It is excruciatingly difficult to find a comprehensive compilation of Black British TV presenters anywhere on the Internet so I decided to come up with one of my own. This wasn’t easy because unless you are a tv junkie like me, you would never have heard of some of the names. And some of them have painfully little information about them.
What did surprise me however was just how many of them are actually out there with a great number of them presenting major British TV programmes and shows:
CHARLENE WHITE
White was a presenter and senior broadcast journalist at BBC before she joined ITN in 2008 – as a newscaster for the ITV News at 5:30 on ITV a role she continued until 10 October 2012, months before the shows ending. During her time on the ITV News at 5:30, she became a regular presenter of ITV London News across a wide range of the news output. Later she also started presenting the ITV News Weekend Daytime bulletins on a rotation basis.
On 9 April 2014, Charlene White became the first black woman to present ITV News at Ten. She can be regularly seen hosting weekend evening ITV News programmes, the weekday ITV Lunchtime News, ITV Evening News and ITV News London evening programme.
ORE ODUBA
Oduba presents sport bulletins for BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 5 Live. He has also presented and reported on British Olympic Dreams.
Oduba began a debut presenting solo on the morning slot for the Commonwealth Games 2014 on BBC One and BBC Sport. Since 2015, he has been a presenter on The National Lottery Draws on Saturday evenings and he presented the 2015 New Year Live programme on BBC One.
Oduba joined the BBC presenting Newsround in August 2008. His first role on the programme was as a reporter and breakfast bulletin presenter. He was quickly promoted to deputy presenter in 2009, filling in for main presenter.
In 2010 he co-presented the main Newsround bulletin. This continued until 2011 when he became the main presenter till he left in 2014.
RONKE PHILLIPS
Ronke has been a journalist for more than 20 years and has been fortunate enough to enjoy a varied career in print, radio and television. She has worked both as a Presenter and Reporter – for national and regional television, both in the UK and abroad.
Ronke secured a major exclusive when she found out the real identity of ‘Torso in the Thames’ child known as ‘Adam’. The resulting film recently won an Amnesty International Award, was shortlisted for a Royal Television Society award and won 3 different ITV Regions and Nations awards. In 2002 she won a Royal Television Society award for her coverage of the verdicts in the Damilola Taylor trial.
She is of Nigerian heritage, and began her broadcast career working as a Radio Reporter for a host of local BBC Radio stations including BBC Radio London, Nottingham, Leicester and Derby.
The breakthrough into television journalism came through a place on the ITN’s News Trainee Scheme through Central TV in Nottingham. Ronke has also worked for BBC Daytime, BBC Features, BBC New York and GMTV.
Since 1999 she has been a Correspondent at ITV’s London Tonight, working on a number of special investigations including coverage of the release of the M25 three, the murder of Victoria Climbie and the July 7th bombings in London in 2005.
Ronke is also an accomplished conference facilitator and event host. She is also a freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Independent, the Daily Mail, The Voice and Pride Magazine.
She is a Patron of the Ebony Horse Club and a supporter of charities; the Vitiligo Society, the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust and the Deaf Society.
CLIVE MYRIE
Clive Myrie is an English television news journalist, who works for BBC News as London World Affairs Correspondent and Presenter. He is the main evening presenter on the BBC News Channel Monday-Wednesday and alternate Thursdays and he presents BBC News at Ten on alternate Sundays.
Myrie joined the BBC on the corporation’s graduate journalism programme. His first assignment was as a reporter for Radio Bristol in 1988, returning to the BBC after a year with Independent Radio News. He then reported for Points West, and latterly BBC Television and Radio News.
In 1996, he became a BBC foreign correspondent, and has since reported from more than 80 countries including the US, Japan, Feance and Asia
His career has encompassed major stories such as the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton, and wars in Kosovo,Afghanistan and Iraq.
Myrie has won several nominations for his work, most significantly for his role in the Bafta-nominated team behind coverage of the Mozambique floods. .
After latterly serving as Europe correspondent based in Brussels, he was appointed a presenter on the BBC News Channel in April 2009, replacing the retired Chris Lowe. Since joining BBC News, Myrie has presented the BBC Weekend News and weekend editions of BBC News at Ten and BBC Breakfast, both on BBC One. In June 2014, he began presenting weekday bulletins on BBC One.
