List of former BBC newsreaders and journalists

The BBC has employed many journalists and newsreaders to present its news programmes as well as to provide news reports and interviews. The following list names individuals who are no longer employed by the BBC in its news division BBC News.

A

  • Christa Ackroyd – main presenter on Look North from 2001 until 2013. She had previously been a presenter on Yorkshire Television's Calendar during the 1990s.
  • Kate Adie – chief news correspondent for BBC News during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world – her first major assignment was reporting on the Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980. She currently presents 'From Our Own Correspondent' on BBC Radio 4.
  • Robin Aitken – BBC journalist since 1978. Left in 2005, ending his career on BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme. Aitken published Can We Trust the BBC? (Continuum Press) in February 2007, which asserted the BBC was guilty of an "unconscious, institutionalised Leftism"
  • Juliet Alexander - Presenter Ebony, the BBC’s first black news and current affairs tv programme 1981-86. Reporter John Craven’s Newsround. Presenter Black Londoners on BBC radio London. Presenter Songs of Praise. Reporter BBC Newsround SE. Presenter Women’s Hour BBC radio 4. Presenter After Sugar What? A radio 4 series about diversification in the Caribbean. Presenter Careering Ahead.
  • Kay Alexander – main presenter on Midlands Today. She retired in 2012 after nearly 40 years of continuous service.
  • Linda Alexander – reporter and presenter on Newsnight from 1980 until 1983. She died in 2015. She was married to the BBC's former political editor David Holmes.
  • Kenneth Allsop – reporter for Tonight in the 1960s. He died in 1973.
  • Marjorie Anderson – leading BBC radio broadcaster on the World War II BBC Forces Programme, and from 1945 on the BBC Light Programme. She died in 1999.
  • Durdana Ansari, OBE – spent 22 years producing, directing, and interviewing personalities for the following BBC World Service programmes: The World Today, Asian Network (Urdu), Outlook, Meridian, English Teaching Programme, and BBC Urdu Service. Currently an entrepreneur, public speaker and activist for female empowerment.
  • Alice Arnold – newsreader, mainly on BBC Radio 4 from 2004 to 2012. She is married to sports presenter Clare Balding.
  • Michael Aspel – one of the early BBC Television newsreaders, together with Robert Dougall, Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall. He has since hosted This is Your Life and Antiques Roadshow and he hosted the children's programmes Crackerjack and Ask Aspel during the 1970s, as well as quizzes such as Give Us a Clue and Child's Play during the 1980s.
  • Mark Austin – former BBC journalist and Sports Correspondent for BBC News, from 1982 to 1986. He joined ITN in 1986 as Sports Correspondent. Now a US correspondent for Sky News.
  • Khalid Aziz – main presenter and reporter on Look North in Leeds during the 1970s and early 1980s. He left to join Television South on its inception in 1982.

B

C

D

  • James Dagwell – presenter and reporter for the BBC News Channel and BBC World News from 2007 to 2011.
  • Nasteh Dahir – foreign correspondent for the BBC in Somalia, murdered in 2008.
  • Jill Dando – originally a presenter on Spotlight before becoming a presenter of various national BBC News programmes, as well as others including Holiday and Crimewatch until her murder in 1999.
  • Bob Danvers-Walker – regular announcer for BBC television and radio from 1943, including such programmes as 'Round And About' and 'London Calling Europe'. He was best known as one of the voices of the British Pathe newsreel from 1940 until 1970. He died in 1990.
  • Sammy Darko – has worked across most media platforms from TV, Radio and Online for BBC World[1] and BBC Domestic audience.
  • Jason Dasey – Australian sports presenter on BBC World News between 1994 and 1997, including Newsday with Philip Hayton. Would later join CNN International.
  • David Davies – main anchor on Midlands Today from 1989 until 1994. He had previously worked for BBC Wales, Nationwide, Newsnight and Songs of Praise. He later worked in various senior roles within the Football Association from 1994 until 2006.
  • William Davis – economics broadcaster and commentator. One of the original presenters of The Money Programme and BBC Radio 4's The World at One. He died in 2019.
  • Sir Robin Day – political broadcaster and commentator, presenter of Question Time (1979–89). He died in 2000.
  • Wilfred De'Ath – BBC Radio producer and interviewer during the 1960s: he also reported on the counterculture for Radio 4 during the 1970s. He died in 2020.
  • Frank Delaney – BBC correspondent in Dublin during the early 1970s, mainly reporting on the Troubles. He later hosted various literary programmes on both television and radio and was himself a much-published author. He died in 2017.
  • Jack de Manio – announcer on the BBC's Home Service during the 1950s. He then became the main anchor on Today from 1958 until 1971. He died in 1988.
  • Anne Diamond – originally worked as a reporter for BBC West during the 1970s, before becoming a presenter and reporter on ATV Today, which later became Central News. She then returned to the BBC as a co-presenter on News After Noon and a reporter on Nationwide, but later joined TVam as its main co-anchor, alongside Nick Owen. The pair went on to host their own BBC chat show, 'Good Morning With Anne and Nick', from 1992 until 1996.
  • David Dimbleby – veteran BBC presenter and journalist over 6 decades. He began as a reporter for BBC Bristol during the 1960s, later becoming a presenter on Yesterday's Men in 1971 and then a long-serving main anchor on Panorama. He also briefly presented Nationwide during the early 1980s, the BBC's election coverage for 10 years from 1979 and 'This Week Next Week' from 1984 until 1988, and he commentated on many significant outside broadcasts, including the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002 and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2013, following in the footsteps of his late father, Richard Dimbleby. In addition, he was the chairman of Question Time from 1994 until 2018. He is the brother of fellow-journalist Jonathan Dimbleby.
  • Richard Dimbleby – BBC's first war correspondent, and then its leading TV news commentator in the 1950s and 1960s, as the presenter of Panorama. He was the main commentator, usually alongside Raymond Baxter, on many significant outside broadcasts, most notably The Queen's Coronation in 1953 and Sir Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965: he died later that latter year. He was the father of David Dimbleby and Jonathan Dimbleby.
  • Peter Dimmock – veteran BBC sports journalist and senior television executive. He joined the BBC in 1946 as the Head of Outside Broadcasts and was responsible for organising the televised coverage of major events such as the 1948 London Olympics, The Queen's Coronation in 1953 and the first televised Grand National in 1960, until his retirement from that role in 1972. He also presented the sports programme 'Sportsview' from its inception in 1954 until 1964, and he was the first-ever presenter of both the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1954 and Grandstand in 1958. He continued to work for the BBC in other roles until 1977. He died in 2015. He was married to the BBC announcer and reporter Polly Elwes.
  • Peter Donaldson – long-serving newsreader and announcer on BBC Radio 4. He died in 2015.
  • Mike Donkin – joined the BBC in 1975, originally working on Radio 4's Today, then on BBC Television News as their World Affairs Correspondent throughout subsequent decades. He died in 2007, following a short illness.
  • Robert Dougall – one of the first BBC Television newsreaders along with Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall. Later a presenter of programmes for people in retirement. He died in 1999.
  • Alan Douglas – main presenter and correspondent on Reporting Scotland from 1978 to 1996. He left to join Scottish Television.
  • Komla Dumor – presenter on BBC World News and BBC News Channel until he suddenly died on 18 January 2014. He was the first presenter of Focus on Africa which he presented until the day before his death. Following his death the BBC named the Komla Dumor Award for exceptional talent in telling African stories after him.
  • John Dunn (radio presenter) – announcer on BBC domestic radio during the 1960s, and later on Radio 1. He also worked as an announcer and newsreader on Radio 4 during the mid-1970s, but was best known for his long-running drive time Radio programme, which began in 1976. He died in 2004.

