Victorian times

Victoria Newton, the new editor-in-chief of The Sun, was born in Anfield in 1972, but went to Rushcliffe School in Nottingham (daddy Don was deputy head; he now lectures in maths at teacher training college in Birmingham) and then Newnham College Cambridge. She was a member of the Lightweights (3rd) Crew in the University Women's Boat Club in 1994, and worked on the university newspaper.

She started in hackery as a graduate trainee with the Express, before moving on to the Sunday People’s showbiz desk. She first joined The Sun in 1998, when she was joint editor of Bizarre with future Sun editor Dominic Mohan for a year before becoming Los Angeles correspondent for two years.

In 2002, she joined the Daily Mail as showbiz editor, but was back with The Sun a year later, editing Bizarre til 2007. Those years were critically chronicled by a blog entitled Vicky Watch, which claimed many 'exclusives' were re-branded showbiz puffs. Victoria survived and went on to join the News of the World in October 2009 as deputy editor; when it closed, she moved to become Saturday editor of The Sun, and then editor of The Sun on Sunday.

Spookily, she doesn't answer questions about phone-hacking.

How will she stand on the BBC licence fee ?  She claims never to have missed an edition of Top of The Pops, and grew up with Neighbours and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

Is she a good judge of character ? In 2005 she described her proudest moment in journalism as becoming editor of The Sun's showbiz column, Bizarre. "You only have to look at some of the brilliantly talented journalists who have edited Bizarre - Piers Morgan, Andy Coulson and Dominic Mohan in particular."

Vicky's main innovation at Bizarre was introducing her own annual awards, decided by her: "“The biggest shagger of the year during my time on Bizarre was Blue’s Lee Ryan. He won it two years consecutively and was extremely proud of his achievement. I once gave Charlotte Church the Caner of the Year award for all her legendary drinking behaviour. She always used to say in interviews it was the only award she had ever won and that she got bollocked by her granny for winning it.”

Victoria, below, hanging out with Claudia Winkleman's husband, Chris Thykier...


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