Mark Carruthers OBE (born 1965) is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He currently presents a number of television and radio programmes for BBC Northern Ireland.

Broadcasting work

Carruthers first joined BBC Northern Ireland in 1989 contributing to ''Good Morning Ulster'' and ''PM Ulster'' on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

. In addition to having presented

BBC Newsline ''BBC Newsline'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Northern Ireland, broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland from the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland in Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. As well as being available via all multi-ch ...

, he has also presented ''

Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

'' and ''Let's Talk'' for television and ''Evening Extra'' on BBC Radio Ulster.BBCi: BBC Newsline - Meet The Team: Mark Carruthers' profile
/ref> In August 2009, Carruthers became part of the presenting team of ''Good Morning Ulster'' as part of a series of presenter changes at BBC Radio Ulster. He is now the presenter of ''The View'' and ''Sunday Politics'' on

BBC One Northern Ireland BBC One Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish television channel based on the UK-wide BBC One, owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland. The service is broadcast from Broadcasting House in Belfast. In the rest of the UK, BBC One Northern Irela ...

. He also presents the weekly politics podcast ''Red Lines'' on BBC Sounds. He has been nominated for four Royal Television Society awards for his work – in 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2003. In 2005 he and his BBC Newsline co-presenter, Donna Traynor, lifted a prestigious IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best News Programme.

Personal life

Carruthers was born in Londonderry, grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry, studied at

Coleraine Academical Institution Coleraine Academical Institution (CAI and styled locally as Coleraine Inst) was a voluntary grammar school for boys in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Coleraine Academical Institution occupied a site on the Castlerock Road, ...

The Belfast Telegraph: "My passion"
dated 29 December 1998; accessed 9 February 2009 and went on to study for degrees in Political Science and Irish Politics at Queen's University Belfast. Carruthers has an interest in the theatre. He was one of the founders of Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988 and took part in drama groups at college and university, including a stage appearance in a

Riverside Theatre, Coleraine The Riverside Theatre is located at the Coleraine campus of Ulster University in Northern Ireland. It was opened in 1976 and is the fifth-largest professional theatre in Northern Ireland. It is architecturally unique in Northern Ireland for its ...

, production of '' Oliver!'' alongside

James Nesbitt William James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical '' Up on the Roof'' (1987, 1989) to the political drama ''Paddywack'' (1994) ...

. He was Chairman of the Lyric Theatre Board until 2015 and was at the forefront of the campaign to rebuild the theatre on its south Belfast site for almost ten years. He was appointed an OBE for services to

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in the 2011 New Year Honours list. He is co-editor of ''Stepping Stones - The Arts in Ulster 1971-2001'' which was published by Blackstaff Press in 2001. In 2013 ''Alternative Ulsters – Conversations on Identity'' was published by Liberties Press, a series of interviews by Carruthers with leading writers, actors, journalists and politicians. The book was a success and was re-issued in paperback in December 2014. The following year ''Alternative Ulsters'' was shortlisted for the prestigious Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. In July 2019 Carruthers was awarded an honorary doctorate (

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

) from Queen's University Belfast for distinction in broadcasting. He is married with three children and lives in south

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

References

External links

BBCi: BBC Newsline - Meet The Team: Mark Carruthers' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carruthers, Mark 1965 births Alumni of Queen's University Belfast BBC newsreaders and journalists Living people People educated at Coleraine Academical Institution Mass media people from Derry (city) Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Television presenters from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire British social commentators