Anna Botting
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Anna Elizabeth Botting (born 4 November 1967) is an English news presenter with Sky News, a broadcasting network based in the United Kingdom. She currently presents Sky News from 21:00 until midnight from Monday to Thursday. Prior to the channel's rescheduling in July 2006, Botting presented '' The Sky Report'', and from then until February 2007, she presented Sky News from 18:00 to 20:00 alongside Jeremy Thompson.


Background

Botting, born in
Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parish, about southeast of Guildford in Surrey, England. It lies on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner of the Weald, a large remnant forest, the m ...
, Surrey, is the daughter of
Douglas Botting Douglas Scott Botting (22 February 1934 – 6 February 2018) was an English explorer, author, biographer and TV presenter and producer. He wrote biographies of naturalists Gavin Maxwell and Gerald Durrell (the former also being a personal frien ...
, explorer and author, and Louise Botting, a company director and former broadcaster. She studied Geography at St Edmund Hall,
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, before deciding to pursue a career in
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
. She took a postgraduate course in journalism at Cardiff University, before beginning work in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
as a researcher for a social action show for Granada Television. In 1991, Botting took a job with
BBC North BBC North (Group) is an operational business division of the BBC. It is also a brand that has been used by the BBC to mean: *The large ''BBC North'' region, centred on Manchester, that was active from the late 1920s until 1968 and was based u ...
as a reporter for radio and TV. From here she became a presenter for the local news programme, '' Look North''. Botting joined Sky News in 1995, meaning that she is now one of the network's longest-serving presenters. She has presented a wide range of programmes on Sky, including: ''
Sky News Today ''Sky News Today'' is a live news programme on Sky News which usually runs between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on weekdays. The programme was presented by two anchors, however following on from the social distancing measures due to COVID-19, and the de ...
'', ''
Sky News at Ten ''Sky News at 10'' (previously branded ''Sky News at Ten'', and now usually ''News at 10'') is a long-running nightly news programme on Sky News, airing between 10:00 pm and 10:30 pm. It is a half-hour round-up of the day's top stories with anal ...
'', '' Live at Five'', ''
Sky News Tonight ''Sky News Tonight'' was a weeknight news programme broadcast on Sky News from 7:00 pm. First aired on 1 September 2014, it was Sky's flagship newscast, featuring special reports, in-depth analysis and interviews. The shows last episode was broad ...
'' and '' The Sky Report''.


Career at Sky

Anna Botting joined Sky News in 1995 as a reporter, before moving into the studio to anchor the news. During the 1997 election Botting shadowed
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
leader
Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...
, day-in day-out, for the whole six weeks of the campaign. She was also the first journalist to arrive at Kensington Palace on the day Diana, Princess of Wales died. Botting also covered the death of
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
and anchored coverage of the wars in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
from the studio. She was presenting on air when
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n leader
Slobodan Milosevic Slobodan ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name which means "free" (''sloboda'' / meaning "freedom, liberty") used among other South Slavs as well. It was coined by Serbian liberal politician Vladimir Jovanović ...
was ousted from office. In Summer 2006, whilst anchoring from
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Botting interviewed the British politician George Galloway about the Israel-Lebanon war. Galloway criticised Sky News,
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
and Botting in person for being biased towards Israel. Anna Botting notably won the Royal Television Society's news presenter of the year award in May 2012 and became the second woman to do so; this followed her return from Japan and location anchoring work for Sky News following the
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
of March 2011. She reported from Fukushima Nuclear Power Station and northwest Honshu Island in the aftermath of the disaster. Botting also anchored on location during the fall of Tripoli in 2011. Botting had notably worked alongside the former Sky presenter Bob Friend before her popular partnership with Jeremy Thompson on ''Live at Five'' took off. Botting appeared as herself in the 2014 science fiction action film ''
Edge of Tomorrow ''Edge of Tomorrow'' (also known as ''Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow'') is a 2014 American science fiction action film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt with Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles. Directed by Doug Liman wi ...
'', which stars
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...
and
Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...
. Botting led Sky News' coverage of the Funeral of Elizabeth II with
Alastair Bruce Major-General Alastair Andrew Bernard Reibey Bruce (born 25 June 1960) is a journalist and television correspondent, and a senior British Army reservist and officer of arms of the Royal Household. He commanded the TA Media Operations Group ...
on 19 September 2022.


Personal life

A keen rower during her time at university, Botting took part in BBC Three's ''The Other Boat Race''. She was one of twelve public figures and Oxbridge alumni who trained and competed in their own version of the annual rowing event. She captained the Oxford crew and her team won the contest.


References


External links


Anna Botting, Sky News
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Botting, Anna Living people 1967 births English reporters and correspondents English television presenters Sky News newsreaders and journalists Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford People from Cranleigh