Simon McCoy
Encyclopedia
Simon McCoy is a newsreader for the BBC
, and is currently a regular presenter on the rolling news channel BBC News between 8.30am and 11am. He is also a relief presenter of the BBC News at One and of BBC Weekend News
.
. He was educated at the independent Sherborne School
in the town of Sherborne
in north-west Dorset
, England
.
before joining Thames TV as a researcher for Thames News
in 1983. After time as a scriptwriter at Thames TV in 1986 he joined the breakfast TV station TV-am
as a news editor. In 1988 Simon left to go to a new satellite channel called Sky
- initially as a producer
on the Sky News
breakfast programme Sunrise.
After a year as a general reporter for the station he was appointed Royal Correspondent and between 1991 and 1996 Simon covered all the major stories which affected the Royal Family
.
After a job which involved travel around the world throughout the years Simon took a desk job, presenting Sunrise on Sky News. He also presented the Tonight programme - a topical chat show involving interviews with people from the worlds of showbiz, politics and sport.
In 2003 Simon co-anchored Sky's coverage of the Iraq war on location in Kuwait
and Basra
. He was on air for five hours every day of the conflict.
In January 2004 Simon joined the BBC, and could be seen on BBC Breakfast and BBC News 24, initially as a cover presenter for both. In September 2005 he took over the morning slot on BBC News alongside Kate Silverton
following Phillip Hayton's sudden departure after Hayton fell out with Silverton. When reviewing the papers the following day McCoy tried to point out the story, but was prevented by Silverton. In December 2007 Silverton left the shift to host the 8pm Update. McCoy's co-anchor on Tuesday-Friday is Carrie Gracie
, who previously presented alongside her on Friday.
In 2006 McCoy ceased to appear on BBC Breakfast upon Charlie Stayt
's arrival at the BBC, but continued to present BBC One bulletins at the weekend. He returned to Breakfast in 2008 as a stand in presenter.
drama Party Animals
. He has also appeared in several episodes of Spooks
, in the BBC1 drama Holby Blue, and in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard. Simon also had a newsreading role in the 2006 Anthony Horowitz movie Stormbreaker.
In 2006 McCoy ate a pair of brown leather shoes for charity - raising around £5000 in the process.
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and is currently a regular presenter on the rolling news channel BBC News between 8.30am and 11am. He is also a relief presenter of the BBC News at One and of BBC Weekend News
BBC Weekend News
BBC Weekend News is the national news programmes on BBC One at a weekend although it is often referred to on guides simply as BBC News, or if broadcast at 10pm exactly, BBC News at Ten...
.
Early life
McCoy was born in HammersmithHammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
. He was educated at the independent Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
in the town of Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
in north-west Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Career
McCoy started his journalism career at the Fleet Street News Agency in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before joining Thames TV as a researcher for Thames News
Thames News
Thames News was the flagship news programme of Thames Television, serving the Greater London region. It was broadcast between 5 September 1978 & 31 December 1992 and produced from Thames TV's headquarters at Euston Road in North West London and during its last few years in operation, from district...
in 1983. After time as a scriptwriter at Thames TV in 1986 he joined the breakfast TV station TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
as a news editor. In 1988 Simon left to go to a new satellite channel called Sky
Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
- initially as a producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
on the Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
breakfast programme Sunrise.
After a year as a general reporter for the station he was appointed Royal Correspondent and between 1991 and 1996 Simon covered all the major stories which affected the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
.
After a job which involved travel around the world throughout the years Simon took a desk job, presenting Sunrise on Sky News. He also presented the Tonight programme - a topical chat show involving interviews with people from the worlds of showbiz, politics and sport.
In 2003 Simon co-anchored Sky's coverage of the Iraq war on location in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
. He was on air for five hours every day of the conflict.
In January 2004 Simon joined the BBC, and could be seen on BBC Breakfast and BBC News 24, initially as a cover presenter for both. In September 2005 he took over the morning slot on BBC News alongside Kate Silverton
Kate Silverton
Kate Silverton is an English journalist, currently employed by the BBC.- Early life and education :Silverton was born in Essex, England, the daughter of English parents; Terry Silverton, a black-cab driver turned registered hypnotherapist and Patricia Silverton, who now heads her daughter's...
following Phillip Hayton's sudden departure after Hayton fell out with Silverton. When reviewing the papers the following day McCoy tried to point out the story, but was prevented by Silverton. In December 2007 Silverton left the shift to host the 8pm Update. McCoy's co-anchor on Tuesday-Friday is Carrie Gracie
Carrie Gracie
Carrie Gracie is a Scottish journalist and newsreader for BBC News.-Background:Gracie's father was a Scottish oil executive; Gracie was born while he was on assignment in Bahrain. She was educated in Aberdeenshire and Glasgow...
, who previously presented alongside her on Friday.
In 2006 McCoy ceased to appear on BBC Breakfast upon Charlie Stayt
Charlie Stayt
Charles Stayt is a British journalist and presenter, currently working freelance with the BBC as a presenter of BBC Breakfast.-Early life:Stayt was born in 1962 in Gloucester in Gloucestershire, in the West of England...
's arrival at the BBC, but continued to present BBC One bulletins at the weekend. He returned to Breakfast in 2008 as a stand in presenter.
Acting
McCoy appeared as himself, reading the news, in the 2007 BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
drama Party Animals
Party Animals (TV series)
Party Animals is a British television drama series screened on BBC Two in 2007. It was produced by World Productions, the makers of No Angels and This Life....
. He has also appeared in several episodes of Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, in the BBC1 drama Holby Blue, and in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard. Simon also had a newsreading role in the 2006 Anthony Horowitz movie Stormbreaker.
In 2006 McCoy ate a pair of brown leather shoes for charity - raising around £5000 in the process.
Family
McCoy has a son, Max (born 1993), from his first marriage. On 28 September 2007, he married Victoria Graham of BBC South WestBBC South West
BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Devon, Cornwall and the Channel Islands.-Television:BBC South Wests television service consists of the flagship regional news service Spotlight, the opt-out service BBC Channel Islands, the topical magazine programme Inside Out and a 20-minute...
.
External links
- Biography page BBC News