Ashley John-Baptiste

Ashley John-Baptiste (born 1990) is a BBC broadcast journalist and presenter.^{[1][better source needed]}

Childhood and education

Baptiste was born in 1990 in Southwark, South London.^[2] From the age of two until he was 18, he grew up in four foster families and spent two years in a residential care home.^[3][4]

After attending three different primary schools, his secondary education was at Bacon's College, a comprehensive school in Rotherhithe with a higher than average proportion of pupils from troubled backgrounds.^[5] He was suspended several times, and had already been issued a final warning when the opportunity arose to visit a summer school organised by the Sutton Trust at Cambridge University.^[6] This was when he realised that he would have to take responsibility for himself and that he had the potential to succeed.^[7][8]

With the encouragement of his then foster parents and his MP, in 2008 he won a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating in 2011 with an upper second.^{[9][1][2][10]} During this time, he mentored other students from similar backgrounds to his own.^[1][11]

Career

Baptiste was a member of the band The Risk. In 2011, he quit the finals of ITV's X Factor to pursue a career in the media, and soon after obtained a place on the BBC creative access scheme^[12] and began working as a broadcast journalist.^[1]

• In 2012, he presented a BBC Three documentary Care Home Kids: Looking For Love.^[13][14]
• In 2012, he was the keynote speaker at an event organised by The PLACE (Project for Looked After Children's Education), an initiative of South Tyneside Council.^[15]
• In 2013, he was the keynote speaker at the Havering College of Further and Higher Education awards ceremony.^[3]
• In 2018, he was a reporter at the Fifa World Cup.^[1]
• In 2019, with Angelica Bell, he co-hosted an episode of The One Show, a British television magazine and chat show programme, and has since become a regular presenter.^[13]
• In 2019, with Kym Marsh, he co-presented 11 episodes of the documentary For Love or Money.^[16]
• In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, he wrote a BBC News long-read article entitled "The Mangrove Nine: Echoes of black lives matter from 50 years ago".^[17]
• In 2020, with the Rev Kate Bottley, he co-hosted an 8-episode series for BBC Two called Stories Of Us.^[18]
• In 2020, he presented the BBC documentary Being Black at Cambridge.^[19]
• In 2020, he was named the first ever ambassador for the Royal Television Society (RTS) bursary schemes, which support those studying broadcasting and entertainment.^[20]
• In 2022, he presented the BBC documentary "Split up in care - Life without siblings" as part of his campaign for a change in the fostering laws.^[21][22]

From 2015 to 2018 he presented documentaries for the Victoria Derbyshire programme about the care system, children with facial deformities, and the Grenfell Tower fire,^[13][23][12] and has also made original documentary films on interfaith foster care and bullying.^[20]

He is currently an RTS-nominated BBC broadcast journalist and Digital Senior Reporter for BBC News.^[20]

He is an ambassador for The Fostering Network, a fostering charity.^{[citation needed]}

He is the founder of Be Inspired, an organisation working in collaboration with Southwark Council, and Care Leaver Covenant, which have the aim of connecting care-experienced young people with each other and help them achieve their aspirations.^{[24][25][better source needed]}

Awards

In 2018 Baptiste was shortlisted for the Royal Television Society's Young Talent Of The Year Award.^[13]

Personal life

Baptiste met his birth mother, who was a care leaver herself, at the age of 10 for the first time since going into care.^[26][6] He has never met his birth father. In his mid-20s, in spite of having been told by social workers that he was an only child, he found out for the first time that he had four older half-brothers on his father's side, one of whom he has met.^{[27] [28]}

At the age of 14, his St Lucian foster mother took him to a Salvation Army church where he became involved in the youth group. This led to a moment in his faith journey when he prayed, "If you are real, I want you to be my Father".^[29] He credits his mindset of having potential and his sense of self-worth to having grown up in an environment where faith was very important.^[7]

Baptiste sings and plays the piano. He considers that music-making has been crucial to his personal development and well-being.^[29]

He is married to Joanna John-Baptiste, a maths teacher. The couple have two daughters, born in 2020 and 2022.^[30]

References

1. "Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC broadcast journalist and presenter". www.performingartistes.co.uk.
2. "Fitzwilliam's X Factor ex-student". www.fitz.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
3. "From care to Cambridge: Ashley John-Baptiste inspires students at Havering College of Further and Higher Education". PRWeb. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
4. "Foster care: Meeting the boy who lived at 35 addresses". 23 July 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
5. . www.baconscollege.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020.
6. Ashley John-Baptiste interview - music by Jack Cook, retrieved 29 January 2022
7. Raw, Gemma. "Exclusive interview with Ashley John Baptiste". Sanctuary Personnel. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
8. "You and Yours - X Factor's Ashley John-Baptiste - Why I Quit - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
9. "Foster care: Meeting the boy who lived at 35 addresses". BBC News. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
10. John-Baptiste, Ashley (6 October 2020). "Being black at Cambridge, I had some good times, but I struggled to feel I belonged". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
11. "On being black at Cambridge". University of Cambridge. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
12. What makes a great journalist with Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC Young Reporter, retrieved 29 January 2022
13. "Who is new The One Show presenter Ashley-John Baptiste?". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
14. "BBC Three - Care Home Kids: Looking for Love". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
15. "Singer provides young people of South Tyneside with the X Factor - South Tyneside Council". www.southtyneside.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
16. "For Love or Money | Apple TV". Apple TV. 3 November 2019.
17. "The Mangrove Nine". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
18. "BBC Two - Stories of Us". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
19. "BBC World News - Being Black at Cambridge". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
20. "Ashley John-Baptiste announced as the first ambassador for the RTS bursary schemes". Royal Television Society. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
21. "Split Up In Care - Life Without Siblings". 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
22. "'I grew up in care alone - why did no-one tell me I had siblings?'". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
23. "Meet...Ashley John-Baptiste". Royal Television Society. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
24. "Be Inspired – An inspiring and entertaining virtual experience for care experienced young people across the UK". Retrieved 29 January 2022.
25. "Inspiring care experienced young people". Voice Online. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
26. "BBC The One Show 14/01/2019 Ashley John-Baptiste". YouTube. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
27. "'I grew up in care alone - why did no-one tell me I had siblings?'". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
28. John-Baptiste, Ashley (26 January 2022). "A moment that changed me: a stranger contacted me – to say he was my brother". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
29. "The Sunday Hour - Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
30. Hannam, Laura (4 May 2021). "Ashley John-Baptiste in for Love or Money: How old is he? When was he on X Factor?". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 29 January 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Be Inspired