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.

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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • William Hardcastle – founder presenter of The World at One in 1965: he also presented PM. He died in 1975.
  • 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.
  • 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 (1987–1994), 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.[7] She later reinvented herself as an artist.[8]
  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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 – was a 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.[10] 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.
  • 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 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
  • Gerald Priestland – foreign correspondent and, later, a religious commentator for the BBC. He died in 1991.

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  • Kate Sanderson (now Kate Gerbeau) – read the headlines on BBC Breakfast until she moved to Five News in 2005.
  • 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.
  • 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 been a newscaster for ITN, and was the first main anchor on Channel 4 News from 1982 until 1989, when he was succeeded by Jon Snow.
  • 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.
  • 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 – first-ever presenter of Newsnight, which he continued to present 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. He also co-hosted Tomorrow's World during the late 1990s. He is the father of the historian Dan Snow, 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. 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.

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  • Bolesław Taborski – BBC 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.
  • 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 – television newsreader and foreign correspondent.
  • 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.
  • 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 the first person 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.

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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 Winton – BBC 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.
  • 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.

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Ghana's anti-corruption blockbuster film draws crowds By Sammy Darko, BBC Africa, Accra
  2. ↑ Another Life
  3. ↑ http://www.courier.co.uk/war–zones–art–galleries/story–15532830–detail/story.html
  4. ↑ BBC Woman's Hour
  5. ↑ http://www.trionaworks.com/65849/another–life
  6. ↑ http://www.canterburytimes.co.uk/war–zones–art–galleries/story–15532830–detail/story.html
  7. ↑ How a terrifying brush with death turned staid BBC war reporter Triona Holden into a flame haired rebel
  8. ↑ Artist Triona Holden relives war and disaster https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk–england–kent–22131541
  9. ↑ "Bryan Martin". The Daily Telegraph. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  10. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/24/jeremy–paxman–channel–4–general–election–newsnight–bbc
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