Dermot Murnaghan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dermot James Murnaghan | ||
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| Birth name | Dermot James Murnaghan | |
| Born | 26 December 1957 | |
| Birth place | Devon, England | |
| Education | University of Sussex | |
| Circumstances | ||
| Occupation | Journalist, television presenter | |
| Spouse | Maria Keegan | |
| Salary | £250,000 | |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC Breakfast | |
Dermot James Murnaghan (born 26 December 1957) is an English journalist and television presenter.
He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News and the shows Eggheads (2003–) and Treasure Hunt (2002–2003). He co-presented BBC Breakfast, usually with Sian Williams, from Monday to Thursday every week[1] as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins until December 2007, when he left for Sky News.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Devon, England, his family later moved to Northern Ireland; first to Armagh City where he attended St. Malachy's Boys' Primary School in Chapel Lane, and then to Newry, County Down, where he boarded at St. Patrick's Grammar School, County Armagh and later to Holywood where Murnaghan attended Sullivan Upper School, the local grammar school.
Murnaghan was educated at the University of Sussex, graduating with an MA in history in 1980. He then completed a postgraduate course in journalism at City University.
[edit] Career
He worked as a trainee reporter on local newspapers before joining Channel 4 as a researcher and then became a reporter for The Business Programme.
He presented the European Business Channel in Switzerland before being recalled by ITN to present the World News on The Channel 4 Daily between 1991 and 1992 after original anchor Carol Barnes left the service.
Murnaghan graduated to other ITN broadcasts, presenting programmes on ITV such as the Lunchtime News and News At Ten. He later presented the ITV Evening News and the ITV Nightly News when ITV relaunched its news output in 1999. He also worked on ITV's General Election coverage in 2001.
From September 2002 to December 2007, Murnaghan was a main presenter of BBC Breakfast, replacing Jeremy Bowen. He presented the show alongside Sophie Raworth, Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Silverton and Sian Williams. He was also a regular stand-in on the BBC Six O'Clock News and BBC Ten O'Clock News. His presenting style was lampooned in the impersonation sketch show Dead Ringers by Jon Culshaw, his widely spaced legs on the presenting couch mocked with the phrase "I'm Dermot Murnaghan, watch my crotch follow you round the room".
It was revealed in October 2007 that Murnaghan would be quitting the BBC for Sky News. Murnaghan became the second news presenter to depart the corporation in the same month; Natasha Kaplinsky left to join Five News, which is produced by Sky. Since 8 January 2008, Murnaghan has presented Sky News Today from 9am to 1pm on weekdays.[2] His last time presenting Breakfast was on 20 December 2007. Murnaghan has conceded that as an interviewer he is not in the same league as Jeremy Paxman and John Humphrys. [3]
Apart from the news, Murnaghan presents the BBC Two daytime show Eggheads. Previously, on the same channel, he presented the BBC revival of Channel 4's 80s hit Treasure Hunt alongside Suzi Perry. He has guest -resented reports for different travel shows including ITV's Wish You Were Here...? and BBC One's rival programme Holiday. He has made cameos as a newsreader in the 2004 film Wimbledon,[4] Absolute Power and Midnight Man.
From 2006 to 2006 he was the President of the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC), and presented the TRIC Awards 2007.
[edit] Personal life
In August 1989, in Camden, Murnaghan married Maria Keegan, with whom he has four children, Kitty (b. April 1992), Molly (b. June 1997), Alice (b. March 1999) and Jack (b. March 2002). He is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Dermot Murnaghan - Official Agent's website
- Dermot Murnaghan profile on BBC Breakfast webpage
- Dermot Murnaghan at the Internet Movie Database
