fake teeth:



Or this one, where she was the token white-haired girl on a parody of Star Trek:



Cat left that show in 2002, and the following year, presented the talent search show Fame Academy, which is, in a nutshell, American Idol and Big Brother hooking up and having a baby.  That put her in the big league, leading to several projects in British television (the aforementioned Roadtrippin', a guest stint on Little Britain) and radio (paired up, again, with Edith).  And television ads, too, like this one:



But by then, events here in the United States would give her fame a much bigger boost: the host of this little show called So You Think You Can Dance got pregnant, and Cat came in as a replacement.  Now, I know that British people pronounce "OK" as "AK".

Despite her success with SYTYCD, she still worked on a few British projects, including the music series Soundtrack of My Life, and this video, where you'll see her say the f-word on national television--well, don't worry, lads, it's a comedy show, and the Brits are much more relaxed with these things.  By the way, this clip came from Britain's Got the Pop Factor, a parody of all those reality competition series on the telly, and since Cat hosted Fame Academy, she's a perfect fit for this one.



Ahhh, British charm.  Now give her an Emmy!


Other pocket guides:
Adam Shankman



- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of WENN)