Alison Bell (born 21 September 1966) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

journalist and radio presenter.

Career

In the mid-1990s Bell lived in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and was briefly a presenter on local radio station The Breeze. Bell was one of the launch presenters for the

ITN News Channel The ITV News Channel was a 24-hour television news channel in the United Kingdom which broadcast from 1 August 2000 to 23 December 2005. It was available on Sky, NTL:Telewest, ITV Digital (until 2002), Freeview (latterly only between 6:00 am an ...

in August 2000, presenting various programmes during the day, most notably the lunchtime slot between 12 noon and 2pm. 2003 saw her move to

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

, where she presented the Sunrise programme weekday mornings. A year later, she moved to

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

. She resigned from that position in July 2004, after her arrest outside a restaurant with

James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is a British former cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then-Pri ...

. She then joined London radio station

LBC 97.3 LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed Commercial broadca ...

, presenting shows in various timeslots, before presenting a regular show on Friday nights until April 2006. She remained with the station thereafter as a fill-in presenter. In late 2004 she launched Globell Communications, a media consultancy firm for business professionals and companies. From 24 September 2007 and until 4 January 2008, Bell presented an afternoon show on LBC 97.3 from 1pm-4pm, in a topical debate show called "Afternoon Delight".

Personal life

Bell's hobbies include music, travel, tennis, swimming and rollerblading. A frequent traveller, she is a regular visitor to Australia where her parents now live. In July 2004, Bell was arrested outside a restaurant on suspicion of possessing cocaine, together with former British Army officer

, who had been romantically linked with

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

in the 1990s. Hewitt and Bell had met in April 2004 when presenting a programme for LBC radio. Hewitt was given a warning and Bell was released without charge. She has also appeared as a poker player on

Celebrity Poker Club ''Celebrity Poker Club'' is a British television series featuring celebrities playing poker. It aired on Challenge for three series from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off from Channel 4's popular ''Late Night Poker'' series. Liam Flood was the casino ...

, on which Hewitt also participated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Alison 1966 births Living people English women journalists English radio presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists British women television journalists British women radio presenters