Sonali Shah is a familiar face on TV screens as a regular presenter on BBC One’s Escape to the Country. Her jam-packed schedule sees her take buyers around the UK, as well as presenting Sunday Breakfast on Magic Radio, regular appearances on ITV’s Lorraine and her own segment on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
The 44-year-old TV star grew up in London with her parents who emigrated from India, along with her brother Amal. She attended Longfield First and Middle School, followed by Whitmore High School in Harrow. She then studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University.
Her impressive career spans over several areas, from radio to TV and even sports journalism. Her journey into showbiz began long before she landed her role on Escape to the Country. She actually started out aiming for a career in medicine and began presenting on local hospital radio.
In 2002, she joined BBC World Service before moving onto BBC Radio 5 Live. She presented hit children’s news programme Newsround from 2006 until 2011, which was at one point the most watched programme for children in the UK.
Sonali also presented Sportsround and was one of the lead presenters for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. She has also presented coverage for the University Boat Race and Wimbledon.
She joined Escape to the Country in 2014, alongside other hosts such as Jules Hudson, Nicki Chapman, Alistair Appleton and Briony May Williams. Sonali offers property searchers a variety of houses all over the UK as she tries to find them their dream home in the countryside.
Away from the screen, Sonali has dipped her toe into a number of other ventures including literature. Her book, The Best Diwali Ever, was released in 2021 and she took to social media to express her excitement.
Speaking at the time, she wrote: “Popped into @waterstonestrafsq over the weekend to see if #TheBestDiwaliEver is actually IRL bookshops…I had to see it to actually believe it…was a proper pinch me moment..”
Sonali lives in London with her husband Adarsh and their two children, daughter Ariana and son Rafi. She keeps her private life relatively under wraps but often provides sneak peeks to her 18.4k followers on Instagram.
She celebrated International Daughters Day in 2020 and reminisced on her experience of motherhood. She wrote: “I took this photo almost 7 years ago…
“Ariana used to sleep on my shoulder… now she rests her head on my shoulder when she stands so tall next to little ol’ me. My mum is right, there’s nothing quite like having a daughter.”
Sonali opened up to The Express about how her style has changed since giving birth. She said: “It’s definitely changed since leaving children’s television and having a baby. It’s more classic now, and more practical as I’m always crawling around after a toddler.”
Speaking about how she prefers high street clothes to designer items, she explained: “When I worked on Newsround, children would ask where my clothes were from, so they had to be accessible to them.
“I think our high street is so good that I actually don’t feel the need to buy designer. I’ve got a second wardrobe full of saris, though – some new, some handmade and some handed down to me.”