Ellie Costello: The BBC Reporter Who Became the Face of GB News Breakfast
She was covering the Queen’s funeral — live, on air, one of the biggest broadcast days in modern British history — when she spotted him. Leo Jones was standing ten feet away, staring. Sixteen months of stalking had led him to Westminster, and Ellie Costello had a panic attack on the spot. She stayed. Filed her report. Went home. Said nothing publicly until the court had ruled and a five-year restraining order was in place. That one episode tells you more about who Ellie Costello is than any CV line: she does the job first, then talks about it when talking matters. This is the full biography.
| Quick Facts: Ellie Costello | |
| Full Name | Elisabeth Costello |
| Date of Birth | 21 November 1993 |
| Age (2026) | 32 |
| Birthplace | Essex, England |
| Education | University of Southampton (English Literature); City, University of London (MA Broadcast Journalism) |
| Husband | Gerard Durkan — married April 2025, Chelsea Old Town Hall + château, France |
| Honeymoon | Kenya safari · Dubai · Maldives (January–February 2026) |
| Current Role | GB News Breakfast co-presenter — Eamonn Holmes and Stephen Dixon |
| TRIC Awards | 3× winner (GB News Breakfast) |
| Stalking Case | Leo Jones — 16-month campaign; five-year restraining order |
| Dog | Monty — miniature dachshund, @theminimonty |
| Wikipedia | No dedicated page as of September 2026 |
| Net Worth | No verified figure has been disclosed |
From Southampton to the Breakfast Sofa
Ellie Costello grew up in Essex. She left Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School in 2012 as Head Girl and went to the University of Southampton to read English Literature — not journalism, which turns out to matter. The storytelling instinct came first; the technical craft came after. She ran Surge Radio, the student station, for close to three years, rising to Assistant Station Manager. Before she had her degree in hand she was already filing for Bauer Media and doing placements at the BBC World Service. She was not waiting for an invitation.
A master’s in Broadcast Journalism at City, University of London followed. By 2019 she was at the BBC properly — World Service first, then the Victoria Derbyshire Programme, where her investigations into influencers being solicited for sex online and bullying in the British beauty industry became two of the most-watched pieces in the programme’s history. The BBC nominated her as a Rising Star in 2020. In May 2021 — a month before GB News broadcast its first minute — she was already on staff as South-East England reporter.
Career flow: every stage and what nearly derailed it
Career flow (top) and network map (bottom). Red node = Leo Jones stalking case, Sept 2022. Sources: GB News; Becca Barr Management; Press records, September 2026.
The BBC Years and the Jump to GB News
The move from BBC to GB News raised eyebrows in some quarters. It always does. What most commentary misses is that the decision was structural rather than ideological. BBC regional and correspondent roles build craft and offer near-zero national visibility. GB News puts correspondents on national television from day one. She started as a reporter and was a named Breakfast presenter inside two years.
Her BBC years were not filler. The Victoria Derbyshire Programme was one of the corporation’s sharpest current affairs operations before it was axed — and it was axed in 2020, by which point she had already been nominated as a Rising Star and was ready to move. She also narrated sections of the Disney+ documentary Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story — legal correspondents do not usually end up on streaming documentaries. By June 2023 she was formally presenting Breakfast. The show had by then won three TRIC Awards, which measure audience engagement rather than critical approval.
Breakfast with Eamonn and Ellie
GB News Breakfast works because neither presenter performs deference. Eamonn Holmes anchors from decades of experience; she drives the interview. In September 2026 she grilled Labour’s Justice Minister Jake Richards live on air: “How many paedophiles, rapists and grooming gang members are going to be let out of prison early?” Richards said he was unaware of the official figures. The clip went viral on TikTok. That exchange is a reliable sample of her on-air mode — direct, prepared, unwilling to allow a politician to reframe a question she has already asked correctly.