He currently presents the 18:30 – 00:00 slot, Monday to Thursday, on the BBC News Channel. During the2015 General Election, he was the main presenter of Election Tonight at 19:30 and 21:30.
SEAN FLETCHER
Sean Fletcher is an American-British journalist and radio broadcast personality, best known for his work with ITV and BBC.
After training as a music producer, Fletcher began his journalism career in Cardiff, producing packages for BBC Radio Wales. He then moved to London to work behind the scenes at Radio 5 Live.
From 2005 until 2011, Fletcher presented sports bulletins on the rolling news channel BBC News, and has also presented sport on the BBC Weekend News and BBC Breakfast on BBC One as well as BBC World News. In March 2010, Fletcher began reporting on news stories for BBC Breakfast.
In October 2011, Fletcher left the BBC to join Sky Sports News, where he worked until his departure in early 2014.
On 3 March 2014, it was announced Fletcher would become a sports newsreader on the new ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain. He first appeared on the programme on its opening day, 28 April 2014.
In 2015, Fletcher presented Rebound, a ten-part daytime game show for ITV, airing in the 5pm slot. A second series of the show was produced and aired in 2016.
Since October 2015, Fletcher has been an occasional reporter for Countryfile on BBC One. He also co-presents the BBC Two series Food Detective.
REGGIE YATES
Reggie Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ, best known from his roles as Rastamouse, Leo Jones in Doctor Who, and for his work at the BBC in radio and television – presenting various shows for BBC Radio 1 with Fearne Cotton – as well as hosting the ITV2 reality show Release the Hounds since 2013.
In 2012 and 2013, Yates co-hosted the first two series of BBC One singing show The Voice UK.
Since 2015, he has co-presented the primetime BBC One game show Prized Apart, alongside Emma Willis. He is also the presenter of the BBC Three showReggie Yates’ Extreme Russia, Extreme South Africa and Extreme UK.
Yates made his first television appearance in Desmond’s at the age of eight. He also appeared in Disney Club, as Robbie. In 1998, Yates appeared as a guest presenter on Diggit on CITV also under the name Robbie. In 2002, he played Carl Fenton in the popular children’s series Grange Hill. From 2002 to 2004, he presented the Sunday morning programme Smile, and then went on to present Top of the Popswith former Smile co-host Fearne Cotton before the final episode broadcast on BBC Two on 30 July 2006. He also created and starred in the series The Crustand presented Dance Factory and his own radio show on BBC Radio 1.
In 2005, Yates appeared in the BBC singing contest Comic Relief Does Fame Academy in aid of Comic Relief, finishing in fourth place
LIZ MZIMBA
Lizo Mzimba is an English journalist and television presenter, currently the Entertainment Correspondent for BBC News.
Following this, Mzimba was one of the longest-serving presenters, a reporter and an assistant producer for CBBC’s Newsround between 1998 and May 2008.
He attended the independent Solihull School (during which time he was also leader of the Birmingham Schools’ Symphony Orchestra) and The University of Birmingham. Whilst at Birmingham he was a member of the student TV station, winning awards at NaSTA (National Student Television Association). By 1991 he was contributing to Sounds magazine, a long-term UK weekly pop/rock music newspaper, published from 10 October 1970 to 6 April 1991.
BRENDA EMANUS
Brenda Emmanus is a broadcaster journalist who works in TV, radio, and print journalism. She is currently BBC London News’ art, culture and entertainment correspondent.
Brenda’s profile rose as one of the co-presenters on BBC One’s The Clothes Show, which she contributed to for five years. She has since fronted BBC One shows including the interior design programme The Terrace, The Midweek National Lottery and features for Holiday.
As a regular face on ITV’s This Morning, Brenda teamed up with Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan as their fashion and entertainment expert. She is no stranger to radio, having presented for many shows like The Early Show live on BBC Radio Two and Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. As a freelance writer Brenda has contributed feature articles to Luxure, Pride, Cosmopolitan and Caribbean Eye magazines, as well as The Observer and New Nation.
TOLU ADEOYE
Tolu is a senior broadcast journalist and reporter with the BBC who currently graces our screens on the BBC London news bulletins.
The University of Sheffield Media Law graduate started out as a trainee reporter attached to various regional BBC news studios before becoming a senior BBC journalist in 2016
LATE KUMLA DUMOR
Komla Afeke Dumor (3 October 1972 – 18 January 2014) was a Ghanaian journalist who worked for BBC World News and was the main presenter of its programme Focus on Africa.
