Chris Rogers (born 13 November 1975) is a British

broadcast journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

specialising in investigative journalism, and

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. He is among the long line up of presenters that began their career presenting BBC Newsround moving on to present and report for Sky News including its BAFTA Award-winning coverage of the 9/11 attacks. He then joined the Channel 4 RI:SE presenting team before heading to ITN's ITV News, and ITV's ''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'' documentary series, where he presented and reported for London Today, London Tonight, ITV Evening News and produced and fronted numerous investigations for the News at Ten and the Tonight programme as ITV's Investigative Correspondent. He left ITN in 2009 to present BBC News. He has also made many investigations as a producer and reporter for the BBC's ''Panorama'' and the BBC's ''Our World'' documentary series. Since 2017, Rogers has been Creative Director and Executive Producer of the television and online content production company Fresh Start Media, which he co-founded. The company is behind shows like Sky's ''FYI'' - a BAFTA Award winning weekly news show for children. Chris Rogers is the Executive Producer and Programme Editor of FYI and it's spin off documentaries FYI Investigates which have won many awards since the programmes launch on Sky News and Sky Kids in 2018. The company also produced ''Hope Works'' for Disney and Sky, many documentaries and episodes of CBBC's ''My Life''.

Television

Rogers, at the age of 19, became the youngest ever presenter of the children's daily news programme ''

Newsround ''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first televi ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in 1994. Among his investigative work Rogers is perhaps best known for his many films exposing the plight and poor treatment of abandoned children left in horrific institutions in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, just before it joined the EU. He won many awards for his work. In 2008 this led to the reporter taking the

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

and her daughters undercover in Turkey and Romania for a ''

'' special, on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. Turkey's foreign minister criticised Rogers' use of hidden cameras for breaching privacy and created diplomatic tensions and even the threat of arrest which Rogers later described in a book called ''Undercover''. Rogers spent seven months undercover posing as a trafficker, secretly filming European gangs who sold women to UK brothels. Rogers is a contributor for the ''

Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'' and, since 2010, has been a presenter on the ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' channel, ''

BBC London News ''BBC London News'' (referred to onscreen as ''BBC London'') is the BBC's regional television news programme for Greater London and its surrounding areas. Its local competitor is ''ITV News London'', which is produced by ITN for ITV London. ' ...

'' and ''

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...

''. He is also an investigative reporter for

. Among his films for ''Panorama'', ''Our World'', ''Newsnight'' and ''BBC News'' he has investigated racism in football ahead of

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

for what was the controversial BBC TV programme '' Panorama: Stadiums of Hate''. Rogers'

report, "Child Sacrifice", exposing witchcraft in Uganda and the United Kingdom, was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award in 2012. In November 2010, August 2011 and March 2013 he fronted the ''

BBC News at Six The ''BBC News at Six'' is the evening news programme bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel and on British television channel BBC One on weekdays at 6:00pm. For a ...

'' and ''

BBC News at Ten ''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...

'', during separate strikes by BBC journalists. In 2013, Rogers made a 30-minute investigative report for the BBC's programme ''Inside Out'' which uncovered a trend in sex gang

child grooming Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. Child grooming is also regularly ...

. Rogers spoke to young

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

girls who had been sexually groomed by gangs of Muslim men. The reporter gained access to the Sikh community and many victims said that to protect their family honour they had never spoke of or reported their abuse. Rogers also travelled to Indonesia where he posed as a coffee importer and uncovered

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or Injury, harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

behind a luxury coffee made out of

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity ...

cat droppings. Following the programme's broadcast,

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

removed the civet cat coffee from its shelves. In February 2014 Rogers gained access to North Korea. For a BBC ''Panorama'' programme Rogers filmed with the future ruling elite who were studying at a western-funded university (the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology) in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

and receiving a western-funded education. He also filmed in Pyongyang openly. For a ''Panorama Special'' programme, on 4 June 2014, Rogers reported on what he described as the dark side of Brazil a few days ahead of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. The film revealed poverty, violence, drugs, and the prostitution of children as young as 9 years old. ''Panorama – Brazil: In the Shadow of the Stadiums'' has been described as his best work. The investigative reporter's work included filming undercover in Guatemala in what campaigners describe as the world's worst hospital where patients were filmed by the reporter in terrible conditions and the hospital's director admitted that the patients were sexually abused. In July 2015 Rogers made a special report for ''BBC News at Ten'' and ''Our World'', reporting from the UK and Afghanistan on how unaccompanied child asylum seekers who had fled the war-torn country were being allowed to stay in the UK and live with foster families, but when they reached 18, they were deported back to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

after spending most of their lives in Britain, unable to speak the

Afghan language Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

, with little knowledge of Afghan culture and being terrified for their lives. In 2015 he became a regular presenter of ''

World News Today ''World News Today'' is a current affairs news programme, produced by BBC News presented on Friday-Sundays with Philippa Thomas, Karin Giannone & Kasia Madera. Presenters alternate the weekend shifts. It was originally conceived as a morning t ...

