About
Now a household name as a presenter on TV3’s fashion bible Xpose, Glenda Gilson’s rise to fame in Ireland was anything but an overnight success. As a child of three years old Glenda got her first taste of modelling in 1984. She developed an immediate rapport with the camera right the way through her teens was booked for major advertising campaigns by everyone from Bank of Ireland and McDonald’s to Kerrygold and Ballygowan. Then in 1986 she was picked from hundreds of hopefuls to dance live on stage with Michael Jackson to Dirty Diana in Pairc Uí Caomh in Cork.
By the time she graduated school she was also making serious waves on the catwalk and had walked the runway with Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Yasmin LeBon and Tyra banks. By now Glenda had emerged as one of the most marketable faces on the Irish scene and internationally was beginning to make a name. In 2002 she represented Ireland in the Miss Hawaiian Tropic in Oahu and went on to win the title for Europe.
Her success secured widespread international exposure, as she appeared in the pages of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Company and Ireland’s own VIP. She got her first taste of presenting when she co-hosted the International Meteor awards in 2005, sharing the stage with Snoop dog and, in the process, catching the eye of many producers and casting agents. The following year she was approached and hired as the face of Bubble hits, Ireland1s first every dedicated music channel. There she hosted her very own news and entertainment show Glenda’s Gossip. After two years she was poached by growing commercial network TV3 to help boost the line-up on a developmental fashion and celebrity show called Xpose. After five months she was made staff and the show in now the flagshipbrand at the popular station.
It wasn’t long before the reality TV offers started flooding in and initially Glenda turned them down, aware that her brand was above certain shows. But the next year she became the first TV3 celebrity to appear on rival station RTE hit reality series Celebrity Bainisteoir, the highest rated show to appear that year on Ireland1s version of the BBC. She is currently the red carpet queen at home and abroad and is known for her sharp wit and even sharper elbows, grabbing coveted interviews with some of the world1s biggest stars. Among some of the celebrities she has interviewed are Michael Douglas,Cameron Diaz, Owen Wilson, Justin Timberlake, Lily Allen, Tony Bennett, Matthew McConaughey, Hilary Duff, Michael Buble, One Direction (on tour behind the scenes) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jim Parsons and Robbie Williams.
At home she is also known for the close personal relationship she has built up with X Factor judge Louis Walsh. Over the past decade she has held unprecedented backstage access at the ITV talent show which has proved a major ratings winner for the programme. In recent years Glenda has also developed her hosting skills and has been booked for some of the biggest live television events in Ireland. She hosted Childline with Boyzone’s Keith Duffy, the National TV awards and her own travel programme on TV3 called Something for the Weekend and appears regularly on Big Brothers Bit on the side.