Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for Panorama in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the BBC News at Ten, as well as presenting many flagship programmes for the corporation, including BBC News at Six, Crimewatch, Real Story, Antiques Roadshow, and Fake or Fortune? Since 10 January 2019, she has been the presenter of the BBC One television programme Question Time.
Fiona Bruce | |
|---|---|
Bruce filming an episode of Antiques Roadshow in 2013 | |
| Born | Fiona Elizabeth Bruce 25 April 1964[1] |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford University of London Institute in Paris |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Notable credits | |
| Spouse | Nigel Sharrocks (m. 1994) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
Bruce was born on 25 April 1964 in what was then the State of Singapore,[3] Malaysia,[4] to an English mother and a Scottish father, who had a long career at Unilever, becoming a regional managing director.[5][6] Before that, the Bruce family had lived for several generations in the fishing village of Hopeman in Moray (also known as Elginshire) in the north-east of Scotland.[7] Bruce has two elder brothers. She was educated at Gayton Primary School in Wirral, the International School of Milan, and then, from the age of 14 until 18, attended Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College in New Cross, London. During the latter period she modelled for the stories in the teenage girls' magazine Jackie.[8]
Bruce's great-grandfather, Frederick Crouch, died in fighting on the Western Front in World War I.[9][10]
Bruce read French and Italian at Hertford College, Oxford. During that period, she was briefly a punk, singing in rock bands and, at one point, colouring her hair blue for one week.[8] She attended the University of London Institute in Paris and is a fluent speaker of French and Italian.[11]
Career
After leaving university, Bruce joined a management consulting firm for a year, but found the experience depressingly dull:[12]
I dreaded the meetings, the tedium, the fact that I was in the wrong job. I was so unhappy. I used to cry in the loos at lunchtime.
After that, she worked at a number of advertising agencies, including Boase Massimi Pollitt, where she met her future husband, a company director.[13] She then went on to meet Tim Gardam – at that time the editor of the BBC's Panorama – at a wedding and, in 1989, he gave her a job as a researcher on the programme.[12]
News and current affairs
After becoming an assistant producer on Panorama, she made the change to reporting in 1992 on Breakfast News. She then moved to BBC South East, appearing as an occasional presenter and reporter on Newsroom South East and a weekly current affairs programme, First Sight. From 1994 to 1995, she was a reporter on the BBC2 current affairs programme Public Eye. She then reported for Panorama and Newsnight before moving to presenting Breakfast News and the BBC Six O'Clock News in 1996.
In 1999, as part of a major relaunch of the BBC's news output, Bruce was named secondary presenter of the BBC Six O'Clock News. She presented the programme as a cover for the main presenter Huw Edwards, as well as regularly on Fridays, until a presenter reshuffle in January 2003, to coincide with the retirement of Michael Buerk and the move of Peter Sissons to the BBC News channel.
Both Edwards and Bruce moved to the BBC Ten O'Clock News and continue to present the programme. Bruce was the first female presenter of the bulletin.[14] In 2007, Bruce returned to presenting the BBC News at Six. After an eleven-year tenure, she stepped down in January 2019.
From 2003 to 2007, Bruce presented and reported in the BBC One current affairs series, Real Story.[15]
After the murder of Jill Dando, Bruce took over the position of co-presenter on Crimewatch, alongside Nick Ross, until both were replaced by Kirsty Young towards the end of 2007. In 2001, Bruce became one of the presenters of the BBC general election results programme.
In 2006, following a court case involving British Airways requesting that a Christian employee conceal her cross because it infringed the airline's dress code, the BBC disclosed it had some concerns over the fact that Bruce often wore a cross necklace, although she was not banned from doing so.[16]
On 10 January 2019, Bruce succeeded long-time host David Dimbleby on the BBC's debate programme Question Time as the first full-time female host.[17][18] Her tenure as host was almost immediately embroiled in controversy,[19][20] and in May 2020, Bruce stated "QT is without doubt the hardest job I’ve ever done."[17]
In 2023, during an episode of Question Time, when journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown claimed that Stanley Johnson, the father of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, broke his wife's nose, Bruce interrupted to comment that Johnson's friends had said that the incident occurred, but was a "one-off".[21] Following the episode, Labour MP Kate Osborne, and chief executive of domestic violence charity Women's Aid, Farah Nazeer, among others, criticised the comment, saying that it downplayed domestic violence.[22] The BBC defended Bruce, commenting that, as the host, she had the duty to present an avenue of reply by accused parties and it was not her personal comment.[22] Bruce apologised for her comments after the incident[22] and resigned as an ambassador for the domestic violence charity Refuge, a role she had been in for over 25 years. [23][24]
Other programmes
In September 1998, Bruce became the presenter for BBC Two's Antiques Show, which was in its fourth series. She presented it for a further two series, showing her interest in presenting antiques programmes nearly a decade before presenting Antiques Roadshow.[25] On 22 June 2007, it was announced that Bruce was to replace the retiring Michael Aspel as presenter of Antiques Roadshow the following spring,[26] which initially caused some controversy.[27] However, average viewership increased during Bruce's first year as presenter.[28]
In 2007, Bruce wrote and presented a BBC documentary about Cherie Blair as Tony Blair left office.[29]
Bruce also occasionally presented special editions of The Money Programme. In one, she profiled the entrepreneur Alan Sugar.[30] She said of the experience: "It was a bit like being in front of a hair dryer at very close quarters. He's not backwards in coming forward in his opinions." During the documentary, Bruce – who has always publicly identified herself as a feminist – challenged Sugar's view that women should openly disclose their childcare commitments to a potential employer. Her point was that if men were not required to declare their ability to meet the demands of their job, it was not right that women should do so.
