Tom Brook (born 16 June 1953) is a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based journalist working primarily for

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 ...

. He is mainly seen on

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 ...

, and also the BBC News Channel. He is the main presenter of its flagship cinema programme ''

Talking Movies ''Talking Movies'' is a top-rated film news programme broadcast on the BBC, which covers cinema around the world, including delivering reviews of the latest films and exclusive interviews with top Hollywood and international talent. The half-hour ...

''. He has presented every episode of the show since it was first broadcast in February 1999.

Early life

Brook was born in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, but went to primary school in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. He completed his secondary education at

William Ellis School William Ellis School is a voluntary aided secondary school and sixth form for boys located in Highgate, London, England. Admissions The School is located near Hampstead Heath. It is situated just east of Parliament Hill and north of Gospel Oa ...

in north London before going on to

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where he graduated with a degree in Economics in 1975. Brook's parents were Caspar Brook, the first director of the Consumers’ Association in Britain, and Dinah, a former education correspondent of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''.

Broadcasting career

Brook joined the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

in April 1976 as a news trainee and, after working attachments in Belfast, Birmingham, and Manchester, he was appointed as a producer on Radio 4's Today programme in 1978. In January 1980, he was posted to the BBC's office in New York as a news and current affairs producer. On 8 December 1980 he was the first British journalist to report live from outside the Dakota Apartment building on New York's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

the night of John Lennon's death. Since 1985, he has reported on the US film industry for the BBC. From 1985 to 1998, Brook was

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 ...

's US correspondent for the top-rated ''

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' series presented by

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...

. In 1999, he began presenting and producing the cinema news programme ''

'' for the BBC, which, as of 2020 has surpassed 500 episodes. He has an international following among movie fans and key figures in the global film industry. The programme covers cinema news from around the world, as well as delivering reviews of the latest films and exclusive interviews with top Hollywood and international talent. The longevity of the series has also allowed Brook to report from some of the world's top film festivals, including

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

. In 2019 the programme marked a significant milestone with its twentieth anniversary on the air. Special anniversary editions of the show were recorded in front of a live audience in New York and Mumbai in which Sir Kenneth Branagh and Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan were guests of honour. He has also covered the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for BBC News every year since 1985, frequently reporting live from the red carpet. Brook has interviewed some of the most celebrated names in international cinema including such Twentieth Century greats as James Cagney and Bette Davis. He has also interviewed some of America's most influential personalities from CBS veteran anchorman Walter Cronkite on his last day of presenting at the network as well as former President's Carter and Ford. More recently, some of the big names he has interviewed include Adam Driver, Cynthia Erivo, Dev Patel, Renee Zellweger and Barry Jenkins, Over the years, Brook has also contributed to numerous additional BBC programmes and outlets, including ''

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

'', ''Correspondent'', '' Front Row'', ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...

'', '' The Six O'Clock News'', BBC America, BBC News Channel, '' Hard Talk Extra'', and '' Today'' on

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 spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. He has been a frequent online contributor. In 2013 he started writing The Reel World column for BBC Culture on new developments on the big screen.

Personal life

Tom Brook holds both UK and US passports. He has lived in New York for more than four decades. His home is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is married to Samuel Wahl MD, Chair, Department of Pathology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York who has been his partner since January 1990.

References

External links

BBC UK Profile

BBC World News Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Tom 1953 births Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge BBC World News BBC newsreaders and journalists English television presenters English film critics English expatriates in the United States Living people Writers from London