Earlier in 2026 she reported from Rome on the death and conclave of Pope Francis — one of the year’s biggest international stories. She covered the Europa League Final, took a pointed swipe at Manchester United fans on air and noted that her husband supports Spurs. She has interviewed most of the front bench of government. She is 32 years old and shows no signs of slowing down.
| Worth knowing. In July 2026, she shared never-before-seen wedding footage on Instagram to mark one year married to Gerard Durkan. Their honeymoon — a safari in Kenya, a stopover in Dubai and a beach break in the Maldives — had been delayed six months after the April 2025 wedding because of work commitments. She announced the trip live on Breakfast alongside Eamonn Holmes in January 2026. Holmes said he was glad to be rid of her for a few weeks. |
The Stalking Ordeal and Why People Remember It
Leo Jones first made contact in August 2021. He was a former Airline reality show contestant who had appeared in two Zoom interviews she had conducted about travel restrictions. After the second, the messages started. Over sixteen months he sent communications she did not answer, created new accounts when she blocked him, sent flowers, and appeared at filming locations. In September 2022, while she was covering the Queen’s funeral outside Westminster, he was standing ten feet away. She described his expression as the most sinister thing she had ever seen. She had a panic attack. She stayed on air and filed.
Jones was convicted and handed a five-year restraining order. She chose to speak about it publicly afterwards — not as personal disclosure but as a description of how stalking operates on the person it targets. The anxiety, the constant awareness of who is standing behind you, the way months of harassment rewrite how you move through the world. The decision to speak was hers, the timing was hers, and the framing was hers. It is now the thing most people encounter first when they search her name — and it stays there because she chose it.
She Is Not the Makeup Artist — And That Is Half the Search
Search “Ellie Costello” and two entirely separate people appear. The GB News presenter is one. The other is a makeup artist who operates under the same name in beauty and wedding contexts. They share a name and nothing else. Ellie Costello the journalist’s full name is Elisabeth Costello. She was born in November 1993 in Essex. She studied at Southampton and City, University of London. She is married to Gerard Durkan and presents GB News Breakfast. She has no dedicated Wikipedia page as of September 2026 — which is why searches for her name, age, husband and net worth surface third-party biographical sources rather than an official Wikipedia entry.
Personal Life
She became engaged to Gerard Durkan in November 2023, announcing it from a holiday in Phuket, Thailand. They married on 12 April 2025 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London, followed by a three-day celebration at a sixteenth-century château in France. The honeymoon came six months later — Kenya, Dubai, Maldives, January and February 2026. Her parents were both teachers. She trained in Taekwondo during university. She has two siblings. Her dog Monty, a miniature dachshund with his own Instagram account (@theminimonty), visited the GB News newsroom in August 2026.
What People Search For
| Question | Answer |
| Ellie Costello age 2026 | 32 — born 21 November 1993 |
| Ellie Costello husband | Gerard Durkan — married April 2025, Chelsea Old Town Hall |
| Is Ellie Costello married? | Yes, since April 2025 |
| Ellie Costello honeymoon | Kenya, Dubai and Maldives — January to February 2026 |
| Ellie Costello Wikipedia | No dedicated page as of September 2026 |
| Elisabeth Costello real name | Elisabeth Costello — Ellie is her professional name |
| Ellie Costello and Eamonn Holmes | Co-presenters on GB News Breakfast, weekday mornings |
| Ellie Costello stalking | Leo Jones — 16-month campaign; five-year restraining order; disclosed publicly after conviction |
| Ellie Costello dog | Monty — miniature dachshund, @theminimonty on Instagram |
| Ellie Costello salary GB News | Not publicly disclosed — see Net Worth below |
Net Worth
No verified figure for Ellie Costello’s net worth has been publicly disclosed. Estimates online range from £1 million to £5 million — none are sourced to any salary filing, public document, or statement from Costello herself. GB News does not publish presenter salaries. What is confirmed: she has presented at a national broadcaster since 2021, has been a named Breakfast anchor since 2023, and earned additional income from narrating sections of the Disney+ Wagatha documentary and from public speaking through Champions Speakers Agency. Treat any specific figure published elsewhere as speculation.
“She had a panic attack at the Queen’s funeral and stayed on air. Said nothing about it for months. When she finally spoke, it wasn’t about what happened to her — it was about what stalking does to anyone it touches.”
James Whitfield, Political analyst and journalist. Last updated September 2026.