E

F

G

  • Frank Gillard – worked as a BBC war correspondent from 1941 until 1945. He later became the director of the BBC's western region, and then the Director of Radio, a role he held from 1964 until 1969. He died in 1998.
  • Andrew Gilligan – journalist implicated in the Hutton Report of 2003 following his report on BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme regarding the content of a British government briefing paper. Resigned following publication of the report's findings in the same year. Now with Press TV
  • Margaret Gilmore – former BBC Security Correspondent
  • Charles Gibson (From ABC News) – presented "ABC World News with Charles Gibson" from 2007 to 2009.
  • Fran Godfrey – newsreader on BBC Radio Two, who became especially famous for reading the news bulletins on Wake Up to Wogan from 1993 until 2008. She continued to present news bulletins for Radio 2 until she left the station in 2014. She joined Bauer Radio digital station Mellow Magic in 2016 and remains there to the present day.
  • Felicity Goodey – long-serving presenter and reporter for BBC North West. She left journalism in 1998 to become a founder director of the Northwest Regional Development Agency.
  • Harry Gration – one of the main anchors for the BBC Yorkshire regional magazine programme Look North, until his retirement in October 2020. He had also previously been a main presenter on South Today and an occasional stand-in presenter on Grandstand.
  • Debbie Greenwood – presenter on BBC Breakfast Time during the 1980s. She is married to fellow-television presenter Paul Coia.
  • Freddie Grisewood – BBC radio announcer from 1929 up to the 1960s. He died in 1972.
  • Krishnan Guru-Murthy – main presenter and reporter on Newsround from 1991 to 1994. He left to become a producer and reporter on Newsnight and a presenter on BBC News 24. He then joined Channel 4 News, which he still presents to this day.

