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Huw Edwards
Born	(1961-08-18) 18 August 1961 (age 50) Bridgend, Glamorgan
Residence	Dulwich, London
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	Welsh
Alma mater	Cardiff University
Occupation	Journalist, presenter, newsreader
Employer	BBC
Notable credit(s)	Olympic Games BBC News at Ten BBC News Channel BBC News at Five The Royal Wedding 2011
Salary	£250,000[1]
Spouse	Vicky Flind
Children	5
Parents	Hywel Teifi Edwards (father)

Huw Edwards (born 18 August 1961) is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.

He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast. He also presents the hour-long BBC News at Five on the BBC News channel.

He began his career at radio station, Swansea Sound, from where he joined the BBC in 1984.

Background[link]

Edwards was born in Bridgend, Wales into a Welsh-speaking family, and, from the age of four, was brought up in Llangennech, near Llanelli. He went to Llanelli Boys' Grammar School. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in French from University College, Cardiff in 1983.^[2] His father was the noted Welsh author and academic Hywel Teifi Edwards, who was Research Professor of Literature of Wales (Welsh language) at the University College, Swansea.^[3] His mother, Aerona Protheroe, taught at Llanelli's Ysgol Gyfun y Strade for 30 years. After his first degree, he started postgraduate work at Cardiff University in Medieval French, but moved to the BBC.

Career[link]

BBC news[link]

He joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1984, and in 1986 became Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC Wales.

Between May 1999 and January 2003, Edwards presented the BBC Six O'Clock News. During this period, the Six O'Clock News was the most watched news programme in Britain.

In January 2003, he became the main presenter of the Ten O'Clock News on BBC One. The Ten is considered the corporation's flagship news broadcast. BBC News at Ten has since gone on to become the most watched news programme in Britain. Along with David Dimbleby, he also presents various special programmes such as the Festival of Remembrance, Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament. He led the BBC commentary team at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He has presented several election specials, including coverage of the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007 for BBC Wales, and also the BBC coverage of the United States elections, 2008 results and the inauguration of Barack Obama. He was formerly Chief Political Correspondent for BBC News, and spent more than 14 years reporting politics from Westminster across a range of BBC programmes.

He has also presented or contributed to a range of other BBC News programmes, including Breakfast News, One O'Clock News, Newsnight and Panorama. Since April 2006, Edwards has presented the newly established BBC News at Five O'Clock on the 24-hour BBC News channel. On 29 April 2011 he presented the BBC coverage of the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The coverage was watched by 20 million viewers at peak in the United Kingdom^[4]

Other programming and appearances[link]

Although predominantly a news journalist, Edwards has presented a wide range of programming on television and radio, including documentaries on classical music, religion, and the Welsh language, of which he is a native speaker. He has a particular interest in history and has presented documentaries on many historical subjects, including Owain Glyn Dwr, the south Wales Valleys, Gladstone and Disraeli, and a series following the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

He has also appeared as himself in cameo in the television series Absolute Power, and in an episode of Doctor Who, where he fronted coverage of a fictionalised 2012 Olympics.

In September 2008 the BBC Trust ruled that a documentary presented by Edwards on the subject of Welsh politics had broken the organisation's editorial guidelines. The programme, titled "Wales: Power And The People - Back To The Future" addressed the topic of The Welsh Assembly, with Edwards stating: "to achieve its full potential it needs even greater support for the people of Wales than it’s received so far" and "The more people that take part, the stronger and healthier our democracy in Wales will be." Following a complaint, the governing body concluded that Edwards' words were not objective and even-handed on the subject stating "it is not the role of BBC presenters to encourage audiences to exercise their right to vote on particular occasions.” It was also found that the documentary as a whole was biased against the Conservative Party.^[5][6][7]

In 2010 Edwards presented a programme titled The Prince And The Plotter about the investiture of the Prince of Wales, receiving the "Best on Screen presenter" at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for his work.^[8]

