Biography

Jeni Barnett is an English actor, TV and radio presenter who grew up in Borehamwood. She met her husband actor Jim Bywater in 1976 when the pair were part of Gavin Richards' leftwing political theatre company Belt and Braces. As The Belt and Braces Roadshow Band, the troupe released some albums and singles with Barnett performing vocals and keyboards. In 1984 she performed the theme tune to Paula Milne's series Driving Ambition under the name Laka Daisical, from a score by Bywater and Richards, the latter of whom starred in the drama. She has appeared on several TV shows, including Revolting Women (BBC2, 1981) and Doctors, and has also been a panelist on ITV's Loose Women and Five's The Wright Stuff, and was a long-time presenter of the children's TV series You and Me. She was a weekend presenter on TV-AM in the 1980s and has hosted programmes for the UKTV Food Network. On the radio, Barnett has hosted her own shows for LBC, BBC Radio London, Surrey and Sussex.