'' on BBC World News, the BBC News Channel and

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. In 2016 Rogers secretly filmed in Thai jails exposing the illegal imprisonment of children. His BBC investigation set out to expose Thailand's treatment of asylum seekers, many being Christians fleeing persecution in Pakistan. Whole families are locked up in jails, some shackled, as the country has not signed up to any international agreements to help refugees and asylum seekers. The BBC's ''Our World'' claimed that the UNHCR was invited by Thailand to deal with asylum seekers and find another country for them to go to, but the UN admitted to the BBC it was failing to help those seeking refuge because it was under-resourced. Rogers started 2017 with another investigative BBC London ''Inside Out Special'' exposing how British Indian men are travelling to India and duping local women into a quickly arranged marriage with the promise of a new life in the UK – only to exploit them for financial gain or domestic servitude and then abandon them. In 2017 Chris Rogers launched his own television production company, Fresh Start Media, with Nicky Cox and his long-term co-producer Marshall Corwin. Fresh Start Media was commissioned by Sky Television to make a year-long children's news series called ''FYI''. In a TV first, the show is presented by children and secured a fortnightly slot with Prime Minister Theresa May to be questioned by viewers about issues they are concerned about. The company also makes programmes and documentaries for CBBC's ''My Life'' series, the BBC, ITV and CNBC. In 2021 the production company was behind the highly acclaimed climate change documentary 'COP26 In Your Hands' which was introduced by HRH Prince of Wales

Radio

In January 2019 it was announced that Chris Rogers would be a launch presenter on

Scala Radio Scala Radio is a classical music digital radio station in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Radio since its launch in March 2019. The station broadcasts nationally on DAB via the Sound Digital multiplex and online through websites ...

. Bauer Radio group stated that Simon Mayo and Goldie along with Chris Rogers would bring a fresh approach to classical music which had hit an all-time high in popularity. While remaining at the BBC and running his production company Chris Rogers said he would be presenting a Sunday brunch show with guests and headline-makers. Rogers was also a regular stand in presenter on

BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...

's ''Breakfast'' and ''Drivetime''. He also had his own radio show on BBC London every Sunday with former

Heart FM Heart is a British radio network and brand of 13 adult contemporary local stations operated by Global throughout the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the Heart stations are owned by Global, while the ...

presenter Harriet Scott. He also presents OutSide Source on the BBC World Service. He regularly presented on

BBC Five 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, broadcas ...

between 2003 and 2005. In his very early career, starting in his teens, Rogers presented 'School's Out' on

Buzz FM Buzz may refer to: People *Buzz (nickname), a list of people * J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (born 1967; aka ''Dr. Buzz''), American forensic psychologist and journalist Fictional characters *Buzz, a character in the 1987 American comedy movie '' Rev ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in 1993, hosted ''No Limits'' for

Hallam FM Hallam FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 283,000 ...

and was also a presenter on London's Capital FM.

Filmography

Awards

2022: BAFTA Award: FYI Special: Ukraine Invasion - for Sky TV (Executive Producer and Programme Editor) 2022: Venice TV Festival Award: COP26 In Your Hands - for Sky TV (Producer and Director) 2022: PRIX JEUNESSE Award: COP26 In Your Hands - for Sky TV (Producer and Director) 2021: MIPCOM Diversity TV Excellence Award: Kidversation - for Sky TV (Producer and Director) 2021: Royal Television Society Award: Best Children's Programme: FYI Investigates (nom)(Producer and Director) 2021: Broadcast Award: Best Children's Programme: FYI Investigates (Producer and Director) 2020: Rose D'or Award: (Nom) Best Children's Programme: FYI (Executive Producer / Editor) 2020: Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award: FYI (Executive Producer / Editor) 2020: Broadcast Digital Awards; (Nom) Best Children's Programme: FYI Investigates:Coronavirus (Producer and Director) 2019: Broadcast Digital Awards; (Nom) Best Children's Programme: FYI (Executive Producer / Editor) 2019: Banff Rockie World Media Awards: (Nom) Best Non Scripted Youth Programme: FYI (Executive Producer / Editor) 2019: Broadcast Awards: Best Children's Programme: FYI (Executive Producer / Editor) 2015: BAFTA Shortlist: Panorama Special: In the Shadow of the Stadiums (BBC) 2015: Association of International Broadcasters – Best International Investigative Documentary: Our World: The World's Worst Hospital (BBC) 2014: Guild of Food Writers Award: best Programme: Our World Coffee's Cruel Secret (BBC) 2014: Prix Circom Award: Sex Grooming Gangs: The Sikh Code of Silence (BBC) 2012: Emmy Award : Child Sacrifice (BBC) 2012: Human Trafficking Foundation Media Award: Child Sacrifice (BBC) 2011: Human Trafficking Foundation Media Award, 'They're Dying to Get to Britain' Mail on Sunday 2008: Amnesty International Media Award: Palestinian Child POW's (ITV) 2008: Royal Television Society Award: Best programme: London Bombings: One Year On (ITV) 2007: One World Award, 'Romania's Unwanted Children'(ITV) 2007: Royal Television Society: (Nominee) Television Journalist of the Year (Romania's Unwanted Children ITV)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Chris 1973 births Living people BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World News British investigative journalists British television newsreaders and news presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Sky News newsreaders and journalists