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Gretel Killeen
Gretel Killeen hosting Big Brother in 2005
Born	3 February 1961 (1961-02-03) (age 46) Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Known for	Big Brother Australia
Occupation	Television presenter of Big Brother 2001-2007, author, comedian, voice actor
Spouse	Divorced
Children	Two

Gretel Killeen (born 3 February 1961)^[1], is an Australian television presenter, comedian, newspaper columnist, author and voice actor, who is best known for being the primary host of the Australian version of Big Brother. She has hosted the show from its inception in 2001 for all eight seasons until the 2007 season. In October 2007 it was announced she would not return to host the planned 2008 season. ^[2][3]

Killeen was born in Turramurra, a suburb of Sydney.^[1] She tried her hand at performing stand up comedy, something she continued for a few years, and has worked as a voice-over artist. Killeen later moved into comedy writing, scripting and acting in the A Town Like Dallas recurring comedy skit satirizing soap operas on Midday with Ray Martin from 1989 to 1991. Her work quickly expanded to cover print and television, and also appeared as a regular panellist on Beauty and the Beast, an Australian television panel advice and discussion show.

Killeen is a national ambassador for UNICEF in Australia, receiving her appointment as such in 2001.^[4]

In 2005, a portrait of Killeen painted by Paul Jackson was a finalist in the Archibald Prize. The prize is awarded for the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics".^[5]

In 2000, Killeen was asked to host the Australian edition of Big Brother, beginning in 2001. Since then she has hosted each series.

In 2007 she was accused of being aggressive towards some housemates, in particular Jamie during his eviction interview after he suggested the video package shown of him crying and sitting alone was biased towards the negative.^[6][7] Later she was criticised for being particularly aggressive towards Rebecca, Thomas and Jamie. Thomas, and an earlier evictee Nick, both described her attitude towards them as "passive aggressive" in post-show interviews. Killeen was also criticised for hypocrisy having aggressively questioned why Jamie did not intervene when Michelle argued with Aleisha, and yet she was receptive towards Michelle herself on her eviction, and even rationalised Michelle's behaviour during the argument.^[8]

On 28 October 2007, The Sunday Telegraph reported that, as a part of a revamp of the show, Killeen had decided to leave her hosting role, being replaced as host by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O^[9] from 2Day FM.

“	Working on Big Brother has been an extraordinary, challenging and rewarding experience. I'm really proud of what we've achieved but I now have the seven-year itch and am busting to get on with a million new things, including my first feature film, which we're shooting in the new year.	”
—Gretel Killeen[9]

Killeen, along with Daniel MacPherson, hosted the 2006 New Years Eve Countdown Live on the Ten Network. Killeen hosted the Australia Day-eve celebrations on 25 January 2006. She was also the host of Ten's coverage of the Australia Day ceremony in 2007.

As an author of a number of books, most for children, Killeen has penned:

How To Live With a Sausage in a Bonnet (1991), ISBN 0-09-182583-0 Baby on Board: A Beginner's Guide to Pregnancy (1991), ISBN 1-86330-106-2 Every Girl's Geek Guide (1992), ISBN 0-09-182697-7 Visible Panty Line (1998), ISBN 0-14-028891-0	Cherry Pie (1999), ISBN 0-09-183749-9 What'll We Get for Grandma? (1999), ISBN 0-09-183869-X You're Joking! (2001), ISBN 1-74051-772-5
My Life Is a Toilet (1994), ISBN 0-09-182850-3 The 'My Life Is a Toilet' Instruction Book: How To Make the Most of Your Pathetic Existence (1995), ISBN 0-09-183270-5 Gretelliski's Life Is Big Fat Ugly Stupid Wedgie (2000), ISBN 0-09-183955-6	My Life Is a Boob Tube (2002), ISBN 1-74051-758-X My Life Is a Girdle (2003), ISBN 1-74051-899-3 My Life Is a Wedgie
My Sister's a Yoyo (1997), ISBN 0-09-183479-1 My Sister's an Alien (1998), ISBN 0-09-183902-5 My Sister's a Sea Slug (1999), ISBN 0-09-183954-8	My Sister's a Burp (1999), ISBN 0-09-183962-9 My Sister's a Full Stop (2000), ISBN 0-09-183968-8 My Sister's a Nightmare (2000), ISBN 0-09-184079-1
Hot Buns & Ophelia Get a Bloke (2000), ISBN 0-14-029965-3 Hot Buns & Ophelia Get Shipwrecked (2001), ISBN 0-14-029966-1
The Very Naughty Mother Goes Green (2002), ISBN 1-74051-763-6 The Very Naughty Mother Runs Away (2003), ISBN 1-74051-764-4	The Very Naughty Mother Goes Invisible (2003), ISBN 1-74051-906-X The Very Naughty Mother Is a Spy (2004), ISBN 1-74051-907-8

Killeen has a cameo in the Australian film Gettin' Square as Rhonda Halliwell.^[1] On 28 October 2007, Killeen mentioned a first-time role in feature film to be shot in 2008.^[9]

Killeen has performed a number of voiceover works; in an interview on the Comedy Channel, Killeen admitted that she is the voice behind the Telstra "wrong number" message: "Your call could not be connected, please check the number and try again".^{[citation needed]}

• Gretel Killeen at the Internet Movie Database
• Gretel Killeen at Penguin Books
• Gretel-Killeen.com

v • d • e Big Brother in Australia
Big Brother	2001 · 2002 · Celebrity · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007
Current companion shows	Live Eviction  · Live Nominations  · Friday Night Live  · Up-Late
Presenters	Current: Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O (2008-)  · Mike Goldman · Bree Amer  · Ryan Fitzgerald Former: Gretel Killeen (2001-2007)  · Tim Ferguson (2003)
Winners	Ben Williams · Peter Corbett · Dylan Lewis (Celebrity) · Regina Bird · Trevor Butler · Greg Mathew · Jamie Brooksby · Aleisha Cowcher
Spin-offs	Friday Night Games  · The Up-Late Game Show
Related Articles	Big Brother · Network Ten · Endemol Southern Star · John de Mol