In February 2012 he launched a new historical documentary series made by BBC Wales, entitled The Story of Wales.^[9]

Non-BBC activities[link]

In March 2011, he also made an appearance to open Swansea University's "Hoffi Coffi" cafe in the library, which has been created to support the aims of Academi Hywel Teifi, after Huw's father spent his academic career at the university. He gave a speech in Welsh as he unveiled a wall mural of a poem by Tudur Hallam, Professor of Welsh at the university and chair of last year's Eisteddfod. Mr Edwards said it was a moving tribute to his father.^[10] In 2003, he was made a Fellow of the University of Wales and, in 2007, he became Honorary Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University.^[11] In April 2009, he was elected Vice-President of Cardiff University. In 2005, he was appointed Patron of the National College of Music. In October 2008, he accepted appointment as President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the London Welsh Centre.^[12]

Personal life[link]

He is married to Vicky Flind, a BBC producer.^[13] They have five children and live in Dulwich, London.^[14]

Awards[link]

• 2010 BAFTA Cymru Best Onscreen Presenter

References[link]

External links[link]

• South Wales Hall of Fame
• Cardiff University
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• Hon. President Llanelli Community Heritage

News items[link]

• Times February 2009
• Guardian interview January 2003
• Huw's rise to the top in September 2002

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Huw Edwards may refer to:

• Huw Edwards (conductor), Welsh conductor
• Huw Edwards (EastEnders), a fictional character in the television programme EastEnders
• Huw Edwards (politician) (born 1953), former Member of Parliament in the UK
• Huw Edwards (journalist) (born 1961), presenter of BBC News at Ten
• Huw T. Edwards (1892–1970), trade union leader and nationalist politician

See also[link]

• Hugh Edwards (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jennifer "Jennie" Bond (born 19 August 1950) is an English journalist and television presenter. She worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent.^[1] She has most recently hosted Cash in the Attic and narrated the five series programme, Great British Menu.

Early career[link]

Born in Hitchin)^[1], Bond was educated at St. Francis' College, a girls' independent school in Letchworth, Hertfordshire and at the University of Warwick, from where she graduated with a degree in French and European Literature.^[1] Her career began in print, working for various local newspapers in London in journalism and sub-editing roles. Her first job in journalism was as a reporter for the Richmond Herald and then the Uxbridge Evening Mail.^[1]

In 1977, aged 27, Bond moved to BBC radio, producing and editing. She was also a producer on Woman's Hour, Tuesday Call, International Assignment and for various television documentaries.Jennie Bond biodata</ref>

Royal correspondent[link]

In 1985 Bond became a radio news reporter and in 1988 she commenced reporting on television. She began her role as royal correspondent, which was to bring her to public attention, in 1989. During the 1990s she combined her reporting role with several presenting ones - regularly fronting BBC Breakfast News, the BBC One O'Clock News and the BBC Six O'Clock News, including presenting the Six O'Clock News on the day of the death of her close friend and fellow news reader Jill Dando.^[1]

Bond held the position as royal correspondent until the summer of 2003. During that time she reported on many dramatic and notable events to do with the British Royal Family, including the 1992 Windsor Castle fire, two royal weddings, the break-up of The Duke of York's marriage to Sarah Ferguson, the divorce of The Prince and Princess of Wales, the deaths of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and The Princess Margaret and has reported on The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's celebrations of her Golden Jubilee .^[1] She has also travelled extensively with the Royal Family. She was in Australia, in January 1994, when an attempt was made to shoot the Prince of Wales.^[2]

She travelled with Diana, Princess of Wales on her trip to Angola, with the Queen on her first official visits to Russia in 1994 and when she met Nelson Mandela in South Africa a year later.^[1] However, her hardest and most challenging assignments were when she had to report on the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.^[1]

