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Julie Anne Etchingham (born 21 August 1969) is an English journalist who works as a television newsreader with ITV News. A graduate of
Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...
, Etchingham joined the BBC as a trainee after completing her studies, and went on to present the children's 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 ...
'' in 1994. She joined
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 ...
in 2002, and also presented editions of ''
Five News ''5 News at 5'', also known as ''Channel 5 News'', is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by ITN from its main newsroom on Gray's Inn Road, London. History ''5 News'' was one of the new station's flagship programme ...
'' when Sky won the contract to produce news programming for Channel 5 in 2005. Etchingham is currently a newscaster on ''
ITV News at Ten ''ITV News at Ten'' (or more commonly ''News at Ten'') is the flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox in July 1967. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-mi ...
'' and has been since 2008. She also presented the current affairs programme ''
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 ...
'' from 2010 until 2022 when she announced that she would still occasionally be reporting for the show. She was voted "Presenter of the Year" at the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
journalism awards in 2010 and 2016.


Life and career

Etchingham was born and raised in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
,
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, where both her parents were teachers. She was raised as a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, and educated at the city's
English Martyrs Catholic School English Martyrs Catholic School is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Leicester, England. The school's new buildings had their official opening in May 2015. History The school began as a secondary school ...
. After school she attended
Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...
at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
where she gained a BA (Honours) degree in English. She was the first girl from her school to attend Cambridge, and while reading English there was taught by
Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...
. She also co-presented
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road in Cambridge. According to ...
's student programme ''On the Edge'', produced by Ian Peacock. She got her first job in journalism with
BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at ...
while still at school, and joined the
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 exam. ...
...
graduate programme from university. Working at BBC Midlands, Etchingham became a presenter on ''
Midlands Today ''Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the West Midlands. It was launched in 1964 and is presented by Mary Rhodes, Nick Owen, Elizabeth Glinka, Rebecca Wood and Shefali Oza. Overview ''Midlands Today'' is produ ...
'', but soon moved on to present national programmes after moving to London. Her credits at the BBC include BBC's ''
Breakfast News ''Breakfast News'' was a breakfast news programme which first aired on BBC1 on 2 October 1989. The programme was previously known as '' Breakfast Time''. It was planned to launch on 18 September 1989 but was held back by two weeks due to tech ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' (where she beat 1,000 other competitors to the job in 1994) and the corporation's long running ''
Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
'' programme. Etchingham joined Sky News in 2002, where she hosted a number of shows for the channel, 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 ...
. She was also an occasional presenter on
Five News ''5 News at 5'', also known as ''Channel 5 News'', is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by ITN from its main newsroom on Gray's Inn Road, London. History ''5 News'' was one of the new station's flagship programme ...
after Sky took over as news provider for
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
in January 2005. On 29 October 2007, during a speech by
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, Etchingham's microphone was left open and an aside was accidentally broadcast during live coverage of the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
leader's address. Speaking on the issue of immigration, Cameron said: "Let me outline the action that a Conservative government would take. As we have seen, some of the increase in population size results from natural change – birth rates, death rates. Here our policy should be obvious ..." At this point, Etchingham was clearly heard to say: "Extermination". Sky News said afterwards that her comment was "regrettable". Etchingham later described the incident as "not my finest hour. I apologised to Cameron personally". Cameron took the incident in good jest, recorded a parody of the incident for Etchingham's 40th birthday and had a toy
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
delivered to her home. On 31 October 2007, ITV confirmed that in January 2008 Etchingham would move to present the relaunched ''News at Ten'' with Sir
Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian- British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Career ...
. The programme returned on 14 January. In June 2009, it was reported in the media that the President of Pakistan,
Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan ...
, had stopped a plane from flying out of Pakistan after he heard Etchingham was running late after an interview between the two. In October 2009, it was announced that Etchingham would present a relaunched ''
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 ...
'' programme from early 2010 – with the show airing once a week on Thursday nights. In April 2011, Etchingham and
Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
co-hosted
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 ...
's coverage of the
wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...
. It was announced in April 2012 that she and Schofield would present the broadcaster's coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June. In March 2013, she travelled to Rome to provide coverage of the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
for ITV News. In March 2015 it was announced that Etchingham would chair a televised leaders debate for ITV ahead of the 2015 general election, the only leaders debate featuring Prime Minister David Cameron to be held that year. The programme was called '' The ITV Leaders' Debate''. The debate took place on 2 April. Andrew Pettie of ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' described Etchingham's presenting style as "composure itself", adding that it was "a bit robotic but this was no bad thing: it was refreshing to see a TV interviewer resolutely refusing to hog the limelight." She later co-presented the ITV coverage of the general election with
Tom Bradby Thomas Matthew Bradby (born 13 January 1967) is a British journalist and novelist who currently presents the ''ITV News at Ten''. He was previously political editor for ITV News from 2005 to 2015, and presented '' The Agenda with Tom Bradby'', ...
. In October 2015, ''News at Ten'' relaunched and returned to the single newscaster format, with former political editor
Tom Bradby Thomas Matthew Bradby (born 13 January 1967) is a British journalist and novelist who currently presents the ''ITV News at Ten''. He was previously political editor for ITV News from 2005 to 2015, and presented '' The Agenda with Tom Bradby'', ...
becoming the programme's new main presenter. Etchingham continues on the programme as Deputy Anchor, sharing the role with
Rageh Omaar Rageh Omaar (; so, Raage Oomaar; ar, راجح أومار; born 19 July 1967) is a Somali-born British journalist and writer. He was a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq. In September 2006, he moved to ...
. Etchingham also files special reports for the programme. In June 2016, she chaired ''Cameron and Farage Live: The EU Referendum'' and ''The ITV Referendum Debate'' for ITV News. In May 2017, Etchingham returned to chair '' The ITV Leaders' Debate'' ahead of the 2017 General Election. On 5 June 2017, Etchingham conducted an interview with
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
, in which she talked about
running through fields of wheat In an interview with Julie Etchingham on ITV's ''Tonight'' programme on 5 June 2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the naughtiest thing she had ever done was to 'run through fields of wheat' as a child. The comment was the subject of mu ...
, which became a meme. On 3 July 2017, Etchingham presented a special edition of '' News at Ten'' celebrating 50 years of the programme. She interviewed Sir
Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian- British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Career ...
, a former presenter of the programme. On 19 May 2018, Etchingham co-presented ITV's coverage of the
wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...
with
Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
. On 9 July 2019, Etchingham presented ''Britain’s Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate''. The programme was broadcast live from Dock 10,
MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by Peel Media; its principal tenants are media organisations and the Quayside MediaCi ...
. On 17 April 2021, Etchingham co-presented ITV's coverage of the
funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
with
Tom Bradby Thomas Matthew Bradby (born 13 January 1967) is a British journalist and novelist who currently presents the ''ITV News at Ten''. He was previously political editor for ITV News from 2005 to 2015, and presented '' The Agenda with Tom Bradby'', ...
.