H

  • Peter Haigh – English in–vision announcer for BBC Television in the early 1950s, before moving to Come Dancing. He died in 2001.
  • Stuart Hall – presented regional news programmes for the BBC in North West England in the 1960s and 1970s, while becoming known nationally for presenting It's a Knockout. Jailed on sex abuse charges in 2014.
  • Vincent Hanna – reporter and famously incisive interviewer, originally on Panorama during the 1970s, then on Newsnight from 1980 until 1987, in which he covered political news and in particular the General Election coverage, before being succeeded in the latter role by Peter Snow. He left to set up his own broadcasting company and to work for Channel 4. He died in 1997.
  • Patrick Hannan (presenter) – main presenter on Wales Today during the 1970s. He also worked as the BBC's political correspondent in Wales for 13 years, and he presented the BBC Radio 4 political and discussion programmes 'Out Of Order' and 'Tea Junction'. He died in 2009.
  • Brian Hanrahan – long-serving BBC correspondent, reporting regularly both from home and abroad during the 1980s and 1990s, his final role being the BBC's diplomatic editor: he also occasionally presented The World At One on BBC Radio 4. He died in 2010.
  • Will Hanrahan – presenter on Spotlight during the 1980s. He also worked as a national reporter for BBC News, mainly focussing on humanitarian crises, including the Rwandan Civil War. He also worked as an investigative journalist on Watchdog.
  • Sally Hardcastle – former presenter on The World Tonight and Woman's Hour for BBC Radio 4. She died in 2014. She was the daughter of William Hardcastle.
  • William Hardcastle – founder presenter of The World at One in 1965: he also presented PM. He died in 1975. He was the father of Sally Hardcastle.
  • Derek Hart – presenter and interviewer on the BBC news programme Tonight in the 1960s. He died in 1986.
  • Andrew Harvey – presenter of main news programmes including the BBC Six O'Clock News as main and co–presenter (1984–1996) as well as regional news programmes later including BBC Points West and South Today. Left to join ITN.
  • Max Hastings – former foreign correspondent on the BBC's Twenty-Four Hours, for which he reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars. He is also a long-serving print journalist and a much-published author. He was knighted in 2002.
  • Philip Hayton – originally with the BBC's Look North programme in Leeds, later a reporter for the BBC's national news programmes, main and co–presenter of the BBC Six O'Clock News (1987–1993), also presented the One O'Clock News, as well as the mid-1990s daytime quiz The Great British Quiz. Presented on BBC World and BBC News 24, resigning from the corporation in 2005 citing "incompatibility" with his new co–presenter Kate Silverton. He had been with the BBC for 37 years.
  • Paul Heiney – reporter for Radio 1's Newsbeat from 1974 until 1976, then a reporter for Radio 4's Today from 1976 to 1978. He is best known as a presenter on That's Life from 1978 until 1982, and also for In At The Deep End, which he presented alongside fellow-That's Life presenter Chris Serle. Heiney is married to fellow-journalist Libby Purves.
  • Rachael Heyhoe-Flint – former presenter on PM. She was best known as a former cricketer and she worked as a sports journalist following her retirement from the sport, becoming Baroness Heyhoe-Flint in 2011. She died in 2017.
  • Stuart Hibberd – radio newsreader from 1924 and chief announcer up to 1951 – he was particularly famous for being one of the main newsreaders during the Second World War. He died in 1983.
  • Celina Hinchcliffe – presenter of Sport News from 2002 to 2012. Left due to relocation of Sport to Salford.
  • Gerald Hine-Haycock – known by his then-broadcasting name, Gerald Haycock, was a main presenter and reporter on BBC Points West during the 1980s and 1990s, having previously worked for ITN and HTV News at HTV West.
  • Peter Hobday – long-serving main presenter on Radio 4's Today. He also presented Newsnight and The Money Programme. He died in 2020.
  • McDonald Hobley – one of the first BBC Television continuity announcers, appearing from 1946 to 1956. He died in 1987.
  • Triona Holden – worked as a journalist from age 17 in the Sheffield Star newspaper, eventually becoming their crime reporter.[2] Her first big story was Peter Sutcliffe, The Yorkshire Ripper.[3] Joined the BBC in 1982, starting on radio before moving to TV. A news presenter and reporter, she covered the miners' strike of 1984–85, later writing Queen Coal: Women of the Miners, published in 2005, derived from her experiences.[4] She was the youngest female national news reporter and the youngest person to present the Today Programme on Radio 4; presented the Six O'Clock News on BBC 1; PM on Radio 4; Newsbeat on Radio 1 and World TV News. In 1987 she was the only reporter to broadcast live from the disaster scene after getting onto the wreckage of the Herald of Free Enterprise when it became semi–submerged off Zeebrugge.[5] She travelled extensively to war zones, famines, conflicts, and other disasters.[6] before retiring on medical grounds aged 39 after suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. She later reinvented herself as an artist.[7]
  • David Holmes – the BBC's political editor from 1975 until 1980. He joined the BBC in 1956 and originally worked as a home news reporter, before becoming their Assistant Political Correspondent during the 1960s and the Deputy Political Editor in 1970. He died in 2014. He was married to fellow-journalist Linda Alexander, who had been a presenter on Newsnight during the early 1980s.
  • Bob Humphrys – regular reporter for BBC Wales programmes such as Wales Today and 'Week in Week Out', often alongside his brother, John Humphrys. During the 1990s, he specialised in sports commentary and reporting, particularly rugby. He died in 2008.
  • John Humphrys – veteran BBC presenter, reporter and famously incisive political interviewer. He began his career in the late 1950s as a trainee newspaper reporter in his native Cardiff, then he joined TWW, and was the first reporter on the scene of the infamous Aberfan Disaster in 1966. He then joined the BBC, initially in the northwest region, then as a foreign correspondent, working mainly in the US and South Africa, throughout the 1970s, covering major events such as Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974 and Rhodesia's change in name to Zimbabwe. He became the BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent in 1980, then, from 1981 until 1987, the main presenter on the Nine O'clock News: he also frequently presented the One O'clock News, the Six O'clock News and Panorama. He joined Radio 4's Today in 1987 as the main co-presenter alongside the late Brian Redhead, and soon established himself as a very tenacious political interviewer. He continued in this role until his retirement in September 2019. In addition, he regularly presented 'Week In, Week Out' and the discussion programme 'Family Matters' during the 1990s. He continues to present the BBC's prestigious quiz Mastermind, which he began hosting on its revival in 2003. He is the brother of the late Bob Humphrys.

I

  • David Icke – former professional footballer, who became a regular reporter on Midlands Today during the late-1970s. He then worked as a regular sports presenter on many national news programmes during the 1980s, including Newsnight and Breakfast Time. He later became a principal speaker for the Green Party.

J

  • David Jacobs – announcer with the British Forces Broadcasting Service during the war, a BBC staff announcer in the early 1950s, and later the presenter of Juke Box Jury. He died in 2013.
  • Peter Jay – the BBC's Economics Editor during the 1990s. He had previously been the main anchor on LWT's Weekend World in the 1970s and was the founding chairman of TV-am in 1983.
  • David Jessel – joined the BBC in 1967 as a trainee reporter for BBC Birmingham. He then worked as a reporter for The World At One from 1968 until 1972, before moving on to work on 24 Hours and its successor programmes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also presented Heart of the Matter alongside Joan Bakewell during the 1980s.
  • Geoffrey Johnson-Smith – presenter and interviewer on the BBC news programme Tonight in the 1960s. He died in 2010.
  • Anna Jones – presented the 9  1 pm shift with Phillip Hayton on BBC News 24 from 2003. She had been with the channel since its 1997 launch, originally as a business presenter. She left in 2005, after 12 years, to become a presenter on Sky News.
  • Sally Jones (journalist) – became BBC Breakfast's first female sports presenter in 1986 and continued in this role until the early 1990s. She also presented coverage of the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. She was also a Real Tennis champion, winning the world championship in 1993 and the British and US Open Championships.
  • Darren Jordon – originally sports correspondent on BBC News 24, he moved within the department to present BBC Breakfast and was later deputy presenter of the BBC One O'Clock News and weekend bulletins. He left in October 2006 to become a presenter on the Al Jazeera English service, based in Doha.
  • Gillian Joseph – read the headlines on BBC Breakfast as well as occasionally presenting the main programme. She also worked for BBC London. She left for Sky News in 2005.