Dumor started as the morning show host for Joy FM in Accra, Ghana, and was the 2003 winner of Journalist of the Year award given by the Ghana Journalists Association.
In 2006 Dumor joined the BBC African Service in London as host of the radio programme Network Africa. From 2008 to 2012 he presented The World Today on the BBC World Service. In 2011 Dumor began presenting the World News and Africa Business Report on BBC World News and early mornings on BBC One and the BBC News Channel. When the latter was relaunched in 2013; fellow BBC correspondent Lerato Mbele was chosen as host.
In December 2013, he was named as one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2013 by New African magazine, with the citation: “It has been a coming of age for Kumla Dumor this year. The presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s flagship and first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News, has established himself as one of the emerging African faces of global broadcasting. As a lead presenter for BBC World, Dumor has considerable influence on how the continent is covered.”
At the time of his death, Dumor was the only West African newsreader on BBC World News
SIR TREVOR MACDONALD
Sir Trevor McDonald, OBE
(born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian-British news readerand journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN.
McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism.
After working as a print and broadcast journalist in Trinidad during the 1960s, in 1969 McDonald was employed by BBC Radio as a producer, based in London but still broadcasting to the Caribbean. In 1973 he began his long association with Independent Television News, first as a general reporter, later as a sports correspondent, but ultimately concentrating on international politics. In the 1980s he spent some time with the ITN-produced Channel 4 News, but returned to ITV in 1989, presenting the early-evening news.
McDonald was promoted in 1992 as the sole presenter of News at Ten and became a well-known face on British television screens. McDonald stayed with ITN when News at Ten was axed in 1999, moving to present the new ITV Evening News. News at Ten was briefly relaunched on 22 January 2001, to which McDonald returned as a presenter. He presented theITV News at 10.30 following News at Ten‘s second axing.
From 1999 to 2005 McDonald hosted ITV’s flagship current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald. The show was revived in 2010 with presenter Julie Etchingham.
On 29 November 2005, speculation that McDonald was about to leave ITV to work elsewhere ended when he signed a further two-year contract involving producing both a documentary show and a new series of interviews which will be of a wider general interest.
McDonald presented his last ITV News bulletin on 15 December 2005. The veteran newsreader stepped down from his role as anchor after more than 30 years at ITN, but said he had no plans to retire completely from television. At the end of the final programme, he signed off with the words: That brings to an end my association with the news at 10.30. Thank you for watching. Over the closing titles of the last bulletin that McDonald presented, the November 1992 to March 1999 ITV News at Ten theme was played as a tribute to McDonald
On 31 October 2007, ITV announced that, early in 2008, McDonald would come out of retirement to present the relaunched News at Ten together withJulie Etchingham. He told a newspaper: “I couldn’t turn down the move back to that iconic time slot.” News at Ten began broadcasting once again on 14 January 2008.
It was announced on 30 October 2008 that McDonald would step down from News at Ten once the US 2008 Presidential elections were over, to be replaced by Mark Austin. His last bulletin was on 20 November 2008. It was reported at the time that he would continue to present links for The Tonight Programme.
Since he has gone on to produce and present documentary programmesand series for.
In 2009, McDonald travelled to the Caribbean and hosted the three part series The Secret Caribbean with Trevor McDonald.
In 2011, he travelled around the Mediterranean and hosted the fiur part series The Secret Mediterranean with Trevor McDonald and in 2012, he travelled along the route of the Mississippi River and hosted the three part series The Mighty Mississippi with Trevor McDonald.
In 2013, McDonald visited death row inmates and hosted the series Inside Death Row. In early 2015, he hosted the 2 part series The Mafia with Trevor McDonald from New York.
In late 2015, McDonald presented Las Vegas with Trevor McDonald, a two-part series for ITV an in September 2016, McDonald presented a two-part series called Inside Scotland Yard With Trevor McDonald for ITV.
HUGH WOOZENCROFT
Hugh presents the sports segment of the Victoria Derbyshire programme on the BBC News Channel.
Hr started his career on BBC Radio 5 live’s “Sportsweek after a degree in philosophy and politics and a masters in sports journalism and soon moved to work on “5 live Sport” with a focus on rugby union and boxing.