Bond's reporting style suggested that she was very close personally to members of the Royal Family. She commented that she had become close to Diana and that her death came as a great shock.^[3] She actually instigated her first meeting with Diana. She sent a note, suggesting that if she was to report on Diana properly then she should at least know what her character was actually like, not basing her thoughts on stories that had appeared in newspapers. She commented on that meeting at Kensington Palace, stating: "Princess Diana was charming, articulate, fresh, interesting, but manipulative. She knew I was a journalist. This was no girlie-girlie meeting." ^[4]

She wrote a book in 2001 called Reporting Royalty, which tells how she covered the Royal Family in the 1990s. Impressionists such as Ronni Ancona on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression took to spoofing Bond's royal reports by posing as Bond and pretending to be the Queen herself, crown and all; in one sketch it was announced that Bond was to imminently accede to the throne.^{[citation needed]}

Life after the BBC[link]

Following her departure from the BBC in 2003, Bond's career took a different turn. In 2003, she made an appearance in an episode of the comedy series Little Britain. In February 2004 she proved popular with the public, when she finished as runner-up in the third series of the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. This episode, broadcast on 9 February, received viewing figures of 14.99 million, making it the most watched programme on ITV and BBC One that week. ^[5]

Bond appeared on "I'm a celebrity" to raise money for the Devon Air Ambulance Trust and raised £260,989.85 which the charity used to buy a state-of-the-art navigation system and to extend its helicopter flying time throughout the summer.^[6] During her time on the reality television show, she was required to do various 'bushtucker' trials, which involved her eating various creatures such as a stick insect and a witchety grub, as well as being placed in a dark, water-filled coffin with rats for ten minutes.^[7] She also fell out with fellow contestant Lord Brocket during the programme.^[8]

She subsequently presented American TV cable and satellite network E!'s coverage of the BAFTA film awards, Live from the Red Carpet. She also presented her own three part documentary called Jennie Bond's Royals on Five and in 2005, she presented the BBC's daytime coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, alongside Charlie Dimmock. In the same year, Bond appeared in Have I Been Here Before?. More recently she appeared in Posh Swap on Five, where she was transformed into a Brummie woman. She had to convince two of her best friends she really was the Brummie lass. Bond was also the host for the first series of Great British Menu, in which different chefs have to compete by cooking meals; the winner of the first series had the chance to cook for the Queen on her 80th birthday. Bond has presented the BBC's Cash in the Attic. In 2006, she was a celebrity guest on Stars in Their Eyes where she sang as Debbie Harry. She presented the second series of Great British Menu during April and May 2007.^{[citation needed]}

On 28 July 2007, Bond appeared in a special celebrity version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Michael Buerk to raise money for NCH, the children's charity, (now called 'Action for Children'). In a combined effort, they raised £64,000. On 22 August 2007, she presented an episode of Driving Me Crazy which saw her investigating whether the authorities are giving motorists excessive penalties through speeding fines and parking tickets.^{[citation needed]}

She has starred as the celebrity 'hider' in a 2008 episode of the CBBC show Hider in the House. In the show, she managed to complete all her challenges without being 'discovered'. She (also in 2008), hosted a show called Lost Royals. Bond took part in ITV's entertainment show Born To Shine in aid of Save The Children.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography[link]

• Reporting Royalty: Behind the scenes with the BBC's Royal Correspondent (2001)
• The Little Princess (2002)
• Elizabeth: Fifty Glorious Years (2003)
• Elizabeth (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jennie Bond at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennie Bond on Posh Swap
• Knight Ayton Management: Jennie Bond

Alistair McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression (formerly Alistair McGowan's Big Impression), which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003.^[1] He has also worked extensively in theatre and appeared in the West End in Art, Cabaret, The Mikado and Little Shop of Horrors (for which he received an Laurence Olivier Award nomination).^[2] As a television actor, he played the lead role in BBC1's Mayo. He wrote the play Timing (nominated as Best New Comedy at the whatsonstage.com awards^[3]) and the book A Matter of Life and Death or How to Wean Your Man off Football with former comedy partner Ronni Ancona. He also provided voices for Spitting Image.

