India Willoughby is an English journalist and media personality. Willoughby is Britain’s first transgender national television newsreader and the first transgender co-host of an all-women talk show, Loose Women.
Background
Willoughby was born September 2, 1965 in Carlisle, Cumbria and attended Trinity School in Shaw, Newbury.
Willoughby began working in journalism in 1986. Willoughby trained as a journalist (NCTJ) in newspapers before moving into radio and then television.
After presenting the news for ITV from 1999 to 2010, Willoughby then transitioned, going public in 2015 before returning to ITV in 2016.
In 2017, Willoughby was a guest on BBC’s Woman’s Hour. Host Jenni Murray asked several pointed questions, then wrote an op-ed telling trans women to stop calling themselves real women.
Willoughby then presented on Channel 5 from 2017 to 2018 before returning to ITV in 2018. Willoughby appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 2018.
Willoughby has made a number of controversial statements and often gets into arguments on social media. At one point the death threats against Willoughby got so bad that the UK’s counter-terrorism unit got involved.
References
Akinwumi, Stella (21 February 2023). Loose Women star India Willoughby receives vile ‘hand delivered’ death threat: ‘It’s like a letter from a horror film’. Metro https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/21/loose-women-india-willoughby-receives-hand-delivered-death-threat-18323258/
Rufo, Yasmin; Sandford, Daniel (21 February 2023). Neo-Nazi threats probed by anti-terrorism police. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64720973
Bedigan, Mike (February 3, 2023). India Willoughby: Toxic transgender debate is driven by media misinformation. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/india-scotland-bbc-stirling-catholics-b2274994.html
Gayle, LaToya (January 23, 2023). ‘I’m more of a woman than JK Rowling’: India Willoughby goes viral amid dispute with Harry Potter author. Glasgow World https://www.glasgowworld.com/news/people/jk-rowling-india-willoughby-rally-3997628
Duke, Simon (7 August 2018). Who is India Willoughby? A guide to the Celebrity Big Brother contestant. ChronicleLive http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/who-india-willoughby-guide-celebrity-14105564
Beresford, Meka (9 January 2018). Viewers slam India Willoughby after she compares drag to blackface. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/01/09/viewers-slam-india-willoughby-after-she-compares-drag-to-blackface/
Butterworth, Benjamin (3 January 2018). India Willoughby’s emotional transgender coming out story. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/01/03/who-is-india-willoughby-transgender-loose-women-celebrity-big-brother-2018/
Dyke, Peter; Gleave, Ed (19 September 2017). Channel 5’s India Willoughby becomes victim of online abuse for being transgender. Daily Star https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/india-willoughby-channel-5-transgender-17024706
Murray, Jenni (March 5, 2017). Be trans, be proud — but don’t call yourself a “real woman.” The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/be-trans-be-proud-but-dont-call-yourself-a-real-woman-frtld7q5c
Staff report (March 5, 2017). Jenni Murray trans women article criticised. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39173398
Dene, Sarah (16 November 2016). Loose Women’s India Willougby is first transwoman to host all-female talk show. Metro https://metro.co.uk/2016/11/16/transgender-journalist-india-willougby-to-make-landmark-appearance-on-loose-women-as-co-host-6261562/
Wakefield, Lily (23 June 2021). India Willoughby accuses GB News of ‘opening the gates of hell’ for trans people. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/06/23/india-willoughby-quits-gb-news-trans-transphobia-dan-wootton/
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)