Eight celebrities who went to school in Basingstoke & Deane

Johnny Wilkinson

The 41-year-old rugby legend was born in Frimley, Surrey, but went to school at the private Lord Wandsworth College, near Hook.

Whilst there he played at youth level for Farnham Rugby Club, before gaining a place at the University of Durham, giving up his place in 1997 to become a professional rugby union player with the Newcastle Falcons.

Liz Hurley

Anyone who comes from Basingstoke will know that the superstar actress grew up in the town. She was born here on June 10, 1965 and later attended Harriet Costello School, in Crossborough Hill, which is now called The Costello School.

During her teenage years growing up in Basingstoke, Liz became involved in punk fashion, dying her hair pink and piercing her nose.

Shelley Conn

Actress Shelley went from being head girl at Cranbourne School in Basingstoke, to headmistress in the raunchy role of Jessica in the BBC1 drama Mistresses, broadcast in 2008.

Shelley, now 44, studied at Queen Mary’s College, before going on to have a successful acting career in a host of television shows including Casualty and Steven Spielberg’s £150m series Terra Nova in 2011, in which she played a leading part.

You can read our interview with Shelley from 2010 here.

Monty Don

Gardeners’ World presenter Monty was born in 1955 in West Germany. But did you know that when he was one-years-old he moved with his family to the tiny village of Weston Patrick near Basingstoke where much of his extended family lived?

He attended the private Quidhampton School in Basingstoke. In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, Monty said: “It was run by a pair of spinsters who were very strict. I was in trouble all day long – once for putting stinging nettles around a girl’s knickers – and when I was seven, I was asked to leave.” He was moved to Malvern College before coming back to Basingstoke for his secondary education, attending The Vyne School.

In 2003 Monty replaced Alan Titchmarsh as the lead presenter of Gardeners’ World, only leaving the show between 2008 and 2011 because of illness. Since then, he has written and produced several garden series of his own, including Monty Don’s American Gardens broadcast in 2020.

Sarah Beeny

Television presenter Sarah was born in Reading in 1972. She studied drama at Queen Mary’s College in Basingstoke but failed to get into drama school.

She is now best known for presenting UK property shows including Property Ladder, Property Snakes and Ladders, and Help! My House is Falling Down.

James Bye

Eastenders actor James attended The Hurst Community College in Baughurst as a boy before going on to study at Queen Mary’s College in Basingstoke.

The 37-year-olds first acting appearance was in The Bill in 2006 and he later went on to appear in Cemetery Junction, The Great Train Robbery, and Hooligan Factory. However, it was the announcement in 2014 that James would be taking over the role of Martin Fowler in BBC One soap EastEnders which made him a household name in the world of television.

Katie Piper

Television star Katie was born in Andover and attended Basingstoke College of Technology where she studied beauty therapy.

In 2008, Katie’s life was shattered when she was the victim of a rape and acid attack that left her with severe burns and scars. In 2009, she took the brave decision to give up her anonymity and share her story on Channel 4, in a documentary for Cutting Edge called Katie: My Beautiful Face.

Since then, Katie has gone on to set up The Katie Piper Foundation, a registered charity supporting people living with burns and scars.

The 37-year-old has a successful television career which includes presenting Channel 4’s series Bodyshockers, appearing as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, and in 2020 becoming a feature presenter on BBC One’s Songs of Praise.

Sima Kotecha 

She is famous for presenting the news on television and the radio for the BBC.

But the renowned journalist began her passion for journalism here in her home town of Basingstoke through work experience on hospital radio. 

Sima Kotecha attended Queen Mary’s College between 1996 and 1998 where she studied business, theatre and English language. It was during this time, QMC reports Sima fell in love with the history of language.