K

  • Vincent Kane – long-serving presenter and reporter for BBC Wales – he presented Wales Today from 1986 to 1993.
  • Natasha Kaplinsky – presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2002, when she joined from Sky News, until 2005, and then of the BBC Six O'Clock News from 2005 until 2007. While with the BBC she also appeared the One and the Ten O'Clock bulletins, as well as presenting on Children in Need. She left to become the face of Five News in October 2007.
  • Robert Kee – long-serving presenter and reporter on Panorama. He was also one of the first presenters on TV-AM. He died in 2013.
  • Bridget Kendall - the BBC's Moscow Correspondent from 1989 until 1994, when she became their Washington Correspondent. She then worked as the BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent from 1998. In 2016, she became the first female Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, but she continues to broadcast for the BBC as an external contributor.
  • Kenneth Kendall – first to read the news in front of a camera on BBC Television in 1955. He retired from the BBC in 1981 and subsequently presented Treasure Hunt on Channel 4. He died in 2012.
  • Ludovic Kennedy – television journalist and documentary maker. He presented the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama, and he also chaired the television review series Did You See...? from 1980 until 1988. He had also previously worked as an ITN newscaster and reporter. He was knighted for his services to journalism in 1994. He died in 2009. He was married to the actress and dancer Moira Shearer.
  • Sarah Kennedy – presenter on Sixty Minutes (TV series) from 1983 until 1984. She has presented many other programmes, including the quizzes Game for a Laugh and Busman's Holiday, but is probably best known for hosting her own show on Radio 2.
  • Richard Kershaw – presenter and reporter on various current affairs programmes, including Panorama, Nationwide and 24 Hours during the 1970s and 1980s. He died in 2014.
  • Tasmin Lucia Khan – presenter of 60 Seconds on BBC Three and E24 on News Channel 2007–2010. Left to join Daybreak on ITV
  • Keith Kyle – was a reporter for the BBC's Tonight programme from 1960, specialising in coverage of Africa and was based in Nairobi. He died in 2007.

L

  • Bob Langley – joined the BBC as a presenter and reporter on Nationwide in 1970, having previously worked for Tyne Tees Television in his native Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1972, he became one of the first presenters on Pebble Mill at One, which he continued to host into the 1980s.
  • Sue Lawley – presented Nationwide during the 1970s, then the Nine O'Clock News (1983–84) and the Six O'Clock News at its launch in 1984 alongside Nicholas Witchell. She went on to present Desert Island Discs from 1988 until 2006, but has now left the BBC.
  • Jan LeemingBBC newsreader in the 1980s, covering most of the main bulletins. She had previously been a presenter on Pebble Mill at One, Westward Television and HTV News.
  • Martyn Lewis – the first presenter of the One O'Clock News in 1986, having previously worked for ITN. He also presented the Six O'Clock (1994–1999) and Nine O'Clock News until 1994, and he hosted the BBC2 quiz 'Today's The Day' during the 1990s. He left BBC News in 1999.
  • Alvar Lidell – BBC radio announcer and newsreader, during the Second World War and into the 1950s. He died in 1981.
  • Richard Lindley – regular presenter and reporter on Panorama during the 1970s and 1980s. He later became a presenter on ITV's This Week and he had originally worked as an ITN reporter during the 1960s. He died in 2019.
  • Judi Lines – main presenter on Look East during the 1970s and 1980s.
  • Lynette Lithgow – joined BBC News as a newsreader in 1988, working mainly on daytime and evening bulletins, and on BBC2's Newsview: she joined the BBC's world television service on its launch in 1991. She had previously worked as a presenter on Midlands Today and as a continuity announcer for Granada Television during the 1980s. She was murdered in her native Trinidad in 2001.
  • Sue Lloyd-Roberts – worked as a special correspondent for the BBC, travelling to, and reporting on, major news stories across the world, including important issues not covered widely elsewhere. Died of leukaemia on 13 October 2015.
  • Chris Lowe – joined the BBC as a graduate journalism trainee in 1972. At one time a presenter of PM (Radio 4), he was also a main co-presenter on BBC Breakfast News, the Six O'Clock News and News After Noon: he then worked on BBC News channel from 2000 until his retirement on 4 January 2009.
  • David Loyn – joined the BBC in 1987 as a TV Correspondent. He then worked in various roles, including that of India Correspondent in 1993, replacing Mark Tully, and he eventually became their International Development Correspondent, a role he held until 2015. During his tenure, he reported from various conflict and disaster zones, especially in Africa and the Middle East, and he covered major stories in other areas, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the war in Romania and the conflicts in Kosovo.
  • Desmond Lynam – main presenter of Today on BBC Radio 4 from 1974 to 1976 and presenter of the 'Sportswide' section of Nationwide from 1977 to 1983. He is best known as the long-standing main anchor on Grandstand from 1979 to 1999 and on various other sports programmes until he moved to ITV Sport in 1999. He has also presented the BBC's Holiday programme, How Do They Do That? Countdown and Sports Mastermind.

M

N

  • Andrew Neil - veteran journalist and broadcaster for 30 years on the BBC. He presented various political shows, including Despatch Box during the 1990s, and later Daily Politics, Politics Live, Sunday Politics and 'Straight Talk with Andrew Neil'. He was also an occasional guest presenter on Newsnight from 2014, following Jeremy Paxman's departure, and he presented coverage for both the UK and the US elections, his last being the 2020 US election. He left the BBC that year in order to become chairman of GB News.
  • Ron Neil – joined BBC Scotland in 1967 as a radio reporter, before moving onto Reporting Scotland, where he worked as a reporter until 1969. He then moved to the BBC in London, where he became a producer, and later output editor, on Nationwide, remaining there until 1976. He was the co-creator, and later editor, of Newsnight, the first editor on BBC Breakfast Time in 1983, and the founder-editor of the Six O'Clock News in 1984. He later became the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs, and eventually the first Chief Executive of Production, before his retirement in 1998.
  • Mike Neville – long-serving main anchor on Look North in Newcastle upon Tyne, from 1964 to 1996. He was originally a reporter for Tyne Tees and he returned to them in 1996, remaining there until his retirement in 2005. He was also a regular reporter on Nationwide. He died in 2017.
  • Barry Norman – former print journalist, who became a presenter on Radio 4's Today in 1974 and Omnibus in 1982. He was best known as the long-serving presenter of Film... from 1974 until 1998. He died in 2017. He was married to the author Diana Norman.
  • Charles Nove – joined BBC Radio in 1981 as a continuity announcer and newsreader, and he was also a regular announcer on BBC1. He was a regular newsreader on Wake Up to Wogan from 2007 until 2009, and continued to read the news on Radio 2 until 2012. He was later a continuity announcer on Radio 4, from 2018 until 2019, when he left to join Scala Radio.

