Sasha was born in Yorkshire. She is a presenter, journalist, conference host and facilitator. She began her career in radio and worked as a DJ for several years at various local and regional radio stations.
…Lang, Isobel
Isobel was born in Lincoln. She graduated in 1991 from Exeter University with a BSc (Hons) degree in mathematics. She joined the Met Office in September 1991 and was initially based at the London Weather Centre, where she prepared forecasts for the press; she also presented the weather on local radio. Isobel appeared briefly as a holiday relief forecaster for Meridian TV before joining the BBC Weather Centre in May 1995. She was a regular BBC network television forecaster (December 1995 – August 2006). She had a baby boy (Benjamin Bryon) in October 2002 and after a second child was born, returned from maternity leave in summer 2004.
…Finighan, Adrian
Adrian is a Welsh journalist. He joined the BBC in 1988, working in local radio as a reporter and producer. He later moved to national radio, becoming a newsreader on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 and an occasional presenter of the latter station’s overnight programmes in the final years of newsreaders performing that role. He was an announcer at BBC Wales for a short period in the first half of 1991, before moving to network presentation in London. He remained there until 1993 when he moved to Carlton for six months, then Anglia for a six-month stint, before returning to network BBC One and BBC Two (1994 – 1995). His wife was a network director in presentation. Adrian left to join BBC World in spring 1995 and for a while freelanced as an announcer at LWT in 1995 and 1996; around the same time he was also the pre-recorded voice of the Channel 4 schools strand and made a short appearance as a news anchor in the movie V for Vendetta.
…Morris, Christopher
Chris was born in Luton. His career in broadcasting and journalism spanned 60 years. He reported from 120 countries, including 16 wars. He nearly lost his life in a series of minefield explosions while covering the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. After an apprenticeship of five years training as a news reporter, and also writing regular weekly columns reviewing films, jazz and pop records, he joined the Daily Sketch, aged 20, where he was the youngest reporter in Fleet Street. However, five years later in 1962, much to the shock of his family, friends and colleagues, he left his career in Fleet Street to gamble on setting up a British freelance news agency in Spain, then under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
…Creegor, Vivien
Vivien was born in London and admits to being on the wrong side of 55. She began her career at the BBC in 1976 as a production assistant in BBC Drama, where she also abridged books for BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime. Vivien was invited on to the BBC’s in-house broadcast training scheme and was taken on by BBC Radio 4 as an announcer (1980 – 1982).
…Hammal, Bruce
Bruce was born in 1951. He’s a former studio manager and BBC TV announcer (1975 – 1984). He also appeared in-vision on BBC TV’s Breakfast Time‘ in 1983, in the TV Choice slot and as the out-of-vision commentator on Come Dancing (1980 – 1984).
…Yates, Alastair
Alastair was a broadcaster whose career spanned four decades. He was born and brought up in Burton-upon-Trent. He founded/owned Al Kay Promotions, an entertainment company which managed clubs and pop groups (1967 – 1973). Alastair moved into broadcasting in 1973 as presenter/producer at BBC Radio Derby, where he spent two years. Other broadcasting jobs included: host of the daily morning show at BBC Radio Leicester (1976 – 1977); newsreader on regional news programme Midlands Today; newsreader on BBC Radio 4; current affairs host on BBC Radio Birmingham (1978 – 1980); presenter/reporter, Grampian TV (1980 – 1985); presenter/reporter, Anglia TV (1985 – 1988). Alastair had the distinction of being the first male anchor on Sky News when the channel launched in 1989. He co-hosted the breakfast programme there until 1991.
…Griffiths, Tracey-Anne
Now Tracey-Anne McCoy. Tracey-Anne started off with Downtown Radio as a newsreader (late-1980s – 1992). She then moved into television, becoming a continuity announcer and newsreader on Ulster Television (1992 – 1996).
Tracey-Anne moved to London in 1997 to take up an announcing role with Channel 4; she is also heard on E4 and regularly voices Film4 programme trails. She remained at Channel 4 until 2015.
Tracey-Anne has also worked for Sky News, Living TV and Discovery.
Armah, Claudia-Liza
Claudia-Liza is a TV news presenter. She has worked for Sky News and the BBC (60 Seconds, BBC Three). Since 2014, she has worked for the London Live television channel, where she hosts Headline London.
…Aziz, Lisa
Lisa is probably best known in her role as anchor on Sky News, where she worked from 1993 until autumn 2005. She began her television career at BBC West television in 1984, working on their regional news programme. In 1985, she switched sides, moving to HTV West as a reporter and presenter, where she remained until c. 1988. She then moved to TV-am, initially in a reporting role, but later becoming a news presenter, taking over from Gordon Honeycombe. Following the demise of TV-am, Lisa worked briefly for BBC World Service Television and the NBC Superchannel before moving to Sky News.
In September 2005, Lisa returned to Bristol, becoming one of the regular co-anchors on ITV West’s The West Tonight. From 16th February 2009, she became co-presenter of the pan-regional news programme The West Country Tonight, which replaced The West Tonight (ITV West) and Westcountry Live (ITV West Country).
…Cooper, Mike
Mike spent the first four years of his career at BBC Radios WM and Shropshire. He was also a freelance continuity announcer for Central (1993 – 1996). In January 1994, he moved south to work for SSVC (now BFBS) as a self-op announcer and transmission controller.
Mike says: “Having moved south I contacted Carlton and freelanced as an announcer for them from March 1994 until March 1997, then jumped across to the other side of the glass to become a transmission controller for ITV 1 working for LNN. I’d actually started as a transmission controller on a freelance basis in December 1996, then became a staff member in May 1997. To round things up, I stayed with LNN until October 2002. In that time I tried unsuccessfully to move into the newsroom as a director, and my frustration eventually led to finding an opening as a freelance director at ITN alongside my full-time job! I eventually left LNN a week before the rebrand to ITV 1 took place and Carlton/LWT disappeared forever.”
Later, Mike worked at the BBC as a news director. He then went on to spend almost three years doing the same at Sky News. In 2008, he moved back behind the microphone to work full-time as a voiceover artist. In addition to voicing TV programmes, he has returned to continuity: for a time at Film24, and on an ongoing basis for History.
Alexander, Lucy
Lucy’s journalistic career began as a reporter with BBC local radio – BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester and BBC Greater London Radio. Her first TV job was with Anglia TV as a producer. She soon moved on to reporting and presenting on Anglia News.
She later became a regular face on the ITV London regional news programme London Today and was soon co-anchoring the early evening London Tonight with Alastair Stewart.
Lucy later co-anchored the breakfast programme on the ITV News Channel with Andrew Harvey. In 2006, she joined Sky News.