Ms Moira Stuart


Moira Stuart OBE, was born September 1949 and was the first African Caribbean female news reader on British Television. After finshing her studies Moira started work for the BBC in the 1970 working in various producion roles until in 1981 she became a presenter; presenting every news programe devised by the BBC for Radio and Television with the exception of the 10 0' Clock news. She has also appeared on The News Quiz, Breakfast with Frost, Sunday AM, Andrew Marr and BBC Breakfast. Moira left the BBC in October 2007 after a career of 34 years with the BBC. She spent 26 years as a newsreader her leaving was not auspisious with rumours of ageism and other isms.

A keen music lover, Moira deputised for Humphrey Lyttelton on his BBC Radio 2 Best of Jazz programme, has participated in the British Jazz Awards as compère, and features as a narrator on a jazz-rap album by Soweto Kinch. With Adam Shaw, she also presents the BBC Two personal finance series Cashing In.

Ms Stuart has served on various boards and judging panels including Amnesty International, The Royal Television Society, United Nations Association, the Orange Prize, the London Fair Play Consortium and the Human Genetics Advisory Commission.

In 2004, Moira was the subject in one episode of the BBC documentary series 'Who Do You Think You Are'?, which helped trace her family history.

In 2006, Stuart played a comic version of herself in the Ricky Gervais television comedy Extras, supposedly involved in supplying drugs to Ronnie Corbett.

In March 2007 she also presented the documentary In Search of Wilberforce for BBC Television, examining the role of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the British bill that banned the slave trade.According to a review of the programme: "The documentary is well-structured and the informed questioning by Stuart enables a debunking of the Wilberforce legend and a challenge to the myopia in Britain which focuses upon the abolitionists rather than those who were enslaved."

On 2 June 2007, she hosted the BBC One topical news quiz show Have I Got News for You,and was well received by the public. The extended and uncut version of the programme (shown the following evening, 3 June 2007) revealed that, while making a spoof appeal for work, she fluffed her lines on a number of occasions but took it all with her traditional good humour.

In January 2010 Moira was to return to the BBC, reading the news for Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2.

In March 2014 Moira began hosting the Sunday night late show 'Music Until Midnight' BBC2.

Moira Stuart has otained a number of awards including Best Newscaster of the year 1988 and Best Female Television Personality she is also named in 100 Great Black Britons. She has also been awarded two Honoray Doctorates and a Honorry Degree.