O

  • Robin Oakley – BBC's political editor between 1992 and 2000. He is now the political editor for CNN International.
  • Olivia O'Leary – the first senior female presenter on Newsnight, a role she held from 1985–1986. She had previously worked as a print journalist and radio and television presenter in her native Ireland.
  • Rageh Omaar – joined the BBC in 1992 as a foreign correspondent. He then worked as Africa Correspondent, and later covered the Iraq invasion. He left in 2006 to join Al Jazeera English.
  • Robert Orchard – long-serving BBC correspondent. He joined BBC Wales in 1979, later becoming their Political Correspondent, then working in the same role for the national news. He became a BBC Parliamentary Correspondent in 1992 and frequently presented 'Yesterday in Parliament'. He left the BBC in 2013.
  • Susan Osman – main anchor on Points West from 1991 until 2005, later becoming a presenter on China Radio International. She had initially worked for HTV West and Channel 4.
  • Jamie Owen – long-serving main anchor on Wales Today from 1994 until 2018. He had previously worked as a presenter on BBC Radio 4 and as a continuity announcer on Radio 2 and Radio 3. He also presented BBC Breakfast News and Songs of Praise. He left the BBC in 2018 to join the international broadcaster TRT World.
  • Kevin Owen – presenter on Wales Today during the 1980s. He later worked as a main anchor for HTV Wales, HTV West, Channel Television and Sky News. He is now the longest-serving news anchor on the Russian global news channel RT, based in Moscow.
  • Nick Owen – current main anchor on BBC Midlands Today. A co–presenter (with Anne Diamond) of TVam in the 1980s, the pair later had their own BBC daytime chat show Good Morning With Anne and Nick (1992–96).
  • Dianne Oxberry – weather presenter and relief newsreader on North West Tonight from 1994 until her sudden death in 2019. She had previously worked on BBC Radio 1 and been a main presenter on the children's series The 8.15 from Manchester.

P

  • Shahnaz Pakravan – former presenter on BBC World and BBC News 24 – she also regularly presented Tomorrow's World and Woman's Hour. She had previously been a presenter on Channel 4 News and The Channel Four Daily.
  • Ian Pannell – Former Damascus correspondent known for covering the Syrian Civil War, later International Correspondent based in Washington. Now with ABC News.
  • Bruce Parker – long-serving main anchor on South Today, which he joined in 1967, later becoming the programme's political editor. He also worked as a reporter on national BBC News programmes and Nationwide during the 1970s, and he was the first-ever host of The Antiques Roadshow.
  • David Parry-Jones – long-serving main presenter on Wales Today and a regular sports commentator for BBC Wales, mainly specialising in rugby. He died in 2017.
  • Jeremy Paxman – regular presenter on Newsnight between 1989 and 2014. He continues to present programmes for the BBC including University Challenge. It was announced on 24 September 2014 that he will anchor the UK general election coverage on Channel 4.[9] He began his career in the 1970s as a reporter on BBC Northern Ireland and Panorama. He became a co-presenter on the Six O'Clock News in 1984 before becoming a main anchor on BBC Breakfast News, and he moved onto Newsnight soon after that.
  • Brian Perkins – long-serving newsreader on Radio 4 from 1965 to 1969 and again from 1978 until his retirement in 2003.
  • Robert Peston – the BBC's Business Editor for all main TV and radio news programmes from 2005 until 2014. He also worked as the Corporation's Economics Editor from 2013 until 2015, after which he left to become ITV's Political Editor.
  • Sylvia Peters – continuity announcer for BBC Television from 1947 to 1958. She died in 2016.
  • Julian Pettifer – reporter for Tonight in the 1960s. He was later the host of the quiz Busman's Holiday during the late-1980s, he narrated the BBC nature programme 'The Living Isles' in 1986 and he presented the ITV series 'Nature Watch' in the 1990s.
  • Barnaby Phillips – BBC's Southern Africa Correspondent from 2001 to 2006, and had worked for the BBC for 15 years, reporting from locations in several continents. He now works as Europe Correspondent for the Al Jazeera English television network, initially based in its Athens bureau (2006–2010), and now based in London.
  • Wilfred Pickles – occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service during World War II. He was also an actor and had presented his own BBC show Ask Pickles during the 1950s, as well as being the host of the radio series Have A Go from 1946 until 1967. He died in 1978.
  • John Pilger - reporter and documentary-maker on 'Midweek', 1972-73.
  • John Pitman – long-serving BBC journalist: he originally worked on 'Braden's Week' during the late-1960s, but later became best known as a regular reporter on Man Alive. He died in 2018.
  • Martin Popplewell – regular presenter on BBC News 24 between 2002 and 2003. He now works for Sky News.
  • Betsan Powys – joined BBC Wales in 1989 as a reporter and presenter for Wales Today. She took over editorial charge of all BBC Wales' daily political output in 2006, remaining in this role until 2013, when she became Editor of Programmes for BBC Radio Cymru: she left this latter post in 2018. She has also presented the Welsh-language version of Mastermind.
  • Gerald Priestland – foreign correspondent and, later, a religious commentator for the BBC. He died in 1991.
  • Libby Purves – presenter on Radio 4's Today during the late 1970s; she also presented Radio 4's Midweek for 30 years. She is married to fellow-journalist Paul Heiney.

