Priya Kaur-Jones (born 1979 in Walton,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

) is a British newsreader.

Early life

Kaur-Jones was born in 1979 in Walton near

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, and attended Wakefield Girls' High School. After completing her A-levels in French, Chemistry, General studies and biology, she began a three-year Genetics degree at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, graduating on 14 July 2000. She subsequently completed a postgraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism at

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

. Her father is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

from England and her mother is a

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 ...

from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Career

Kaur-Jones began her career in 2001 when she worked at

Fosseway Radio Fosseway Radio was a local commercial radio station based in Leicestershire, and owned by Lincs FM Group. It served the south-west of that county, as well as North Warwickshire. It was based on ''Castle Street'' in Hinckley. The name of the st ...

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 ...

. Later in 2001 she was a runner up in the ''Miss India UK'' competition. In 2002 she started work at BBC Asian Network Radio where she read the news bulletins and was soon made the reporter for the East Midlands. She then moved to BBC East Midlands Today, where she presented the breakfast, lunchtime and weekend news bulletins, and filed news reports. In December 2005, she joined

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 ...

, claiming to be the youngest national news reader. After a year with

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

, she returned to the BBC to present the BBC Politics Show in the East Midlands. In 2004 and 2005, she presented the ''Miss India UK'' competition. She joined GMTV in August 2007, initially as a correspondent.Official GMTV biography
In 2008, she was given the role of newsreader (6am7am weekdays). She left in September 2009 and moved to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. She is currently making documentaries and working in advertising. In 2011 Priya joined

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...

as a newsreader.

Personal life

Kaur-Jones currently resides in the Middle East. She is a qualified holistic massage therapist. She completed the London Marathon in 2009 in a time of 7 hours 58 minutes carrying a 7 ft by 14 ft model of a submarine with three other individuals, including well known charity fundraiser Lloyd Scott.

References

External links

Official website
* 1979 births English people of Indian descent English television presenters GMTV presenters and reporters 5 News presenters and reporters Living people People from Walton, Wakefield English Sikhs {{UK-tv-journalist-stub