Akua, Nana

Nana was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in July 1971 (as Nana Akua Amotemaa-Appiah), after her parents came over from Ghana in the 1960s.  She relocated to the US with her parents, aged 11, but would later return to the UK and study business and finance at university.  She has worked for Kiss 100 (1995 – 1997) and Capital FM, initially in a business capacity but she also provided voiceovers.  In her spare time, Nana worked as a DJ at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Radio.  Spotted by Richard Park, she was offered a trainee post as a DJ on Capital FM’s Café. She soon had her own drivetime show at London-based commercial radio station Fusion 107.3.

A chance meeting later led to a job as a launch presenter for Bid-Up TV.  She later presented on Price Drop TV also.   Primetime BBC One then beckoned, with a presenting role on the Holiday programme (2006 – 2009).  Other TV roles included hosting live game shows on Sky One (2007 – 2009), Sky Movies and ITV.  She also presented Brainbox, which was broadcast across Africa (2008 – 2010).

With the desire to make more use of her background in business and finance, Nana hosted the pilot for a money show for BBC Three.  She also worked on a Panorama programme which exposed a mortgage scam.  This was followed by a year with BBC network continuity (December 2008 – 2009).  Nana was a guest presenter on QVC (2009 – 2011), a consultant and master trainer for Bounce Fit (2011) and head of development and sponsorship at FAB TV (2010 – 2013).

After taking time off to have a baby, she decided to return to television, combining her business background with a passion for health and fitness. She became a fully qualified instructor and launched LadyXsize (in March 2013) – a fitness guru and brand.  She subsequently produced her own show – Fit Gear – for Fitness TV.  As well as the presenting role there, she is also Fitness TV’s head of development and sponsorship.

Nana continues to host TV/radio shows and advises on business and finance matters.  Since 2014, she has presented The Health Show on BBC Three Counties (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8pm – 10pm).  In July 2017, she clinched the job as co-presenter on the Saturday breakfast show.  Since 2014, she has also worked freelance for BBC Norwich, presenting the breakfast news and the late news on Look East. In May 2018, Nana joined BBC TV News as a news reporter based in Cambridge.
  

Correspondence

Paul R. Jackson corresponded with Nana in September 2017 and asked how she got the job at BBC Presentation: “I clinched the job as a continuity announcer after responding to a job application.  My most memorable moment happened when I announced the new series of Top Gear and only said ‘on BBC One’ – oops!!  It’s BBC Two’s flagship show and I got a mention in the Radio Times.  My most memorable moment, in a good way, was being the announcer for Barak Obama’s inauguration speech.  I was the first person to announce his presidency and was actually covering someone’s shift on BBC One at the time.  A happy coincidence and a very proud moment.”

Personal information

Clips of Nana on The TV Room

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Rewind | Clean Feed

Online presence

Acknowledgements