He made his début broadcast as a tennis commentator for BBC Sport at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.

Personal life and education[link]

McGowan was born in Evesham to Marion and George McGowan. Although aware his father was born in Calcutta, India, Alistair and his sister Kay were unaware of the fact that their father had a Anglo-Indian & distant Irish background until McGowan explored his ancestry on BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? in the 26 October 2007 episode^[4] four years after his father's death.

Alistair attended the Simon de Montfort Middle School in Evesham and took lead roles in school productions. He went on to attend Evesham High School.^[5] He graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA English degree in 1986.^[6] He then went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 1989.^{[citation needed]}

McGowan is a supporter of Leeds United, even claiming that he decided to study at Leeds partly because of its proximity to Elland Road,^[7] and his obsession with football forms the basis of his 2009 book A Matter of Life and Death.^[8]

Career[link]

McGowan found work as a stand-up comedian, and did some of the voices for the ITV television series Spitting Image. His sporting impressions were showcased on the BBC 2 football magazine programme Sick as a Parrot. He also appeared as the recycling man in the BBC show Think about Science.

Later he took over from Stephen Tompkinson playing Spock in the Tim Firth comedy drama, Preston Front. In his early career, McGowan had minor roles in shows such as Children's Ward, and in the pilot episode of Jonathan Creek. He also starred in the first series of Dead Ringers.

McGowan also appeared in the Scottish football sketch show Only an Excuse? from 1996 to 1998. He also hosted and starred in a sporting impressions show on Radio 5 live called The Game's up in the late 1990s. Since 2 June 2012, McGowan has hosted ITV comedy show You Cannot Be Serious

The Big Impression[link]

He is best known for his work with Jan Ravens and Ronni Ancona on The Big Impression, formerly Alistair McGowan's Big Impression. McGowan has a repertoire of well over one hundred impersonations many of which have been covered on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression.

The most popular and regular include David Beckham, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, Richard Madeley, Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Robert Kilroy-Silk, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Angus Deayton, Terry Wogan and the fictional characters Ross Geller (from Friends) and Dot Cotton (from EastEnders).

McGowan and Ronni Ancona are probably best known for their portrayal of Posh and Becks with McGowan exaggerating David Beckham's perceived lack of intelligence^{[citation needed]} and Ancona exaggerating the role of "Posh Spice" (Victoria Beckham) with pouting lips. As the Beckhams' style of dress regularly changed - in particular David's changing haircuts - McGowan adapted his costumes and style accordingly. In later years he developed his portrayal of Beckham into a brainiac infuriated by Posh's lack of intelligence.

Return to acting and radio work (2005)[link]

He made a return to dramatic acting in 2005, appearing in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel Bleak House. In 2006 he starred in the detective series Mayo. He also presented an episode of Have I Got News For You on 20 October 2006. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for the Christmas 2006 season playing Mr Page in Merry Wives: the Musical (a version of The Merry Wives of Windsor) opposite Judi Dench, Simon Callow and Haydn Gwynne.

Despite his acting commitments, he has still continued a successful career of celebrity impersonator on the BBC Radio and also did re-voicing of video footages of 'The Sports Review of the Year' and Match of the Day which has turned him into a sideline sporting celebrity.^[9] Two releases of 'Alistair McGowan's Football Backchat' were best sellers in both comedy and sports video charts.

In 2007, McGowan starred as the dentist (and other, smaller characters) in the West End transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory's revival of Little Shop of Horrors, and filmed My Life in Ruins, an American comedy film set in the ruins of ancient Greece.

