Phil Lavelle

Phil Lavelle (born 24 July 1981 in Aigburth, Liverpool) is an English broadcast journalist working as an International Correspondent for the TV network Al Jazeera English. Prior to that, he was one of the family of faces of the network show, BBC Breakfast, broadcast nationally on BBC1 in the UK. He is also a passionate technology fan and writes reviews and a fortnightly column for TechRadar.com.

Career

Lavelle was a trainee journalist with Granada Television,[1] before joining ITV Tyne Tees. He worked as a Programme Editor for two years, as part of the launch-team for the Al Jazeera English news service bureau in London.[2]

He is a former Entertainment Correspondent and presenter for Sky News and a news correspondent and weekend presenter for Five News. He also had a spell as news correspondent and presenter for BBC London News. In 2010, Lavelle was hired by the BBC national network as a news correspondent for BBC Breakfast.[1][2]

He once caused a stir after posting a message on Twitter that upset some people in Wales, when he suggested the BBC should not be funding the S4C channel whilst making other, internal, cutbacks.[1][3] It was reported in the media that the BBC's Director-General Mark Thompson had to make a personal apology,[4] though this turned out to be a fabrication. Lavelle apologised, stating he'd made the remark off the cuff and hadn't meant to cause any offence.

At Al Jazeera English, he hasreported on stories relating to the film-industry in the United Kingdom. However, since 2013, he has become an established correspondent in Europe and the Near East. He has reported from: the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Cyprus, and Israel & Palestine. In 2014, he revealed on Twitter that he had been commissioned to make an hour long documentary by the channel on smartphone and device addiction, which he filmed in the UK and US. It was broadcast in fall 2014.[5]

Personal life

Lavelle is a passionate advocate of adoption, having adopted a child himself. He also promotes awareness of multiple sclerosis, having lost his mother to the illness in 2013. Lavelle lives in Surrey with his partner, their child and dog. He is known to be a keen fitness fan and gym goer.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Interview: Phil Lavelle". SoSoGay. 13 Jan 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Phil Lavelle". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "BBC reporter off message on S4C". The Guardian. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Anger over presenter’s S4C tweet". Wales Online. October 21, 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "My Digital Addiction". Al Jazeera. November 6, 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.