He produced live sport on radio at the London 2012 Olympics which is one of the highlights of his career thus far. Since working in sport news at the BBC Sport centre, he has worked mainly on BBC radio output, and he’s the news on BBC Radio 5 live.
DES COLEMAN
Des is a British actor and TV presenter.
In 1996 he was cast as wideboy Lenny Wallace in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, his first television job. Coleman remained with the soap until 1999. His television work post EastEnders has included: Is Harry on the Boat? (2001); Casualty (2003); The Bill(2004), and Doctors (2004; 2006). He also appeared in the 2001 film Submerged with Sam Neill. On stage he has appeared in London’s West End’s Rent, Simply Heavenly, and understudied the lead in Trevor Nunn’s musical opera Porgy and Bess. Currently, Des works on The One Show as a reporter.
Coleman has worked for BBC Radio Derby, where he was asked to do the weather report at the Broadcast Centre in Nottingham. This led to a career change. He trained as a weather presenter and in 2007 he began presenting for BBC’s East Midlands Todaytelevision. The BBC terminated his contract in 2011 after Coleman used a live weather report to protest his innocence over firearm charges; he deliberately put the wrong temperature on the weather map and told viewers they should not believe everything said by the media.
He has reported for Inside Out (UK TV series) and Politics Show for BBC East Midlands. In March 2016 he presented for BBC Radio Nottingham.
In 2016 he joined ITV Central’s ITV News Central as the weather presenter.
ANGIE LAMAR
Angie Le Mar (born 27 October 1965) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter and producer.
She was the first Black British performer to appear atHarlem’s Apollo Theatre and had the first ever sell-out show by a female black comedian in London’s West End. Her TV appearances include the BBC’s The Real McCoy and Channel 4’s Get Up, Stand Up, and presented The Saturday Morning Show on Choice FM.
Le Mar made her first appearance as a panelist on ITV’S popular lunchtime programme Loose Women aired on 2 February 2011. Through her own production company, Straight To Audience Productions, Le Mar has commissioned three projects that are in development for internet streaming. The Living Room will be an intimate setting in which Le Mar interviews personalities from the world of business, entertainment, politics, sport and lifestyle. Angie’s Round The Table is a debate show presented by Le Mar, with six invited guests debating on social issues and topics that affect ordinary people, literally around a table set in a casual environment. The third project is called Women at the Top of Their Game, an interview programme with a small live audience, focusing on women who have reached the top of their chosen profession. Le Mar worked on a new TV sitcom called The Ryan Sisters, that was scheduled for production in 2012.
TRISH ADUDU
Patricia “Trish” Adudu is a British-Nigerian freelance journalist, television presenter and DJ.
Adudu began working in television as an assistant producer of BBC’s sport show Grandstand and the BBC’s football show Match of the Day. She then presented on Janet Street Porter’s series Reportage. From 1997 she worked as Channel 5’s main sports presenter for six years. Five News was based in the ITN Building in London’s Grays Inn Road, Adudu was known for her singing in the lifts of the building with “Soap Expert” Chris Stacey, who also worked in the building. This raised eyebrows from senior ITN staff most notably Sir Trevor McDonald. She appeared on the daytime shows Loose Women between 1999-2002 and Inside Out.
Adudu spent much of 2013 and 2014 working with OH TV on Real Talk and other programmes. In May 2014, she presented a report for The One Show. In August of the same year, she returned to The One Show and also presented a segment of Inside Out.
From 2 March 2013, Adudu also worked as a Saturday breakfast presenter for the BBC local radio station BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. Since 1 December 2014, she has presented weekday afternoons 13:00-16:00 and has spent time covering breakfast on the station.
In October 2010, Adudu appeared on theBBC Two programme, The Big Silence.
Since June 2014, Adudu has been presenting some weekend editions of Midlands Today.
ADE ADEPITAN
Adeptitan is an accomplished wheelchair basketball player, for his club Milton Keynes Aces and as a member of Great Britain team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and the gold medal at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Adepitan has featured on many television programmes and series as an actor, presenter or guest, particularly for the BBC. He often uses television as a platform to campaign against racism and disability discrimination. He was one of three wheelchair basketball players featured in the 2002 BBC One ident Hip-Hop. He was one of the main presenters of the children’s programme Xchange produced for CBBC and has appeared in the soap opera EastEnders. He starred as wheelchair basketball coach, “Baggy Awolowo”, in the TV series Despekrados.
