Michelle Ayele Ackerley was born 21 July 1984 in Manchester, England. She grew up in the city and has Ghanaian heritage through her maternal grandfather, who was a chief of the Ga people in Ghana. She attended Alderley Edge School for Girls, where she served as deputy head girl.

After school she studied psychology at the University of Manchester, graduating with a bachelor’s degree. During her studies she developed an interest in broadcasting and gained early experience with community media and television workshops.

Ackerley began working at the BBC in 2005 as a programme maker, gaining production experience before moving into presenting roles. She first became widely known on children’s television, presenting the CBBC travel show All Over the Place from 2013.

She later moved into mainstream broadcasting, co-presenting BBC One programmes including Watchdog, Crimewatch Live, and appearing as a reporter and guest presenter on The One Show. She also presented World’s Strongest Man on Channel 5 and several BBC documentary and consumer shows.

Currently, she is one of the presenters of the daytime magazine programme Morning Live, which airs weekdays on BBC One.