Editing Elisa Portelli

{{Infobox Host
|name={{PAGENAME}}
|image = [[File:Elisa Portelli.jpg|300px]]Portelli in 2000.
|fullname=Elisa Portelli|origin=uk|sex=Female|occ=Presenter|media=Motor Week (UK)|debut=Motor Week (UK)/Series 5/Episode 9|debshort=Motor Week: Series 5, Episode 9|year=1999|final=Motor Week (UK)/Series 7/Episode 10|finshort=Motor Week: Series 7, Episode 10|year2=2000}}

'''Elisa Portelli''' was a British television presenter, who after rising to prominence after featuring in the 1996 music video<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334331/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_1_act IMDb - The Woolpackers: ''Emmerdance''.]</ref> for ''The Woolpackers''<nowiki>'</nowiki> hit single ''Emmerdance'', which sold upwards of 1.2 million<ref>[https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/9541-1993-5 BPI - ''Emmerdance''.]</ref> units, was eventually hired by Granada's digital television network [[Men & Motors]] in order to present a few motoring programmes.

==Life and career==
Originating from Kent<ref>[https://www.castingnow.co.uk/elisa-portelli CastingNow - Elisa Portelli.]</ref> and likely of Italian heritage owing to her surname, Elisa Portelli rose to notoriety upon her appearance in the ''Emmerdance'' music video, which followed<ref>[https://forum.shoppingtelly.com/threads/elisa-portelli-is-back-at-tjc.15239/ ShoppingTelly - Elisa Portelli is back at TJC.]</ref> a brief stint in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', where she portrayed a line-dancing instructor. From there, she became a newsreader in 1998 and later still a teleshopping host for ''bid tv'', where she formed a strong on-screen rapport with co-host John Hammond, and eventually attracted the attention of Granada, who decided to bring her on-board as a minor host for their car-themed television programme ''[[Motor Week (UK)|Motor Week]]''.

===With Men & Motors===
Starting from October 1999, Portelli began appearing on ''Motor Week'', reviewing the [[MG F]] sports car. During 1999 and 2000, she would produce 6 films for the programme, 5 of which were reshown in later episodes in order to increase her screentime, resulting in 11 total appearances. These included reviews of the second generation [[SEAT Toledo (second generation)|SEAT Toledo]], alongside a visit to the [[Škoda]] museum in [[Czechia]], where she filmed an overview of the company from its humble beginnings as the Laurin & Klement bicycle manufacturer. Her final film, centred around the [[Fiat Punto (first generation)#Facelift|Fiat Punto Sporting]], aired in late 2000. Like many other hosts whose work was initially filmed for ''Motor Week'', films starring Portelli were later reshown as archive footage in other Men & Motors automotive programming series, such as ''Car File''.

In addition to her role on ''Motor Week'', Portelli also hosted the shortlived game show ''Grand Quiz Auto'' for a total of 19 episodes, which along with co-host Wayne Kershaw, was an early attempt at bringing the worlds of automobiles and video games together. This often included contestants playing titles such as ''Gran Turismo 2'' in addition to a round called ''The Bends'', where a contestant would be challenged to complete a stage on ''Mobil 1 Rally Championship'' whilst blindfolded and being guided around the track, or with an inverted steering wheel.

Elisa Portelli was not the only ''Emmerdale'' actress who did presenting work for Men & Motors; [[Glenda McKay]], who portrayed the character of Rachel Hughes from 1988 until 1999 would also become a host of ''Motor Week'' starting from July 2000, and was essentially Portelli's long-term replacement.

==References==
<references/>