Anna Foster (born 1979) 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 ...

radio news reporter and presenter, she presented the drivetime programme on

5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

Monday to Friday. The daughter of a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

father (who also served as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

) and a mother who worked as a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

, she and her brother were born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. Educated in South Shields, while attending South Tyneside College doing her

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, she worked as a Saturday girl on Metro Radio. She went on to study English at Collingwood College at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where she worked on student radio. She then undertook a postgraduate certificate in journalism at City University London. On graduation she joined the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's trainee reporters scheme. She then joined BBC Radio Cleveland as a reporter for three years, before becoming a news presenter, and then co-presenting the drive-time show. She then joined

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

as a regional North East reporter, before relocating to London as a weekend news presenter, and also presenting on ''

Newsbeat ''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically you ...

''. Foster joined the BBC Radio 5 Live ''Weekend Breakfast'' show on 23 April 2011, replacing

Rachel Burden Rachel Mary Ann Cecilia Burden (born 22 January 1975 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England) is a newsreader, radio news reporter and presenter. She has presented the BBC Radio 5 Live weekday breakfast show since 2011. She is ...

who moved to the weekday ''5 Live Breakfast'' team alongside Nicky Campbell on 3 May. On 14 November 2012, Foster became the Wednesday-to-Friday co-presenter of ''5 Live Drive'' (4–7 pm) alongside Peter Allen; Louise Minchin was the Monday and Tuesday co-host. Foster subsequently became the permanent co-host, alongside

Tony Livesey Anthony Livesey (born 11 January 1964, Burnley, Lancashire) is a British journalist and broadcaster who presents 'Drive' for BBC Radio 5 Live. Early life Livesey was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and lived in nearby Nelson during the early part o ...

who replaced Allen in October 2014. Foster left ''Drive'' on 12 August 2021 to take up a new role as BBC Middle East correspondent in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. She married fellow radio presenter John Foster in October 2009 at

Crathorne Hall Guy Hands (born 27 August 1959) is an English financier and investor. He is most notable as the founder and chairman of Terra Firma Capital Partners, one of the largest private equity firms in Europe. Hands also served as chairman of the UK musi ...

near

Yarm Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements ne ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Anna 1979 births Living people People from South Shields Alumni of City, University of London English journalists English radio personalities BBC Radio 5 Live presenters Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham