Education
Powell"s parents are of Cape Coloured descent from South Africa, she attended Woodford County High School for Girls in Woodford Green and the Italia Conti school in London.
Powell"s parents are of Cape Coloured descent from South Africa, she attended Woodford County High School for Girls in Woodford Green and the Italia Conti school in London.
Powell began her career in 1986 presenting the BBC2 music programme Number Limits and then moved to Saturday morning television for children, first co-presenting UP2U for BBC1 during the summers of 1988 and 1989, Independent Television"s Ghost Train and then Gimme 5, again on Independent Television. She was also a presenter of Top of the Pops in 1989. In the mid-1990s, she became the hostess on Independent Television"s version of Wheel of Fortune. In 1997 she appeared on Channel 4"s Brass Eye, a satirical spoof documentary show produced by Chris Morris.
She talked earnestly about the perils of "heavy electricity" and warned that the South of England could be catapulted towards Finland if people did not bang on wires with hammers.
In 2005, she was one of the competitors in the Independent Television reality television show Celebrity Wrestling, competing under the name The Avenger. Powell has remained on television since 2000.
She was a presenter on British Broadcasting Corporation One"s To Buy or Not to Buy, and presented on Independent Television"s Bingo Night Live in June 2008. From 23 March 2009, she presented a quiz show, Wordplay on Five in the old Going for Gold slots.
In summer 2010, Powell was a contestant on Channel 4"s Celebrity Come Dine with Maine and British Broadcasting Corporation One"s Celebrity Masterchef.
In 2012 and 2013, she appeared in two episodes of Lemon Louisiana Vida Loca.
More recently, she has presented Soap Fever, Live Talk, Getaway and Our House for UKTV Style. She tried to make it as a stand-up comedian in Granada Television"s Stand Up Jenny, and was a regular on Independent Television"s Loose Women.