Meet the hosts: Sophia and Alex!

Alex is a well-known actor, dancer and TV presenter, while Sophia has a lot of experience in organizing ánd presenting live television shows. If you are interested in Alex and Sophia, you can read their biographies right here...

About Alex

Alex Michael was born in London and has an English mother and Cypriot father. His family moved to Cyprus when he was only 6 years old. At school Alex was a member of the Cyprus National Swimming Team and won numerous gold medals in national swimming championships.

After school, Alex trained as a dancer at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the distinguished Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York. He worked for well-known choreographers including David Earl, Patricia Beatty, and Pascal Rioult. Alex was also the principal dancer in the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble.

Alex has a successful international modeling career and has appeared in countless commercials and has also appeared in music videos including Murder on the Dance Floor by Sophie Ellis Bextor. His modeling career led to work in the theatre, film and television.

For two years Alex co-presented a live entertainment show Super Bingo which made him a household name in Cyprus. He has had many acting roles in TV drama series and in 2006 he co-presented the Cypriot national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Alex continues to be an active choreographer and performer in the Cyprus dance scene and is also a dance tutor at the University of Nicosia.

Alex says: "I am proud to have the responsibility of presenting a show of this magnitude and to have the opportunity to represent my country. I cannot wait to announce to the world... Welcome to Cyprus!"

About Sophia

Sophia Paraskeva's career in the TV industry began in the United Kingdom and has spanned more than eight years. Some of this time was spent working for British Sky Broadcasting as Production Manager for various departments including Sky Arts, Sky Creative and Sky Entertainment before Sophia became a TV presenter.

At Sky Movies Sophia was responsible for co-ordinating live events, shoots, shows and visits to film sets. Among her credits are The Empire Film Awards, The Academy Awards, The Grand Classics, The On-Camera series, featuring Jack Black, Dame Julie Andrews and Paul Bettany in London and the BAFTA Tea Party and Golden Globes in Los Angeles. Sophia also worked on the launch of Channel 4's breakfast show RI:SE, Fashion Rocks at the Royal Albert Hall, the annual V Festival and Promax Awards.

Sophia has extensive on-screen presenting experience including game shows for Sky Vegas, location shoots for Sky Travel and studio shows for Sky's Customer Channel. At theatrical releases in the UK Sophia interviewed A-List celebrities including Richard Gere, Liam Neeson, Val Kilmer, Colin Farrell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Oliver Stone, Angelina Jolie, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan. Warner Bros also flew her to the Bahamas to interview Johnny Depp and Tim Burton on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean for the promotion of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Sophia has over one thousand hours of live presenting under her belt, both in studio and on location, and was recently invited to return home to Cyprus to present travel documentaries about the island.

Aside from her TV work, Sophia was recently hired to undertake the PR for the new Limassol Marina development which begins construction this autumn. As part of a dynamic team carefully selected to create this first-ever integrated marina on the island, combining yachting facilities with real estate and commercial properties, this challenging role involves all media liaison and the organising of events in Cyprus, London and Moscow.

Sophia is thrilled about her role in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008: "This is a fantastic opportunity for me to present a show I'm passionate about and it gives me the chance to introduce my homeland Cyprus to television viewers throughout the world!"