Affable and urbane, Ben Mulroney's role as host of Canadian Idol couldn't be a better fit. A self-confessed pop culture junkie, Mulroney has brought the Idol phenomenon to life for Canadian viewers every step of the way for the past two seasons, from talent auditions across the country to the nail-biting season finale.

"Ben's solid composure performing live in front of millions each week is a direct reflection of his enthusiasm, compassion and easy-going style," said Ed Robinson, Senior Vice-President, Comedy and Variety Programming, CTV Inc. "Canadian Idol is the perfect showcase for his natural charm and likeability."

A "big brother" to the competitors on the show, Ben's good looks and natural charisma attracted fans in the millions over the course of the show. As the show garnered more and more viewers, Ben's profile increased, leading to intense media coverage and Canadian Idol chat room discussion.

"I've have always said that an Idol host should err on the side of vanilla. Not anymore. I intend to have more fun with this job than anyone's ever had before," said Mulroney.

Following the season finale of Canadian Idol, Ben returned to his post as co-host of CTV's eTalk, Canada's number one source for entertainment news - bringing increased ratings with him. Like Canadian Idol, etalk is a Canadian television success story - a quality, homegrown program that competes with the best American programming. Indeed, with Mulroney and co-host Tanya Kim at the helm, eTalk now regularly attracts more viewers than Entertainment Tonight.

On etalk Daily, Mulroney and Kim cover all fronts of the entertainment world, from music and movies to TV, fashion, trends and gossip. Before joining eTalk, Mulroney was the correspondent for talktv's The Chatroom where he talked candidly about the entertainment news of the day. In July 2001, Mulroney became the interactive show's co-host, positioning him as the face of talktv.

From October 2001 to July 2002, Mulroney was entertainment reporter for CTV's Canada AM where he reported from the front lines of the entertainment world. Since 2002, he has covered red carpet arrivals for CTV at the Academy Awards and also has been the co-host of CTV At The Junos, the red carpet pre-show at the Juno Awards. In 2004, Mulroney hosted the highly-rated CTV special Shania's Homecoming, chronicling Shania Twain's hometown tour of Timmins, Ontario last November. Ben is a columnist for TV Guide and Sun Media, as well as the Montreal magazine 7 Jours. He is also the first national role model for youth for Salvation Army Thrift Stores across Canada.

As the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, some people are surprised by Mulroney's decision to work in television media.  With a law degree from Laval University and a history degree from Duke University, many people expected Mulroney to gravitate towards politics, but he insists there is a method behind his madness. "My dad has had five or six careers in his life. He's been able to be flexible because of his legal education," he said.
"I'm following the same route, although I'm not sure a stop in Ottawa is in the cards..."