Aasmah Mir

Aasmah Mir (born 7 October 1971; pronounced like "azma mere") is a Scottish television and radio broadcaster and journalist in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Mir was born to first-generation Pakistani immigrants[1] and brought up in a five-bedroom detached Victorian house in the suburb of Bearsden, near Glasgow, from the age of ten.[2][3] She graduated from the University of Bristol with an honours law degree in 1993.[4]

Journalism

In 1995 Mir had a brief stint as a reporter for the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, then became a radio researcher. In 2005 and 2006 she was a columnist for the Sunday Herald.[4]

Broadcasting career

Television

Mir began her career in broadcasting in 1992 appearing on a BBC TV programme called The Insiders with Gordon Kennedy.[1] After graduation she joined Scottish Television aged 21 as a trainee and read the early morning news bulletins,[1] and presented the main news show.[1]

She presented a couple of editions of the documentary strand for BBC Two called East[4] in 1996 and some items on Desi DNA.[4] In 1998 she became a reporter for Central TV in Nottingham.

Mir has also presented Just Write on Channel 4 and Around Scotland on BBC Two.[4] In 2010 she became a newspaper reviewer on GMTV with Lorraine and Lorraine.[2]

Radio

In 1999 Mir moved to London as a producer for BBC Radio London and started doing freelance news-reading shifts for the national radio station BBC Radio 5 Live. She joined the station full-time in July 2001.

In April 2006 she covered the weekday morning phone in programme on BBC Asian Network for a fortnight when Sonia Deol left the programme, and before Anita Rani became presenter. She has presented items on the BBC Asian Network Report.[4]

Mir presented the Midday News on 5 Live, Monday to Friday, until 9 January 2009. She joined BBC Scotland in April 2009 as a presenter of the Friday edition of Good Morning Scotland.[1] Also in 2009 she presented a series of programmes for BBC Radio 4 on Scotland's Year of Homecoming,[1][5] as well as Colour Me White for Radio 4, and Gay Life After Saddam for Radio 5 Live. In 2010 she replaced Anita Anand as a presenter of Radio 5 Live's Drive programme. In March 2012, for one week, she sat in for Jeremy Vine on his BBC Radio 2 programme.

On 27 September 2012 Mir announced on Twitter that she planned to leave BBC 5 Live, after 11 years with the station. Mir presented her last 5 Live Drive on 9 November 2012. On 29 October 2012 Mir presented BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. She has since presented the LBC 97.3 afternoon show as a substitute for Julia Hartley-Brewer.

Personal life

Mir is married to Piara Powar, the executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe.[6][7] Mir is an avid fan of Celtic.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Aasmah Mir: Scotland’s not my home any more Times Online, 22 November 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barry, Maggie (31 October 2010). "Scots drivetime BBC radio host on fighting talk fuelling on-air duels". Sunday Mail. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Williams, Tessa (7 January 2013). "At home with... Aasmah Mir". The Scotsman.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Aasmah Mir Biography BBC Press Office, May 2010
  5. ↑ A Very Scottish Homecoming Radio Listings, November 2009
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Sectarian row chief married to Celtic fan". The Scotsman (Johnston Publishing). 16 April 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Powar condemns high profile remarks; British Eurosport

External sources