Mark Charles Edward Wright is an English television personality, entertainment reporter, and former footballer. He is best known for appearing as a cast member on the first three series of The Only Way Is Essex. Wright gained further popularity after appearing on the eleventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where he finished as runner-up, and the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he finished in fourth place. Wright is currently a presenter on the American entertainment news programme EXTRA by Warner Bros and in March 2019, he began presenting The Bachelor UK. He is also a current presenter on Heart‘s Feel Good Weekend on the Saturday Afternoon slot in the UK.
Career
Football
Before his appearances on The Only Way Is Essex, Wright was a semi-professional footballer, with a youth career at West Ham United, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur. He started his senior career with Southend United, but moved into nightclub promoting and playing only semi-professionally. In January 2012, it was reported that he rekindled his semi-professional footballing career, by signing for St Neots Town, but this was denied by Wright on his Twitter account.
Television
In October 2010, Wright was one of the original cast members in the ITV reality programme The Only Way is Essex. He announced his departure from the show on 23 October 2011, near the end of the third series. He later returned for a cameo appearance in the sixth series and also, for the 2012 Christmas special. He briefly returned again in 2014 and again in 2016. In November 2011, Wright took part in the eleventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He was the runner-up, losing to McFly bassist Dougie Poynter. From January 2012 until 2017, Wright and Laura Jackson co-presented the Take Me Out spin-off programme for ITV2. Zoe Hardman previously hosted with Wright. The series did not air in 2018. He also appeared as a fitness expert on the ITV Breakfast programme Daybreak for two weeks, to front its mini seriesDownsize in Dubai. From 20 June to 7 July 2012, Wright presented and starred in a new ITV2 show, titled Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights. It was later dropped after one series. He was due to co-present with Melanie Sykes on a new entertainment series named My Man Can. After filming one series, ITV made the decision not to air the show. Since 2013, Wright was a reporter on the ITV series Surprise Surprise. In 2014, Wright fronted his own ITV2 reality show entitled Party Wright Around The World. In 2014, Wright was one of the celebrities competing in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was paired up with professional dancer Karen Hauer. The couple made into the final in which they came fourth. Wright also presented The Dengineers with Lauren Layfield on CBBC from 2015 until 2017. He left at the end of the second series and was replaced by Joe Tracini. In December 2016, Wright made an appearance on an episode of E!'s The Royals. Wright presents series 6 of Channel 5's The Bachelor, based on the US television show of the same name. On 5 July 2019, Wright guest presented This Morning with Rochelle Humes. In 2019, Wright guest starred on BBC Programme Who Do You Think You Are
Radio
Since 24 December 2012, Wright has presented the "Club Classics" show every Friday and Saturday evening on Heart Radio, between 7pm and 9pm. He left in December 2017 to move to America. In 2019, Wright returned to Heart for a few shows covering Sunday evenings for Emma Bunton. Then, from July 6, he started a brand new show, Saturdays 4pm to 7pm. At the start of 2020, Wright moved to weekend afternoons from 12pm to 4pm. On Monday 23rd March, it was announced that Wright would take over evenings on heart, Monday to Thursday 7pm to 10pm in addition to presenting his Sunday afternoon show.
Other work
In June 2013, Wright was signed by online retail giant, Littlewoods, as its new face of menswear, which sees him style and model a capsule collection each season for Littlewoods' own-brand menswear line, Goodsouls. In September 2018 he was signed by Matalan as the face of their menswear range. In June 2016, he took part in Soccer Aid for the first time. He played for 'England'. He scored a goal from a direct free kick in the 3-2 victory, and was named Man of the Match. Wright also played in the 2018 and 2019 editions of Soccer Aid.
Personal life
On 22 February 2009, Wright was best man at the wedding of the reality star Jade Goody and Jack Tweed. He was featured briefly in the SkyLiving TV series. Wright was in a relationship with fellow TOWIE cast member Lauren Goodger from 2001 until 2012. They got engaged in March 2011 but Goodger called off their engagement in August 2011, after claims that he had cheated on her with fellow castmate Lucy Mecklenburgh. Since December 2012, Wright has been in a relationship with former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan. They married on 24 May 2015. According to Who Do You Think You Are?, Mark's great-great-grandfather was of Jewish heritage, and his nine-times great grandfather, David Antonio de Mendoza, was a converso of Sephardic Jewish descent who was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition in 1696 accused of secretly practising his ancestors' religion. David, who was 36 at the time, was tortured for two years in Seville using methods including the toca. Once out of prison, David moved his family to Amsterdam where it was safe to practice their faith. His nephew Miguel however, returned to Spain and was burnt at the stake.
