Will Hanrahan
Encyclopedia
William Hanrahan is a British television and radio producer best known for working on BBC
programmes such as Watchdog and Good Morning. Since 1994 he has headed an independent TV company and is also a law graduate with considerable experience in consumer and legal programming.
, an area near Liverpool
, Merseyside
, Will Hanrahan was schooled at St. Benet's, now St. Benedicts, and St. Mary's College
in Crosby
. He trained on the Bootle Times newspaper. He subsequently embarked on a career as a radio and television journalist notably reporting from the Rwandan Civil War
. His live coverage of the barren existence in a refugee camp and an orphanage in Goma
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(then Zaire) was critically well-received. He has also presented programmes for the BBC, including serving as a reporter or presenter for BBC's Watchdog
, the Good Food Programme, Family Matters, On The Line, Verdict, The Arts and Crafts Hour and both the early and late-evening news. He co-presented the breakfast show Good Morning. as well as presenting for Buyers Guide and Blue Chip for BSkyB's .tv technology channel. and, in 2007, for the Sunday Breakfast show for BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire
. This brief spell on the radio echoed Hanrahan's earlier career on BBC Radio York
and BBC Radio Five Live
where he fronted a mid-morning segment related to food issues. Hanrahan's voice and reporting style continues to be heard on documentaries such as the 2008 Suffolk Strangler for Sky Television, the story of the serial killer, Steve Wright
. The programme was Hanrahan's third major television documentary. His self-produced Dunblane - A Decade On for Channel Five (re-versioned for Sky TV's Crime Investigation Network as Dunblane Remembered in 2008) saw him return to the scene of the massacre of schoolchildren by deranged gunman Thomas Hamilton
. Hanrahan had covered the tragedy for BBC television at the time and met again some of those he had interviewed in March 1996. In 2009, Hanrahan was a reporter and writer of a series of Documentaries related to Crime for Sky TV.
Alongside his documentaries, he has produced entertainment programming such as the four-year ITV series, Star Lives, and the BBC comedy Trexx and Flipside. At a Broadcast conference held in 2004, Hanrahan claimed that his childhood would see him watch a gripping drama, a compelling news programme and a comedy and appreciate the values and skills of them all and it was this varied approach to programme-making which he preferred to any single genre.
Today Hanrahan, who has served as an elected board member on the Producers Alliance group PACT, heads up his own Independent company.
. Hanrahan Media has been producing a wide range of programs, such as factual entertainment shows for ITV
and Sky One
. Notable programs produced by the company include Star Lives, SuDoKu Live, and Carol Vorderman
's Brain Game, as well as documentaries for ITV and Channel Five. Hanrahan himself has most recently produced a documentary marking the 10th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre.
The company has received eight Royal Television Society awards or nominations, its latest in 2009 for Best News and Current Affairs and Best Documentary, and remains a top 50 Indie in the UK.
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...
programmes such as Watchdog and Good Morning. Since 1994 he has headed an independent TV company and is also a law graduate with considerable experience in consumer and legal programming.
Television and radio
Journalist, Documentary-maker and factual TV specialist, Will Hanrahan grew up in BootleBootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
, an area near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, Will Hanrahan was schooled at St. Benet's, now St. Benedicts, and St. Mary's College
St Mary's College, Sefton
St Mary's College is an independent Roman Catholic day school for boys and girls in North West England, comprising an early years department , preparatory school and secondary school...
in Crosby
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
. He trained on the Bootle Times newspaper. He subsequently embarked on a career as a radio and television journalist notably reporting from the Rwandan Civil War
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front...
. His live coverage of the barren existence in a refugee camp and an orphanage in Goma
Goma
Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(then Zaire) was critically well-received. He has also presented programmes for the BBC, including serving as a reporter or presenter for BBC's Watchdog
Watchdog (TV series)
Watchdog is a BBC television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders, retailers, and other companies around the UK...
, the Good Food Programme, Family Matters, On The Line, Verdict, The Arts and Crafts Hour and both the early and late-evening news. He co-presented the breakfast show Good Morning. as well as presenting for Buyers Guide and Blue Chip for BSkyB's .tv technology channel. and, in 2007, for the Sunday Breakfast show for BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....
. This brief spell on the radio echoed Hanrahan's earlier career on BBC Radio York
BBC Radio York
BBC York is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of North Yorkshire.- Early history :The station was launched at 6:30am on 4 July 1983 - a launch featured on the cover of the Radio Times...
and BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
where he fronted a mid-morning segment related to food issues. Hanrahan's voice and reporting style continues to be heard on documentaries such as the 2008 Suffolk Strangler for Sky Television, the story of the serial killer, Steve Wright
Steve Wright (serial killer)
Steven Gerald James Wright is an English serial killer, also known as the Suffolk Strangler. He is currently serving life imprisonment for the murder of five women who worked as prostitutes in Ipswich, Suffolk...
. The programme was Hanrahan's third major television documentary. His self-produced Dunblane - A Decade On for Channel Five (re-versioned for Sky TV's Crime Investigation Network as Dunblane Remembered in 2008) saw him return to the scene of the massacre of schoolchildren by deranged gunman Thomas Hamilton
Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
. Hanrahan had covered the tragedy for BBC television at the time and met again some of those he had interviewed in March 1996. In 2009, Hanrahan was a reporter and writer of a series of Documentaries related to Crime for Sky TV.
Alongside his documentaries, he has produced entertainment programming such as the four-year ITV series, Star Lives, and the BBC comedy Trexx and Flipside. At a Broadcast conference held in 2004, Hanrahan claimed that his childhood would see him watch a gripping drama, a compelling news programme and a comedy and appreciate the values and skills of them all and it was this varied approach to programme-making which he preferred to any single genre.
Today Hanrahan, who has served as an elected board member on the Producers Alliance group PACT, heads up his own Independent company.
Hanrahan Media
Will Hanrahan launched his own media production company, Hanrahan Media, in 1994, with Fatherhood, a series of TV essays for BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. Hanrahan Media has been producing a wide range of programs, such as factual entertainment shows for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
. Notable programs produced by the company include Star Lives, SuDoKu Live, and Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....
's Brain Game, as well as documentaries for ITV and Channel Five. Hanrahan himself has most recently produced a documentary marking the 10th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre.
The company has received eight Royal Television Society awards or nominations, its latest in 2009 for Best News and Current Affairs and Best Documentary, and remains a top 50 Indie in the UK.