Sian Williams
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| Sian Williams | ||
|---|---|---|
| Born | Sian Williams 28 November 1964 London, England |
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| Occupation | Newsreader | |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC News channel BBC Breakfast co-presenter |
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Sian Mary Williams (born 28 November 1964 in London, Middlesex[1]) is a television presenter for the BBC, and was educated at a comprehensive school in Sussex.
She currently co-presents BBC Breakfast alongside Bill Turnbull each Monday-Thursday as well as being a relief presenter for the BBC News at One, the BBC News at Six and occasionally the BBC News at Ten.
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[edit] Radio career
Prior to her career in television journalism, Williams spent over a decade with BBC Radio after joining the corporation in 1985. Williams worked on BBC Local Radio in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester before becoming a producer and reporter in Liverpool. Williams later joined BBC Radio 4 as a producer on The World at One and PM programmes. Williams spent the next few years reporting news programmes on the station and also on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Sian Williams was also a student of Japanese and international business at Liverpool John Moores University. [2]
[edit] Television career
Williams's first job in television news was when she joined digital rolling news channel BBC News 24, which was soon to launch, as an output editor. During screen tests for potential presenters, one became unwell and Sian was asked if she would be willing to try for the role. When she did, producers were so impressed that they offered her the position alongside Gavin Esler presenting from 4pm-7pm; one of the prime slots on the channel.
She remained with the channel for nearly two years before joining the Six O'Clock News in 1999 as their Special Correspondent. During this time she also began filling in for the programme's presenters, Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce, as well as regularly presenting the national news bulletins on BBC One at weekends.
She joined the BBC's Breakfast programme in January 2001 as one of the regular presenters, initially presenting on Friday-Sunday alongside Darren Jordon, and then later with Bill Turnbull, as well as deputising for main presenter Sophie Raworth and later Natasha Kaplinsky during the week. She also regularly deputised on the Six O'Clock News and the One O'Clock News during this period.
In 2004, Sian covered Raworth on the Six during her maternity leave, co-presenting with George Alagiah.
In April 2006 she was confirmed as the main female presenter of the programme, presenting initially alongside Dermot Murnaghan and now with Bill Turnbull each Monday-Thursday.
From November 2007 until May 2008, Sian was the deputy presenter of the BBC News at Six after its move to single-headed presentation, before Fiona Bruce took over the role. Sian still acts as a relief presenter for the programme.
She used to present on BBC Radio 5 Live and regularly presented programmes for BBC Wales (One Show, with Aled Jones, and the Big Welsh Challenge, where she spent a year learning Welsh) as well as presenting BBC One daytime programmes including Now You're Talking and City Hospital.
[edit] Family life
Sian was born in London but raised in Eastbourne, East Sussex[3]. Although born and raised in England, Williams is Welsh by heritage, her family hailing from Llanelli. She has three sons, Joss Philip Hunt, (born 19 October 1991) and Alex John Hunt (born 30 January 1994), from her marriage in February 1991 to Neale Hunt, a former director of advertising firm McCann Erickson London, now head of his own media company Media Therapy.
Williams' third son Seth was born in October 2006. His father is Williams' current partner Paul Woolwich, a BBC executive in Current Affairs and Business programmes.[4]