In 2008, McGowan made his directing debut at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Noël Coward's classic comedy Semi-Monde.^[10]

In January and February 2008, McGowan starred as the eponymous protagonist of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan, in a revival by Carl Rosa Opera Company. On 21 April 2008 he took over the role of Emcee in Cabaret (musical) at the Lyric Theatre, London. In July of that year he appeared in a revival of They're Playing Our Song at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

In March 2009, McGowan starred as The Duke in the stage version of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.^[11]

Alistair appeared as a host on one episode of the fifth series of Live At The Apollo, which aired on 1 January 2010.

McGowan appeared in Skins in February 2011. He played Nick's coach in the fifth episode of the new series.

On 12 March 2011 he played the part of the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, at the Barbican Hall, London.^[12] and, later in the year, took over from Rupert Everett the part of Henry Higgins in Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre, opposite Kara Tointon as Eliza Doolittle.

In April 2011 he takes to the stage at the Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts Centre at the University of Nottingham in David Mamet's controversial drama Oleanna.

In 2011 he co-starred in the CBBC series Leonardo as Piero di Cosimo de' Medici.

On 9 June 2011 he was unveiled as the newest addition to the BBC Wimbledon commentary team.

Environmental work[link]

McGowan serves as an ambassador to WWF-UK, part of the global World Wide Fund for Nature, and campaigns on a number of environmental issues. In 2004 he launched 'the BIG recycle' national campaign urging public to reduce rubbish by recycling it.

On 2 August 2006, he appeared on BBC Radio 2 on Steve Wright's show to appeal to listeners to be more energy aware. More recently, he appeared on the James Whale Show on Talksport on 20 June 2007 on this issue.

McGowan is a patron of the urban tree-planting charity Trees for Cities.

On 13 January 2009, it was announced that McGowan in partnership with three other Greenpeace activists, including actress Emma Thompson, had bought land near Sipson, a village under threat from the proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport.^[13] It is hoped that the area of ground, half the size of a football pitch, will prevent the government from carrying through its plan to expand Heathrow. The field, bought for an undisclosed sum from a local land owner, will be split into small squares and sold across the globe. When interviewed Mr McGowan said: "BAA were so confident of getting the Government's go ahead, but we have cunningly bought the land they need to build their runway."^[14]

In 2009, he attended the Bromley Environmental Awards and was the celebrity guest at Bromley Civic Centre where the awards were presented to various schools in the borough.

In June 2011, it was announced that McGowan had become a Patron of the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery, where over 30 members of his extended family are interred.^[15]

Other work[link]

• ElvenQuest, radio 2009, as Lord Darkness

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alistair McGowan News, Biography and CV - Official Web site
• Alistair McGowan at the Internet Movie Database
• Alistair McGowan credits - BBC Comedy Guide
• Alistair McGowan's Big Impression - BBC Comedy Guide

James Landale is a BBC journalist who is the current Deputy Political Editor for BBC News.^[1]

Education[link]

Landale was educated at Eton College, a famous independent school in the town of Eton in Berkshire,^[2] and was a contemporary of London Mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by the University of Bristol. While studying Politics there, he became the first editor of Epigram, Bristol University's independent student newspaper.

Life and career[link]

Before joining the BBC in 2003, Landale spent 10 years as a reporter at The Times newspaper, latterly as Assistant Foreign Editor.

Landale was chief political correspondent for the BBC News Channel until 2009 when he became Deputy Political Editor, assisting Political Editor Nick Robinson. ^[3] During his time as a political correspondent he has also presented some relief shifts on the channel.

Landale lives in Hampshire. He was diagnosed with large B-cell Non-Hodgkins lymphoma in October 2008, and has undergone six courses of chemotherapy.^[4]

Books[link]

• Duel, James Landale (2005) ISBN 1-84195-647-3. The story of a 1826 duel at Kirkcaldy involving his ancestor David Landale
• Landales 21st Century Cautionary Tales (2006) ISBN 1-84195-847-6

References[link]

External links[link]

• James Landale at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at tvnewsroom.co.uk
• Landale reports on travelling with the Prime Minister

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