Forbes's parents are Nanette Newman and Bryan Forbes. She attended Hurst Lodge School.

Forbes presented the cooking slot on Going Live!, a position she won after bombarding the production office with ideas for 'makes'. She was then selected as co-presenter for the replacement BBC children's show Live & Kicking with Andi Peters from 1993 through to 1996 and also presented ITV's teenage problem show Speakeasy. From 1994 to 1996, Forbes hosted a Meridian Television revival of the panel show What's My Line?.