R

  • Steve Race – main presenter on PM from 1970 until 1972. He was best known as a composer and presenter of music programmes, mainly on radio, and in particular as the long-serving host and pianist on the Radio 4 quiz My Music. He died in 2009.
  • Esther Rantzen – presenter and reporter on 'Braden's Week' and Man Alive during the 1960s and 70s, and she later had a consumer spot on BBC Breakfast Time in the 1980s, but she is best known both as the main presenter on That's Life! from 1973 until 1994, and for having set up Childline in 1986. She was appointed Dame Esther Rantzen in 2015. She was married to fellow-journalist Desmond Wilcox and is the mother of the actress Rebecca Wilcox.
  • Adam Raphael – presenter on Newsnight from 1987 until 1988. He is best known as a newspaper journalist, working on various newspapers both before and after this period.
  • Brian Redhead – co–presenter of Today on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death (in January 1994).
  • Susanna Reid – main co-presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2003 until 2014. She left to become a co-anchor on Good Morning Britain.
  • Lee Ridley – worked with BBC News Online before becoming the first standup comedian in Britain to use a communication aid in his routines, performing them under the stage name of Lost Voice Guy. He rose to prominence in June 2018 upon winning the 12th series of Britain's Got Talent and a comedy on BBC Radio 4
  • Caroline Righton – presenter on London Plus from 1985 to 1987. She left to become a presenter on TV AM, but later returned to the BBC to present daytime and Breakfast Time news bulletins.
  • Angela Rippon – the first female newsreader of the BBC Nine O'Clock News when she was appointed in 1975. Later joined TV AM and presented many other shows, including Masterteam, What's My Line? and Crufts. She now co-presents the BBC's Rip Off Britain alongside Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville.
  • Daniela Ritorto – presented overnight bulletins on BBC World News, BBC News Channel and BBC One. As well as Impact, GMT, Outside Source and World News Today. Now with SBS News.
  • Debbie Rix – regular presenter and newsreader on BBC Breakfast Time during the 1980s.
  • Fyfe Robertson – reporter for Tonight in the 1960s. He died in 1987.
  • Max Robertson - the first regular presenter on Panorama from its second edition in 1953. He was also a commentator at the funeral of King George VI in 1952 and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II the following year. In addition, he was a regular sports commentator, particularly on tennis, and he hosted the antiques quiz Going for a Song from 1965 until 1977. He died in 2009.
  • Robert Robinson – main presenter on Today on BBC Radio 4 alongside John Timpson during the early 1970s, and a regular presenter of Stop The Week. He is probably best known for having presented 3 quizzes for BBC Television and Radio for more than 15 years each, namely Ask The Family, Call My Bluff and Brain of Britain. He died in 2011.
  • Michael Rodd – presenter on BBC Look North during the late 1960s – he also presented the BBC's coverage of early Space Shuttle launches. He is best known as the original presenter on the children's film quiz Screen Test (1970–79) and as a presenter on Tomorrow's World (1972–82) and 'The Risk Business' (1980–81).
  • Abdul Samad Rohani – head of the BBC World Service's Pashto service in Helmand Province, Afghanistan; murdered in 2008.
  • Helen Rollason – presented Newsround during the late 1980s. She left in 1990 to become the first-ever female presenter on Grandstand and she regularly read the sports bulletins on BBC news programmes during the rest of the 1990s. She died in 1999 following a long and well-publicised battle with cancer.
  • Nick Ross – long-serving presenter and reporter on various BBC radio and television programmes, including Today, The World at One, Man Alive and Sixty Minutes (TV series). He was also one of the first presenters of BBC Breakfast Time in 1983, but he is probably best known for having presented Crimewatch for 23 years, from 1984 until 2007.
  • Jacky Rowland – BBC foreign correspondent in the Balkans and Middle East in the late 1990s. From 2003 she has been working for Al Jazeera English TV.
  • Angus Roxburgh - the BBC's Moscow Correspondent from 1992 until 1998, when he became a Europe Correspondent, based in Brussels. He was previously a newspaper journalist and has written books and television and radio documentaries on Russia.
  • Joshua Rozenberg – presenter and reporter for the BBC from 1975 until 2000, specialising in legal affairs.

