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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2010) |
| Bill Turnbull | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Robert Jolyon Turnbull 25 January 1956 [citation needed] Guildford, Surrey, England, United Kingdom |
| Ethnicity | British |
| Occupation | Journalist & News Presenter |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC Breakfast |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah McCombie (1988–present) |
| Children | Henry (born October 1988) Will (born October 1989) Flora (born August 1991) |
William Robert "Bill" Turnbull (born 25 January 1956) is a British journalist and presenter, currently employed by the BBC and best known for presenting BBC Breakfast. He is the main male presenter of Breakfast broadcast on BBC One and BBC News, presenting alongside Susanna Reid each Monday-Wednesday.
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Early life [edit]
Turnbull was born in Surrey, South East England to an English father of Scottish ancestry and an English mother. He was educated at Eton College in Berkshire, followed by the University of Edinburgh, where he edited the student newspaper.
Career history [edit]
Bill Turnbull's career began at Scottish local station Radio Clyde in 1978, and later he freelanced for a number of years in the USA.
He joined the BBC as a reporter for the Today programme in 1986 and Breakfast as a reporter in 1988, before becoming a correspondent for BBC News in 1990. He covered a wide range of domestic and international stories, reporting from over thirty countries including a four-year stint as Washington Correspondent, based in the USA. His producer for a while was Sian Williams. In this role he reported on a whole swathe of major American stories, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the Monica Lewinsky scandal that rocked Bill Clinton's presidency.
In 1997 Turnbull moved back to the UK and into the studio to become one of the main presenters on BBC News 24, appearing alongside Valerie Sanderson. He also presented regular programmes on Radio 5 Live, including a stint as a presenter on Weekend Breakfast.
He joined the BBC Breakfast team in 2001 as a weekend presenter, presenting alongside Sian Williams initially and then later Sarah Montague, Mishal Husain and Susanna Reid. He also regularly appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday programme with Sophie Raworth, Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Silverton and Louise Minchin. In 2008 he became the main weekday presenter of Breakfast rejoining Williams, replacing Dermot Murnaghan. He was also an occasional relief presenter of News at Six and News at One.
As well as anchoring programmes in the studio, he regularly presents on location. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he was sent to New Orleans to report for BBC News, presenting both Breakfast and the News at Six live from Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi. In the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, Bill anchored Breakfast's coverage live from King's Cross railway station. Bill fronted the programme's coverage of the 2008 US Presidential election live from Washington and New York. He was in Washington, D.C. once again for the 2012 us presidential election.
In April and May 2010 Turnbull travelled around the UK presenting and reporting for Breakfast on the General Election campaign trail.[1][2] In June 2010 he presented Breakfast live from Whitehaven in the aftermath of the Cumbria shootings. Bill now presents the BBC Breakfast show from Salford, with Susanna Reid and Louise Minchin.
Other TV appearances [edit]
In 2005, he was a contestant in the third series of the BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing, paired with Karen Hardy. In spite of a serious ankle injury in the second week (which then flared up at various points in the series), he stayed in the competition seven weeks, finishing sixth out of twelve contestants.
In August 2006, he agreed to take part in a polyphasic sleep experiment presented on BBC One's The One Show programme. In this experiment he slept for a total of three hours per day, in six thirty-minute bursts, for ten consecutive days. The effect of this sleep pattern on his health was plain to see as he presented Breakfast almost every weekday during the duration of the exercise and became increasingly sleep deprived.[3]
In November 2006, Turnbull performed on screen with the BBC News presenters for Children in Need.[4]
Turnbull also appeared in, and won, an episode of the BBC celebrity game show School's Out broadcast on BBC One, Saturday 11 August 2007.
In September 2007, Bill appeared on the celebrity version of ITV1 gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? alongside his BBC Breakfast co-presenter Sian Williams. The pair played to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
On 28 October 2007 he made a guest appearance on the children's television show SMart. In January 2008 he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind. His specialist subject was Beekeeping.
In 2009, he took part in the BBC series Around the World in 80 Days with Breakfast colleague Louise Minchin for Children in Need, travelling from Mongolia, through Russia and South Korea, before crossing the Pacific on a container ship and landing in California.[5]
In 2011 he also made an appearance on the BBC show Pointless alongside his BBC Breakfast co-presenter Sian Williams, which they won raising money for charity. He also appeared alongside Lee Mack and Louie Spence on the panel quiz show Would I Lie To You?, and made a guest appearance as himself in "The Wedding of River Song", the finale of the sixth series of Doctor Who.
In 2012 he appeared in Professor Green's music video for "Remedy".
In 2013 he joined the presenting team of the BBC's flagship religious programme Songs of Praise and also appeared in an episode of Room 101.
Personal life [edit]
Turnbull married Sarah McCombie in March 1988 in the London Borough of Hackney. The couple have two sons, Henry and Will (born October 1988 and October 1989), and a daughter Flora (born August 1991). Bill and his wife previously lived in Buckinghamshire but had to relocate to Rainow, Cheshire in 2012 following BBC Breakfast moving to Salford.[6]
Turnbull is a fan of Wycombe Wanderers football club[7] where he commentates on home games for online listeners. His hobbies include beekeeping, he also keeps chickens. In addition Turnbull enjoys long distance running, having competed in the London Marathon on a number of occasions, and the Great North Run on 5 October 2008. On 8 September 2009, Turnbull was made an honorary doctor at Bucks New University in recognition of his charity work within the Buckinghamshire community.
In May 2010, he published "The Bad Beekeepers Club", a humorous book about the ups and downs of beekeeping.
He is a fluent speaker of French.[8]
References [edit]
- ^ General Election 2010 – television, radio, online, mobile and interactive. Bbc.co.uk (6 April 2010). Retrieved on 9 February 2013.
- ^ ANDREW GREAVES: 'Expect Brown to come out fighting today' The Bolton News, 12 April 2010
- ^ Bill Turnbull's diary over polyphasic sleep period BBC – The One Show
- ^ Why can't newsreaders just read the news? Daily Telegraph, 8 November 2006
- ^ Around The World Feature BBC Press Office
- ^ BBC Breakfast, BBC 1, 11 April 2012
- ^ Bill Turnbull biography, 19 February 2011
- ^ Pierre Brassard piège la reine Élisabeth II : 27 octobre 1995. YouTube (10 July 2012). Retrieved on 9 February 2013.
External links [edit]
- Bill Turnbull on Twitter
- Profile of Bill Turnbull BBC Breakfast
- BBC News
- My life in Media Independent, 14 January 2008
- Bill Turnbull Biography and Information
Video clips [edit]
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by Darren Jordon |
Weekend Presenter of BBC Breakfast 2002–2008 |
Succeeded by Charlie Stayt |
| Preceded by Dermot Murnaghan |
Weekday Presenter of BBC Breakfast 2008–present |
Incumbent |
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