John Craven is perhaps best known as the face of John Craven's Newsround, a role which established him as a household name in the seventies and eighties. These days, viewers can find him hosting Countryfile.
When not working, John can be found at home in Oxfordshire, where he has lived for a number of years. The star lives there with his wife, Marilyn, and the couple have been an item for five decades! The devoted TV star is also a proud father to his two daughters and a doting grandfather to their children.
Want to know more about his family? Keep reading…
John's wife
John and his wife Marilyn have been together for over 50 years. The couple reportedly met sometime before 1970 when John was working at the BBC in Newcastle upon Tyne, and Marilyn was a production secretary on Look North.
Asked about the secret to their long marriage while chatting to the Daily Mail's Femail, John said: "It helped that she worked in TV. She knew how it was."
© PA Images / Alamy Stock PhotoHe went on to say that the couple hadn't been together for very long when John was asked to relocate to Bristol. While the move could have potentially ended their relationship, John decided to ask Marilyn to join him. "I wasn't sure if she would say yes, but she did, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me," he said.
He went on to describe Marilyn as his "rock" and gushed: "Without being too soppy, she was always there for me, which is the main thing in my business because it can be precarious. You're very exposed, and it's always good to be able to get that reassurance."
© Radio Times via Getty ImagesHe also revealed that the couple work as a team when discussing career opportunities. "We've always worked as a team, and I've been so grateful to her for her ideas and opinions," he revealed. "We decided I wasn't going to do things I might later regret, like Strictly or the jungle."
John had been married once before; however, his ex-wife only got a one-line mention in his 2019 memoir, Headlines and Hedgerows.
Children
© Dave M. BenettThe presenter, who has been part of the Countryfile team for over 30 years, has two grown-up daughters named Emma and Victoria, who have since gone on to have children of their own. Between them, his daughters have five children, meaning that John has his hands full as a doting grandfather.
John is devoted to his children and the only time he ever missed an episode of Newsround was so that he could be present for their birth.