S

  • Kate Sanderson (now Kate Gerbeau) – read the headlines on BBC Breakfast until she moved to Five News in 2005.
  • Vaughan Savidge – former freelance newsreader for BBC Radio 3, continuity announcer for Radio 4 and World Service. He left the Corporation in spring 2018 and is believed to be residing in France.
  • Diane Sawyer (from ABC News) – presented ABC World News with Diane Sawyer from 2009 to 2014, until she stood down in August 2014.
  • Selina Scott – one of the first main presenters on Breakfast Time on its launch in 1983. She had previously been a newsreader on ITN's News at Ten and later went on to co-present The Clothes Show.
  • Hugh Scully – originally a presenter on Spotlight for BBC South West during the late 1960s, before becoming a main presenter on Nationwide during the 1970s and early 1980s: he was also the first presenter of its spin-off consumer affairs programme Watchdog. He was probably best known as the longest-serving host of The Antiques Roadshow throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He died in 2015.
  • Tim Sebastian – joined BBC News in 1979 as their Warsaw Correspondent, later becoming Europe Correspondent, Moscow Correspondent, and eventually Washington Correspondent from 1985 to 1989. He also presented the BBC's HARDtalk from 1997 until 2005.
  • John Sergeant – joined the BBC in 1970 and worked as a reporter in various roles, most notably as the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent from 1992 to 2000: he also presented Today and The World at One on Radio Four. He left the BBC to become ITN's Political Editor, but has since returned to the BBC as a reporter and stand-in-presenter on The One Show. He is the father of the journalist Mike Sergeant.
  • Adam Shaw – main presenter on Working Lunch from 1994 until 2008, when he was replaced by Declan Curry. He also presented business news bulletins on Today.
  • John Simpson – veteran BBC correspondent with a career spanning more than five decades. He originally joined BBC Radio News in 1966 as a trainee sub-editor, then became a BBC reporter in 1970, reporting from many danger-zones throughout the world. He became the BBC's Political Editor in 1980, presented the Nine O'clock News from 1981 until 1982 and became the Diplomatic Editor in the latter year. He was made the Corporation's World Affairs Editor in 1988, and he has since continued to report on many major world-events, including the Beijing Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, the fall of Ceausescu in Bucharest later that year, the Gulf War in 1991 and the Kosovo War in Belgrade in 1999. He has also occasionally presented Newsnight and other news bulletins over the years.
  • Valerie Singleton – presenter on the late evening TV programme Tonight from 1975. She was also a regular anchor on Nationwide, PM and The Money Programme, and had previously spent ten years as a presenter on Blue Peter.
  • Peter Sissons – presenter of the BBC's Six O'Clock News from 1989 until 1993, and of the Nine O'Clock News and the Ten O'Clock News between 1993 and 2003: he also presented Question Time from 1989 until 1994. He had previously worked for ITN: he joined in 1964, working initially as a foreign correspondent, until he was shot and seriously injured while covering the Biafran War in Nigeria in 1968. He then worked as ITN's Industrial Correspondent during the 1970s, and he became one of the main newscasters on News At One in 1976. He was the first main anchor on Channel 4 News from 1982 until 1989, when he was succeeded by Jon Snow. Sissons died in 2019.
  • Martin Sixsmith – long-serving foreign correspondent, most notably as the BBC's Moscow Correspondent during the 1980s and 1990s. He left the BBC in 1997.
  • Mike Smartt – presented Breakfast News as it was then, the One, the Six, the Nine and summaries in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as being a correspondent at home and abroad, covering many of the major stories at the time. He was asked to lead the team putting BBC News Online in 1997, and served as Editor–in–Chief of BBC News Interactive until 2004 when he left the Corporation. Smartt now lectures and writes on journalism and new media.
  • Mike Smith (broadcaster) – regular presenter on BBC Breakfast Time during the 1980s. He was best known as a radio and television disc jockey, and for co-hosting The Late, Late Breakfast Show alongside Noel Edmonds, as well as hosting several other quiz shows. He was also a qualified helicopter pilot and a regular participant in motorsports. He died in 2014. He was married to the actress and fellow-television presenter Sarah Greene.
  • Rodney Smith – presented The Financial World Tonight and other programmes on Radio Four from 1978 to 1985. After spells with ABC News and later, CNN International, he returned to the BBC where he presented programmes and contributed to political and economic output at the BBC World Service.
  • John Snagge – radio newsreader and commentator from the 1920s to the 1960s. He died in 1996.
  • Raymond Snoddy – original presenter of NewsWatch from its inception in 2004 until 2012, being succeeded by Samira Ahmed. Snoddy, also a thrice published author, now works freelance for the print news media.
  • Peter Snow – originally an ITN newscaster, he joined the BBC in 1979 as the first-ever presenter of Newsnight, from 1980 until 1997, and he was an election analyst and co–presenter in the live General Election results programmes at the BBC from 1983 to 2005, becoming especially famous for his use of the Swingometer. He also co-hosted Tomorrow's World during the late 1990s. He is the father of the historian Dan Snow, with whom he has co-presented several history programmes, including Battlefield Britain, and the cousin of fellow-journalist Jon Snow.
  • Julia Somerville – former BBC journalist, Labour Affairs Correspondent and newsreader, who frequently presented the BBC Nine O'Clock News during the 1980s. She later moved to ITN, and subsequently returned to the BBC to co-host Rip Off Britain.
  • Howard Stableford – stand-in presenter and reporter on Newsround in 1984. He also presented children's programmes, such as Beat The Teacher and 'Puzzle Trail', but he is best known as a long-serving presenter on Tomorrow's World, which he joined in 1985. He now lives and works in the USA.
  • Judith Stamper – main presenter on Look North from 1980 until 1995.
  • John Stapleton – reporter on Panorama and Newsnight during the early 1980s. He later became famous as the main co-presenter (with his wife, Lynn Faulds Wood), of Watchdog from 1985 until 1993. During this time, Stapleton also worked as a presenter on Breakfast Time.
  • Michael Stewart – reporter for BBC radio news 1980–1984, and stand-in presenter for Today Programme 1982–1984 alongside John Timpson and Brian Redhead and also the PM programme with Valerie Singleton. He moved to BBC television news in 1984, initially reporting for the revamped BBC Breakfast Time. He was a general news reporter until 1990, most notably covering the fall of Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu in December 1989.
  • Francine Stock – main presenter on Newsnight and The Money Programme during the 1990s.
  • Moira Stuart – presented many of the main bulletins, including News After Noon, the Six O'Clock News and the Nine O'Clock News, during a long career. She was dropped from her weekend slot by the BBC in 2007, leading to accusations of ageism. She joined BBC Radio 2 in 2010, on which she had been a newsreader before her move into television.. She had also been one of the original presenters on The Adventure Game in the early 1980s, shortly before her move into journalism.

T

  • Bolesław TaborskiBBC Polish Section Arts editor and presenter for 34 years from 1959. He was a prolific poet, writer and literary translator and theatre theorist. A personal friend of John Paul II, he translated his dramas into English. He died in 2010.
  • Asha Tanna – news correspondent. She left to become a weekend presenter for Five News in 2007.
  • Beverley Thompson – originally worked as a presenter and reporter on Wales Today, before becoming a main presenter on Points West. She then worked on Look North and South Today, eventually becoming a main presenter on South East Today from 2001 until 2009.
  • Jeremy Thompson – reporter on BBC Look North in Leeds during the early 1970s, before moving on to become the BBC's first North of England Correspondent in 1977. He joined ITN in 1982, initially as a sports correspondent. He joined Sky News in 1993, originally as head of their Africa bureau, based in Johannesburg. He presented the station's flagship news programme, Live at Five, from 1999 until his retirement in 2016.
  • Debbie Thrower – relief newsreader on the One O'Clock and Nine O'Clock News and weekend bulletins during the late 1980s. She has also presented Breakfast Time, Songs of Praise, South Today and ITV's Meridian Tonight.
  • John Tidmarsh – presenter on the BBC World Service programme Outlook from 1968 until 1998. He was also a BBC foreign correspondent, working from many countries, including France, Algeria, India, Pakistan and Lebanon. In addition, he frequently worked as a radio and television newsreader, and he occasionally stood in for Jack de Manio on the Today programme. He died in 2019.
  • Andrew Timothy – announcer on the BBC Home Service from 1947 until 1959, becoming the BBC's Chief Announcer in 1964. In addition, he was one of the first BBC Television newsreaders, from July to September 1954, and also the announcer on The Goon Show from 1951 until 1953. He died in 1990. He was the father of the actor Christopher Timothy, who is most famous for his roles in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small and Doctors.
  • John Timpson – presenter on Newsroom, the main BBC2 news programme, from its 1964 launch until 1970, when he joined BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He died in 2005.
  • Alan Towers – main anchor on BBC Midlands Today during the 1980s, having originally joined the programme in 1972 as a presenter and reporter: he eventually retired from the BBC in 1997. He had previously worked as a newsreader on Granada Television and ITN, and later as a reporter on Nationwide, in which he covered the 'skateboarding duck' story. He died from cancer in 2008, aged 73.
  • Polly Toynbee – the BBC's Social Affairs Editor from 1988 to 1995.
  • Christopher Trace – presenter on Look East during the 1970s: he also worked on Nationwide during this period. He was previously an actor, but was best known as the first-ever male presenter on Blue Peter from 1958 until 1967. He died in 1992.
  • Sheila Tracy – one of the first presenters on Spotlight (originally called 'South West at Six') in the early 1960s. She later became the first-ever female newsreader on Radio 4 in 1974. She died in 2014.
  • Deepak Tripathi – South Asia correspondent reporting from Afghanistan, India and elsewhere.
  • Mark Tully – India correspondent until 1994.
  • Denis Tuohy – presenter on the late evening TV programme Tonight from 1975, and a reporter on Panorama. He had also presented Late Night Line Up during the 1960s, and he was one of the first people to be seen on BBC2 on its launch in 1964.
  • Bill Turnbull – main presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2001 until 2016. He had also presented the Six O'Clock News, Ten O'Clock News and News 24, as well as Songs of Praise. He is now a presenter on Classic FM.
  • Reg Turnill – the BBC's Air and Space Correspondent from 1958 until 1975, covering all manned spaceflights as well as the introduction of passenger jets, including Concorde. After retiring from this role, he continued as Newsround's Space Editor until the mid-1980s. He died in 2013.
  • John Tusa – main presenter of BBC 2's Newsnight programme from 1980 to 1986. He also presented the One O'Clock News during the 1990s.