Awards

Etchingham was voted "Presenter of the Year" at the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
journalism awards in February 2010. She was the first woman to win the award. She won it again in February 2016. In April 2016, Etchingham was named "Broadcast Journalist of the Year" by the London Press Club.


Personal life

In 1997, Etchingham married the television producer Nick Gardner. The couple have two sons, both of whom were born in
Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The bor ...
, London.


Charity

Etchingham is vice president of the stillbirth charity Abigail's Footsteps. She is also a patron of the London homeless charity, Caritas Anchor House. Since 2018, Etchingham has also taken on the role of president at the
Women of the Year Lunch The Women of the Year Lunch, later known as the Women of the Year Lunch and Awards (WOYLA), is an annual charity lunch for women achievers. The inaugural lunch was held on 29 September 1955 at the Savoy Hotel, and raised money for the Greater Lo ...
and awards.


Filmography


See also

*
List of ITV journalists and newsreaders As the oldest commercial television network in the UK, ITV has employed many journalists and newsreaders to present its news programmes as well as to provide news reports and interviews during its history. Since the ITV network began, Independe ...


References


External links

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Etchingham, Julie 1969 births Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC radio presenters BBC television presenters English journalists English reporters and correspondents English Roman Catholics English television presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists Living people Newsround presenters People from Leicester Sky News newsreaders and journalists Television personalities from Leicestershire