| Peter Sissons | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter George Sissons 17 July 1942 Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Broadcast journalist |
| Notable credit(s) | ITV News (ITN) Question Time BBC News BBC News channel |
Peter George Sissons (born 17 July 1942) is a broadcast journalist in the United Kingdom. He was the presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and the BBC News at Ten between 1993 and 2003, as earlier a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4. He is also a former presenter of the BBC's Question Time programme. He left the BBC in 2009.[1]
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Originally from Liverpool, Peter Sissons attended the Dovedale Road Junior School with John Lennon and Jimmy Tarbuck and after the 11+ to the Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1953 to 1961 with Bill Kenwright, Stephen Norris, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. He later studied at University College, Oxford where he was Treasurer of the University College Players.
After many years as a journalist, during which he was wounded by gunfire whilst covering the Biafran War,[2] his first period as a newsreader came in 1976 when he began anchoring ITN's News at One bulletins alternately with Leonard Parkin until the first incarnation of the series was dropped by ITV in 1987 after Leonard Parkin decided to retire from ITN; Sissons subsequently left for the BBC.
In June 1989, Sissons took over from Sir Robin Day as the presenter of Question Time. He continued until December 1993, when he was followed by David Dimbleby. In the same year he received a death threat, after his interview of an Iranian representative as part of the reaction surrounding the publication of The Satanic Verses, stating that the fatwa covered him as well.[3] He co-presented BBC's 1992 General Election Night coverage with David Dimbleby and Peter Snow. Previously he had been a co-presenter on ITN's election night programmes in 1983 (with Sir Alastair Burnet and Martyn Lewis) and in 1987 (with Burnet and Alastair Stewart).
He has worked for ITN, Channel 4 News and BBC News, where he hosted the BBC Nine O'Clock News and the Ten O'Clock News. He was dropped from this position in January 2003.[4] Sissons reportedly accused the BBC of ageism in response to its decision to move him from the prime slot.[5]
In 2002, Sissons announced the death of The Queen Mother on the BBC. His broadcast created a minor controversy, as he wore a burgundy tie as opposed to a black one, deemed more appropriate by some for such news.[6] Sissons has since publicly defended his actions.[7] He subsequently presented weekend afternoons on BBC News, the corporation's 24-hour rolling news channel. Sissons has also presented News 24 Sunday, the replacement for Andrew Marr's BBC One programme The Andrew Marr Show when it is off air during the Summer. He also occasionally presented weekend bulletins on BBC One. On 12 June 2009, Sissons announced his intention to retire in the summer in order to write his memoirs.[8]
Sissons portrayed a spoof version of himself in The Life of Python, a lighthearted documentary about the Monty Python's Flying Circus television show, in which he led an interview of the five surviving Pythons together, which consisted entirely of them all saying "Hello".
In 2011, Sissons published When One Door Closes, (from which an extract was reproduced for Mail Online) in which he claimed that BBC News had a bias towards the political Left and complained that The Guardian was the first newspaper that was turned to for a lead on stories.[9]
Sissons is also a Liverpool John Moores University Honorary Fellow and delivered a lecture on 19 June 2008 speaking about the City of Liverpool.[10]
His daughter is the actress Kate Sissons. He also has a second home on the island of Barbados.
| Preceded by Sir Robin Day |
Regular Host of Question Time 1989–1993 |
Succeeded by David Dimbleby |
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