South East Today
Encyclopedia
BBC South East Today is the BBC South East
regional television news programme, serving Kent
, East Sussex
and the eastern fringes of Surrey
. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received Newsroom South East
, though some had been receiving South Today
.
South East Today is produced and broadcast live from the BBC's South East broadcasting studios in Royal Tunbridge Wells
with district reporters based at newsrooms in Brighton
, Chatham, Hastings
and Dover
.
, a brief mid-afternoon bulletin at 3pm, a 15-minute programme at 13:30, the main half-hour programme at 18:30, a 30-second update at 8pm and a seven-minute bulletin at 22:25. Four bulletins also air during the weekend: a lunchtime bulletin on Saturday, early evening bulletins on Saturday and Sunday and a late night bulletin on Sundays, following the BBC News at Ten. The times of these bulletins usually vary.
The programme can be watched in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite
channel 983 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite
service.
Launched with a sole main presenter Laurie Mayer, the programme was briefly the centre of a minor BBC scandal, after Mayer resigned amid accusations of management bullying. Mayer lost his case, but the managers concerned have since moved on.
The show then became double-headed, with Beverley Thompson
(formerly the programme's Health Correspondent) and Giles Dilnot presenting, with John Young filling in for absences. In 2004, Geoff Clark
joined the programme from ITV Meridian and Giles Dilnot moved to reporting for BBC2's The Daily Politics
. Clark and Thompson presented the programme together for five years until their departure in mid-September 2009.
The current main presenters are Rob Smith and Polly Evans with weather presenters Kaddy Lee-Preston
and Rachel Mackley. The stand-in presenters for the programme are John Young, Ceri Perkins and Natalie Graham with former national weather forecaster Michael Fish
a stand-in weather presenter. The programme's editor is Quentin Smith, deputised by Michael Gravesande.
The main transmitters that relay the news are Bluebell Hill, Heathfield, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Dover, Hastings and Margate. Viewers in west Kent have the option of either viewing BBC London News via Crystal Palace or BBC South East Today via Bluebell Hill/Heathfield transmitters.
Reporters marked with an asterisk also act as newscasters
BBC South East
BBC South East is the BBC English Region serving East Sussex, Kent, and parts of Surrey and West Sussex.The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter , with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters to form a new regional TV service...
regional television news programme, serving Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
and the eastern fringes of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received Newsroom South East
Newsroom South East
Newsroom South East was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. It was launched in March 1989 as the successor to London Plus, the South East's previous news programme...
, though some had been receiving South Today
South Today
South Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for East Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, West Sussex and the western fringes of Surrey...
.
South East Today is produced and broadcast live from the BBC's South East broadcasting studios in Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
with district reporters based at newsrooms in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Chatham, Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
and Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
.
Overview
Launched on 3 September 2001, South East Today airs eleven times a day on weekdays: 6 bulletins in the morning during BBC BreakfastBBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, a brief mid-afternoon bulletin at 3pm, a 15-minute programme at 13:30, the main half-hour programme at 18:30, a 30-second update at 8pm and a seven-minute bulletin at 22:25. Four bulletins also air during the weekend: a lunchtime bulletin on Saturday, early evening bulletins on Saturday and Sunday and a late night bulletin on Sundays, following the BBC News at Ten. The times of these bulletins usually vary.
The programme can be watched in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
channel 983 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite
BBC UK regional TV on satellite
The BBC broadcasts all of the BBC One and BBC Two regional variations on digital satellite television from the SES Astra satellites at 28.2° east; providing local news programmes and other regional programming with local continuity and presentation for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
service.
Launched with a sole main presenter Laurie Mayer, the programme was briefly the centre of a minor BBC scandal, after Mayer resigned amid accusations of management bullying. Mayer lost his case, but the managers concerned have since moved on.
The show then became double-headed, with Beverley Thompson
Beverley Thompson
-Career:Thompson's career with the BBC spanned over 23 years - much of that time spent on regional news. She began in the mid 80s as a reporter for Wales Today. She progressed to reading short news bulletins and occasionally presenting the main 5:35pm programme. By 1988, she moved to BBC West in...