V

W

  • David Walter – former BBC radio and television journalist, programme producer and Paris Correspondent for BBC News – he had also worked for ITN. He died in 2012.
  • Neville Wanless - newsreader and announcer for the BBC Home Service from 1961 until 1975, covering the regional opt-outs for the North East and Cumbria. He joined Tyne Tees Television in 1971 as a continuity announcer and newsreader, remaining in this role until 1991. He died in 2020.
  • Susan Watts – science editor on Newsnight from 1995 until 2013.
  • Bob Wellings – main presenter and reporter on Nationwide from 1971 to 1979. He had previously been a presenter on Look East and About Anglia, and he had also been one of Esther Rantzen's original co-presenters on That's Life! He later became a presenter on the BBC's daytime phone-in programme Open Air during the late-1980s.
  • Paul Welsh – originally worked as a reporter and presenter on Newsround during the early 1990s, then later became a reporter on BBC Breakfast and a presenter on Newshour and The World Today. He later worked in various roles for BBC News, including World Affairs Correspondent, West Africa Correspondent and Defence and Security Correspondent, reporting on wars and disasters around the world. He left BBC News in 2006 in order to start his own production company.
  • Charles Wheeler – veteran foreign correspondent and a presenter on Newsnight and Panorama. He joined the BBC in 1947 and became the Corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent, continuing in the role until his death in 2008
  • Huw Wheldon – BBC broadcaster and executive in the 1950s and 1960s. He produced and presented programmes, notably the arts magazine Monitor. He died in 1986
  • Alan Whicker – Army war reporter in Italy. After joining the BBC in 1957, he became an international reporter for Tonight. From 1958 on, he presented Whicker's World. He died in 2013
  • Richard Whitmore – co–presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News with Peter Woods between 1973 and 1981, he was also the main presenter on News After Noon (1981–1986) and remained with BBC News until 1998
  • Brian Widlake – worked for the BBC in the 1970s and 1980s. Best known for co-presenting the Money Programme with Valerie Singleton. He died in January 2017.
  • Desmond Wilcox – main presenter and co-editor of Man Alive during the 1960s: he was also a presenter on Sixty Minutes (TV series) in the 1980s. He died in 2000. He was married to Esther Rantzen and the father of television presenter Rebecca Wilcox.
  • Sian Williams – main presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2001 until 2012. She also presented many other main news programmes, including the One O'Clock News and Six O'Clock News. She now presents 5 News at 5.
  • Nan WintonBBC announcer and reporter on Panorama and 'Town and Around' during the late-1950s, before becoming the BBC's first female newsreader in 1960. She was dropped from the role less than a year later, but continued to work on both television and radio as a reporter and interviewer throughout the 1960s. She died in 2019.
  • Corbett Woodall – main BBC newsreader during the 1960s. After leaving the role in 1967, he presented Look East, worked regularly on the Today Programme and occasionally chaired editions of Any Questions? and Any Answers?. He was also an actor and appeared, invariably as a newsreader or announcer, in many television shows, particularly sitcoms, and films. He died in 1982.
  • Peter Woods – co–presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News with Richard Whitmore between 1973 and 1981. He also presented the main BBC2 programme Newsroom from 1964 until 1973. He died from cancer in 1995. He was the father of Justin Webb.
  • Glyn Worsnip – presenter and reporter on Nationwide during the 1970s, but he was probably best known as one of Esther Rantzen's co-presenters during the early years of That's Life!. He died in 1996.

Y

  • Alistair Yates – main presenter on BBC News 24 and BBC World Service during the 1990s and he later became a presenter on the BBC News Channel. He had previously worked as a newsreader on Midlands Today during the late 1970s, he presented several ITV regional programs during the 1980s and he became the first-ever male newsreader on Sky News in 1989. He died in July 2018.
  • Jimmy Young – veteran BBC disc jockey and broadcaster. He originally presented Housewives' Choice on the Light Programme and then became one of Radio 1's first disc jockeys, lasting from 1967 until 1973. He then joined Radio 2, where he hosted his own lunchtime news and current affairs show from 1973 until 2002. He interviewed every British Prime Minister from 1964 until 2010 and was knighted for his services to broadcasting in 2002. He died in 2016.
  • Martin Young – presenter and reporter on Look North during the early 1970s. He then joined Nationwide in 1973, remaining with the programme until 1979, and he also worked on Panorama during this period, and later on Newsnight.
  • Hanna Yusuf – was a reporter and producer with BBC News. She died in September 2019.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.