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Edward John Ivo Stourton(born November 1957) is a
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 exam. ...
broadcaster and presenter of the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
programme ''
Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...
'', and a frequent contributor to the ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' programme, where for ten years he was one of the main presenters. He is the author of six books, most recently ''Auntie's War: The BBC During the Second World War'' (2017).


Early life and education

Stourton was born in the then British colony of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
as his father was based there. He was educated at the now defunct Roman Catholic preparatory school Avisford in
Walberton Walberton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, north-west of Littlehampton, and south of the A27 road. The land rises from above sea level, a quarter of the height of Nore Hill, the nearest foothill of t ...
and at
Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the grou ...
in North Yorkshire and was
head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Au ...
in his final year at both establishments. While at Ampleforth he befriended future High Court judge
Nicholas Mostyn Sir Nicholas Anthony Joseph Ghislain Mostyn KC (born 13 July 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn, is a British High Court judge, assigned to the Family Division. Early life The son of a British American Tobacco executiv ...
, who was also the son of a Nigerian-based
BAT Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
executive. The duo won the national ESU Schools Mace
debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
prize in 1975. He read
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines ...
at Trinity College,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...
, gaining a 2:1. He served as president of the
Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
and editor of the student magazine ''Rampage''.


Broadcasting

He joined the staff of
ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg ...
in 1979 as a graduate trainee. While working there he was a founder member of ''
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
'' in 1982 working predominantly as a copywriter but also as a producer, duty home news editor and chief sub-editor. Stourton joined the
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 exam. ...
in 1988 as a Paris correspondent. He returned to ITN as a diplomatic editor in 1990. In 1993, he was back at the BBC as the presenter of '' BBC One O'Clock News'' for six years. He presented editions of ''Assignment'', ''Correspondent'', ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' and ''Call Ed Stourton'', a phone-in programme on Radio 4. He has made a number of current affairs programmes for Radio 4 including ''Asia Gold'' and ''Global Shakeout'', ''The Violence Files'', ''With us or against us'', ''United Nations – or Not?''. Asia Gold was the winner of the Sony Radio Gold Award for current affairs in 1997. Stourton presented a four-part series about the Catholic church, entitled ''Absolute Truth''. It was broadcast on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
in 1997. He also wrote a book to accompany the series. In 2001, he won the
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
Award for best television documentary for an episode of ''Correspondent'' about the
Khiam detention center The Khiam detention center was an army barracks complex originally used by the French military in the 1930s in Khiam, French Lebanon. Following the establishment of independent Lebanon in 1946, it was used by the Lebanese military until the ...
during the
Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon formally began in 1985 and ended in 2000 as part of the South Lebanon conflict. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to a spate of attacks carried out from Lebanese territory by Palestinian ...
. His series, ''A Year in the Arab Israeli Crisis'', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...
in 2005.


''Today''

In January 1999, he joined the BBC's ''Today'' programme presentation team. It was announced on 12 December 2008 that he would leave the programme in September 2009, to be replaced by
Justin Webb Justin Oliver Webb (born Justin Oliver Prouse, 3 January 1961 in Portsmouth, Hampshire) is a British journalist who has worked for the BBC since 1984. He is a former BBC North America Editor and the main co-presenter of BBC One's '' Breakfast ...
. This announcement was greeted with widespread public dismay not least because Stourton found out about it from a journalist rather than his employers. Following a campaign by listeners, it was announced on 27 December 2008 that he was not being sacked. Instead, shortly after Justin Webb joined the ''Today Programme'' in August 2009, Stourton moved from presenting duties to reporting on foreign stories. Stourton presented ''Today'' for the last time on 11 September 2009. Since leaving his presentation role on the ''Today programme'', Stourton has joined the presenting teams of ''
The World at One ''The World at One'', or ''WATO'' ("what-oh") for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, produced by BBC News, which is currently broadcast from 13:00 to 13:45 from Monday to Friday. The programme de ...
'' and '' The World This Weekend''. On 27 December 2006 he appeared on the celebrity charitable edition of BBC One's ''
Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...
'', chaired by his
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
''Today'' co-presenter
John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...
. When asked his name, Stourton replied: "John, why do you need to ask that? We almost sleep together!" His specialist subject was
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 ...
on which he scored 17 points, for a total of 28 points after general knowledge to win his heat.


Religious programmes

Stourton is a Roman Catholic who regularly presents ''
Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...
'', Radio 4's religious and ethical current affairs programme.


Personal life

Stourton is a descendant of the 19th
Baron Stourton Baron Stourton is a title in the Peerage of England, It was created by patent in 1448 for John Stourton. In 1878, the ancient barony of Mowbray was called out of abeyance in favour of the twentieth Baron Stourton. About two weeks later, the ...
and in very distant remainder to this barony presently held by his cousin James Stourton, 28th Baron Mowbray. He is the son of Nigel Stourton
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, who worked for British American Tobacco, and Rosemary Abbott, being brought up near Patrick Brompton. In Kensington in 1980, he married Margaret McEwen, the daughter of Sir James Napier Finnie McEwen, a baronet. They had three children together before divorcing. He married former colleague Fiona Murch on 8 November 2002 at
Chelsea Register Office Kensington and Chelsea Register Office is an office for the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships located in Chelsea Old Town Hall in Chelsea, London. It has hosted the weddings of many notable people. According to '' ...
. She was an editor for
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
(producing the ''Correspondent'' programme, in which Stourton featured, although he left the programme) with whom he had lived from 2001. They live in
Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The name St ...
, south London. He is a Roman Catholic and has an extensive knowledge of the Roman Catholic faith. Stourton has four children: Ivo James Benedict (born 1982), Thomas Edward Alexander (born 1987) and Eleanor Mary Elizabeth (born June 1984) and stepdaughter Rosy.


Publications

* ''John Paul II: Man of History'' (
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publish ...
) March 2007 * ''In the Footsteps of St Paul '' (Hodder & Stoughton) January 2005 * ''Absolute Truth: The Catholic Church Today'' (
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Doubleday) , 9 June 2011 * ''Cruel Crossing: Escaping Hitler Across the Pyrenees"'' (Doubleday) , 25 April 2013 * ''Auntie's War: The BBC During the Second World War'' (Doubleday) , 2017


References


External links

*
United Nations – or Not?

With us or against us

A Year in the Arab Israeli Crisis

Keeping the Faith
BBC Radio 4 series in which people of different religions look at the English Reformation through the experience of their ancestors. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stourton, Edward 1957 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World Service British male journalists British radio personalities ITN newsreaders and journalists Living people People educated at Ampleforth College Presidents of the Cambridge Union Writers from Lagos BBC Radio 4 presenters Nigerian people of British descent Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom