Derek Ross King, MBE is a Scottish television presenter, actor and writer, best known for being the LA Correspondent for ITV Breakfast programmes Lorraine and Good Morning Britain. Ross was honoured in the 2018 New Year Honours by being appointed an MBE for services in Broadcasting, the Arts and Charity.
Life
King made his first stage appearance in 1966 at the age of four. He went on to appear on Radio Clyde aged 17 presenting such programmes as the Saturday morning flagship Top 30 countdown show named "King's Clyde Countdown" and “The Lunchtime Show.” He made his television debut two years later. He was chosen to present Young Krypton, a youth version of The Krypton Factor, from over 3600 applicants. He went on to present numerous other television shows, including and Pebble Mill. From 1993 to 2010, King was the LA correspondent on GMTV. From September 2010 onwards, he is the LA correspondent for GMTV's replacement shows Daybreak and Lorraine. When Daybreak was replaced by Good Morning Britain in 2014, King continued his role as LA correspondent. After moving to Los Angeles in 2000, he secured roles in a film with Steven Seagal and in the 2004 release The Day After Tomorrow before entering a reality TV competition run by local television stationKTLA to find a new weather presenter. There were 5000 entrants to the competition, but King won and was offered a five-year contract. However, King did not want to commit to being a weather presenter for that length of time and struck a deal to present the weather for a year before becoming KTLA's entertainment anchor. King has been on national American television hosting The Hollywood Christmas Parade and The Critics' Choice Movie Awards Red Carpet for VH1. For five years, Scottish born King was the entertainment anchor on KTLA/The CW Channel 5's Prime News, winning four Emmys and a Golden Mic award along the way. He is also regularly seen on Australia's Channel 9. King's film credits include The Day After Tomorrow, Half Past Dead, Cruel Game, Do It For Uncle Manny and Trust Me in which he played US talk show host Ray Lungo. He played himself in the movies Young Hercules and Who's Your Caddy. He voiced the role of Jinkins in Star Wars Jedi Fighter 2 for LucasArts. He also hosted for British TV, ITV's This Morning and Living TV specials on Will and Grace, CSI, According to Jim and Charmed. Before leaving London he played one of the leading roles in Dick Whittington which was London's musical for the new millennium at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London's West End. This production was directed by Gillian Lynne and was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. King played Frank n Furter in The Rocky Horror Show and starred in and hosted Night of the Stars at London's world-famous Palladium Theatre. He also created the role of Wallace in the musical Summer Holiday from the world premiere in Blackpool through the national tour to London's Apollo Theatre. Other theatre includes lead roles in Charley's Aunt, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Butterfly Children and Guys and Dolls. His national TV career started after being chosen from over 3600 hopefuls to host ITV's Young Krypton and since then he has hosted nearly thirty television series for BBC, ITV and Sky. From game shows to children's TV from documentaries to human interest programmes, King's shows have included Holiday, The Ross King Show, Hot Chefs, The 8.15 from Manchester, King of the Road, Run the Gauntlet and Quiz Night, and for five years he hosted the BBC's live daily chat show Pebble Mill. His years on Pebble Mill involved him filming in Europe, America, the Caribbean and South Africa, hosting TV specials from the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival. On radio, King became Britain's youngest daytime host on Scotland's Radio Clyde winning many awards in the process, the highlight being a prestigious Sony Award. He has hosted thousands of radio shows, including London's Capital Radio, and the Euro Chart for the UK. On BBC's National Radio 5 he hosted a variety of shows including Fantasy Football and received another Sony Award for coverage of the Olympic Games. On the UK's national Talk Radio he hosted OK to Talk and Ross King's Sports Stars. He also achieved a lifelong ambition co hosting the American Weekly Top 40 countdown alongside the Legendary DJ Rick Dees. His radio show The King in LA is syndicated across the UK. King is the voice of American Express in the UK. He was awarded an MBE in the 2018 New Year Honours List.
