Ed Balls is a broadcaster, writer and economist. He presents ITV’s flagship breakfast show, Good Morning Britain, every Monday to Wednesday with co-host Susanna Reid. He also presents an award-winning weekly podcast, Political Currency, with former Chancellor George Osborne. Ed is Professor of Political Economy at King’s College, London, a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and co-Chair of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.
Ed was part of the core ITN Election night team in 2017, 2019 and 2024 and appeared weekly on Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show. For the BBC, Ed has presented ‘Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls’ (BBC 2, November 2021), ‘Travels in Euroland with Ed Balls’ (BBC 2, January 2020), ‘What Britain Buys And Sells In A Day’ (BBC 2, October 2019) and ‘Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls’ (BBC 2, July 2018). He has appeared regularly on BBC’s The One Show, Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4.
Ed was the winner of the BBC’s Celebrity Best Home Cook in February 2021. He was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing 2016 and was nominated for a Bafta for TV moment of the year in 2016 and as part of the ITN General Election team in 2017 and 2019. In February 2019, Ed climbed Kilimanjaro with eight other well-known climbers for BBC 1, raising over £2m for Comic Relief.
A former Member of Parliament, Ed was UK Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2011-2015) and served in the UK Cabinet as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (2007-2010). He was the UK Minister for Financial Services (2006-2007) and the Chief Economic Adviser to the UK Treasury (1999-2004) during which time he was Chair of the IMFC Deputies and UK G20 Deputy.
Ed is married to Yvette Cooper MP. They have three children and live in London and Castleford. His interests include learning the piano, running, cooking, sailing, drumming and supporting Norwich City, where he is a Vice-President and former Club Chairman.
His second book, ‘Appetite: a Memoir in Recipes of Family and Food’ was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2021 and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. His previous book ‘Speaking Out: Lessons in Life and Politics’ was published by Penguin Random House in 2016 and was also ranked a Top Ten bestseller.