Adepitan also participated in Beyond Bopundaries which was a four-part documentary in which Adepitan trekked through rainforests, deserts, rivers and mountains in Nicaragua and made his own video diary filmed in London and Spain, talking about his sporting aspirations and how he coped as a London boy living in Zaragoza unable to speak any Spanish.
Adepitan was appointed as one of the main presenters on Channel 4 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games and co-presents That Paralympic Show with Rick Edwards.
In 2013, he presented a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, ‘Britain on Benefits’, and also presented a documentary for Channel 4’s ‘Unreported World’ about Cuban basketball players, ‘Cuba, Basketball and Betrayal’. Adepitan has become increasingly involved in making documentaries for Channel 4.
In 2014, he became one of the presenters of the new BBC travel series The Travel Show. He also anchored the Winter Paralympic Games for Channel 4 and Invictus Games for the BBC. In July 2016, he guest presented an episode of The One Show. In 2016, Ade co-presented three-part BBC Two series New York: America’s Busiest City. He was part of the Channel 4 Rio 2016 Paralympics presenting team.
CLAUDIA LIZA ARMAGH
Claudia-Liza Armah is a presenter on Sky News.
The talented reporter, who grew up in west London, presented BBC Three’s news segment 60 Seconds and BBC News Interactive, before joining London Live for its launch last year.
ANDI PETERS
Andi Eleazu Peters is an English television presenter, producer, journalist, voice-over artist, and voice actor currently employed by ITV.
Peters initially obtained national television exposure as a presenter within Children’s BBC playing alongside Edd the Duck, and subsequently acquired technical experience.
He is mostly associated with shows for young people. Initially he presented Freetime, on ITV, but reached a much wider audience with Edd the Duck and Wilson (an arm purporting to be part of a butler) in “The Broom Cupboard” slot on Children’s BBC, which he presented from May 1989 to September 1993. He eventually left the Broom Cupboard and went on to co present Live & Kicking, from 1993 to 1996. After leaving Children’s BBC, he began some work on CITV, including The Noise and appearing as a guest on Scratchy & Co.
In January 2006, Peters took part in ITV 1’s reality ice-skating show Dancing on Ice. Along with fellow ex-contestant Andrea McLean, he presented fan showDancing on Ice Extra every weekday on ITV for the rest of the show’s run.
Peters returned to ITV in June 2006 to co-host the new Sunday morning cookery show, Sunday Feast. In September–October 2006, he co-presented Channel 5’s The All Star Talent Show.
On 16 December 2006, Peters made an appearance on ITV’s X Factor. As in the previous year, Peters was stationed as a reporter behind the scenes at the location of a CD factory, ready to launch production of the winner’s single.
Peters has hosted the Dancing on Ice Tour since 2007.
Peters owns a modelling agency, which caters for fitness models. This came about after he became a cover star for UK fitness magazine Men’s Health in September 2007. He was runner-up in the third series of Celebrity MasterChef, which aired in July 2008.
Since 2013, Peters has been narrating the ITV2 reality series The Big Reunion, which shows the reunions of pop groups.
He appeared in the ITV daytime show Show Me the Telly a number of times towards the end of 2013. Since 28 April 2014, Peters has hosted a live, competition segment called the “Wheel of Cash” on the breakfast news programme Good Morning Britain.’m, and also the ITV daytime game show Ejector Seat, which airs each weekday at 4 pm.
He occasionally presents “The Hub” on This Morning.
JESSICA CREIGHTON
Beginning her career as a BBC trainee, Jessica was soon promoted to Olympic Sports Reporter where she produced films on British and international athletes and their journeys to the 2012 Games.
She was one of the BBC’s leading voices at the London Olympics, broadcasting to an audience of millions on national platforms such as BBC Radio 4, BBC One and the BBC Sport website.
As a freelancer, Jessica has presented BT Sport’s Women’s Super League Review Show and reported for Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) at the Youth Olympic Games in China. Such is her growing reputation as a charismatic reporter and presenter, she’s also featured on popular BBC programmes The One Show, Final Score, BBC Breakfast and the Women’s Football Show.
Jessica currently presents sports bulletins on BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire Show and the BBC News Channel.
References: Wikipedia; TVNews.com; Womanoftheyear.com