(formerly the programme's Health Correspondent) and Giles Dilnot presenting, with John Young filling in for absences. In 2004, Geoff Clark
Geoff Clark (journalist)
Geoff Clark is a journalist and television presenter.-Career:Clark started his broadcasting career as a football reporter with LBC Radio in London in the late 1970s before moving to a studio-based presenter's job there...
joined the programme from ITV Meridian and Giles Dilnot moved to reporting for BBC2's The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is a British television show launched by the BBC in 2003. Presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn, the programme takes an in-depth and sometimes irreverent look at the daily goings on in Westminster and other areas across Britain and the world, and includes interviews with leading...
. Clark and Thompson presented the programme together for five years until their departure in mid-September 2009.
The current main presenters are Rob Smith and Polly Evans with weather presenters Kaddy Lee-Preston
Kaddy Lee-Preston
Kathryn "Kaddy" Lee-Preston is a British meteorologist and weather presenter on BBC South East, and regular broadcaster on BBC Radio Kent.Educated at Bradfield College and Reading University she then trained as a meteorologist, spending time as a forecaster for the RAF, gas and electricity...
and Rachel Mackley. The stand-in presenters for the programme are John Young, Ceri Perkins and Natalie Graham with former national weather forecaster Michael Fish
Michael Fish
Michael Fish MBE is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....
a stand-in weather presenter. The programme's editor is Quentin Smith, deputised by Michael Gravesande.
The main transmitters that relay the news are Bluebell Hill, Heathfield, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Dover, Hastings and Margate. Viewers in west Kent have the option of either viewing BBC London News via Crystal Palace or BBC South East Today via Bluebell Hill/Heathfield transmitters.
Weather presenters
- Michael FishMichael FishMichael Fish MBE is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....
(freelance) - Holly Green (freelance)
- Kaddy Lee-PrestonKaddy Lee-PrestonKathryn "Kaddy" Lee-Preston is a British meteorologist and weather presenter on BBC South East, and regular broadcaster on BBC Radio Kent.Educated at Bradfield College and Reading University she then trained as a meteorologist, spending time as a forecaster for the RAF, gas and electricity...
(also presents Inside Out South East) - Rachel Mackley
Former presenters
- Elizabeth Austen (now with BBC Points WestBBC Points WestBBC Points West is the BBC's regional news programme for the West of England, covering Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire...
) - Geoff ClarkGeoff Clark (journalist)Geoff Clark is a journalist and television presenter.-Career:Clark started his broadcasting career as a football reporter with LBC Radio in London in the late 1970s before moving to a studio-based presenter's job there...
- Giles Dilnot
- Kaye Forster (now with BBC Midlands Today)
- Nazaneen GhaffarNazaneen GhaffarNazaneen Ghaffar is a United Kingdom television weather forecaster. She currently appears on the Sky News channel having previously presented for BBC South East Today and ITV West.-Early life:Ghaffar grew up in Tunbridge Wells, Kent...
(now with Sky NewsSky NewsSky 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...
- Laurie Mayer
- Ian Palmer
- Beverley ThompsonBeverley Thompson-Career:Thompson's career with the BBC spanned over 23 years - much of that time spent on regional news. She began in the mid 80s as a reporter for Wales Today. She progressed to reading short news bulletins and occasionally presenting the main 5:35pm programme. By 1988, she moved to BBC West in...
- John Young
District correspondents
- Peter Whittlesea (Dover)
- Natalie Graham (East Sussex) *
- Simon Jones (Thanet)
- John Young* (Brighton, shared with South Today)
News correspondents
- Caroline Feraday* (freelance)
- Robin Gibson
- Lynda Hardy
- Nicola Haseler (Videojournalist)
- Jon Hunt
- Bryony MacKenzie *
- Juliette Parkin *
- Ian Palmer *
- Ceri Perkins *
- Claudia SermbezisClaudia SermbezisClaudia Sermbezis is an English actress, comedy writer and broadcast journalist specialising in wildlife.-Early life:Claudia Asimina Sermbezis was born in Kent, she is the daughter of a Greek father and an English mother.-Career:...
* - Sara Smith
- Chrissie ReidyChrissie ReidyChrissie Reidy is an English journalist and weather forecaster. She works on BBC's South East Today.-Forecaster:...
*
Specialist correspondents
- Yvette Austen (Social Affairs/Environment)
- Neil Bell (Sport)
- Colin Campbell (Home Affairs)
- Mark Norman (Health/Environment)
- Paul Siegert (Political/Transport)
- Richard Smith (Business)
Reporters marked with an asterisk also act as newscasters