Victoria: A Royal Love Story (2010) is a BBC documentary, written and presented by Bruce, charting the story of the love affair between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and documenting the collection of paintings, sculptures, and jewellery they gave each other.
Since 2011, she has co-hosted the BBC television series Fake or Fortune? alongside Philip Mould, which involves the process of establishing the authenticity of works of art, including the use of modern techniques.[31]
In 2011, Bruce wrote and presented The Queen's Palaces, a three-part BBC documentary telling the story of Queen Elizabeth II's three official residences, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Holyrood Palace.[32] In 2012, Bruce wrote and presented a BBC documentary about Leonardo da Vinci.[33]
In 2015 and 2016, she presented the BBC Four quiz programme Hive Minds.[34]
In 2017, it was reported that Bruce was paid between £350,000 and £400,000 as a BBC presenter.[35] In early 2019, she stated that she did not keep track of her salary which, for 2018, was reportedly £170,000, an amount that did not include her earnings from Antiques Roadshow.[36]
Bruce is reputably known by a number of epithets at the BBC including "The Long Streak of Plain Jane" and "The Queen of Woke"'. She is also rebuked for her left-wing bias.[citation needed]
Parody and humour
Bruce was featured in an episode of Top Gear (series 10, episode 3), sharing a lift with one of its presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, and then having to push him out (as he was stuck in a Peel P50, which has no reverse gear). As she walked away, Clarkson commented, without her knowledge until the programme was aired, "She has got quite a nice bottom... I said that out loud, didn't I?" Bruce returned to Top Gear in the next series (series 11, episode 4), alongside fellow newsreader Kate Silverton, for the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" feature. As a comeback to the "nice bottom" comment, she slapped Clarkson's and declared that it "needs a bit of work". Since then, she has also occasionally stood in for a holidaying Clarkson in his Sunday Times car review column, which she referred to as the ultimate revenge: "perching my bottom – nice or otherwise – on his patch."[37]
In the BBC Two version of the satirical impressions show Dead Ringers, Bruce was parodied by Jan Ravens, who ruthlessly exaggerated her mannerisms through sexual innuendo. For example: "Hello, my name is Fiona Bruce sitting on the luckiest chair in Britain",[38] and "Hello, I'm Fiona Bruce; don't touch what you can't afford."
She appeared in a tongue-in-cheek BBC HD advertisement in 2008, featuring a parody of the Antiques Roadshow, in which she drove a car through a wall, before running towards a falling vase, with the car exploding as she jumped to save the vase from crashing.[39]
Bruce has regularly appeared on the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon, performing musical routines alongside fellow BBC newsreaders. Her rendition of "All That Jazz" in the 2007 edition, while performing as Velma Kelly, led the directors of the revival of Chicago to invite her to the London performance of the 10th-anniversary gala, where she appeared on stage in a parade of Velmas.[40]
Referring to Jeremy Clarkson's adoration of her – he once described her as "agonisingly gorgeous"[41] – she remarked, "In my twenties I was virulently opposed to anyone commenting on my appearance, lest it come at the expense of my ability. But it's not an issue for me now. If Jeremy Clarkson pays me a compliment, then fine, how nice, 'Thanks Jeremy'."[5]
Political causes
Bruce has often been outspoken regarding her commitment to feminism, expressing concern at a 2006 poll that suggested almost three-quarters of women no longer saw feminism as necessary: "The contradictions are still there [in society] which is why I think feminism is still very relevant for me and it's just such a shame that it's become a byword for mustachioed, man-hating women from Lebanon."[38] Despite her firm views on the subject – including a "disappointment" in women who dislike working with other women[38] – she claims to have softened her feminist views from her university days, where she once ran an anti-pornography campaign.[42]
Fathers 4 Justice controversy
Bruce was criticised for showing "blatant bias" when interviewing Matt O'Connor, founder of Fathers 4 Justice, for a BBC programme in 2004.[43] Bruce, who had featured in advertising campaigns for the charity Women's Aid, was accused of having an axe to grind on the issue of domestic violence. Many, including O'Connor, felt she let her own personal view on domestic violence as an issue of gender take over the programme.[44] There were also concerns that O'Connor had originally been invited to speak about CAFCASS and the Family Courts, yet the programme was changed to focus on domestic violence.[45]
Later, a BBC committee, investigating on behalf of the BBC Governors, concluded that there were "some weaknesses" in the programme when considered against the BBC's journalistic values of "Truth and Accuracy, Serving the Public Interest, Impartiality and Diversity of Opinion, Independence and Accountability", but that the programme "still made a valuable contribution to the debate on parental rights". Overall the committee "did not think that these matters were sufficient to constitute a serious breach of editorial standards" and found that "the programme had provided appropriate and balanced information around the allegation that violent men had infiltrated F4J".[46]
Charity work
Bruce is an honorary vice president of optical charity Vision Aid Overseas (VAO), alongside fellow newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald. In February 2005, Bruce did the voice-over for VAO's Lifeline Appeal. In 2007, Bruce launched VAO's Annual Review. Later that year she was one of nine prominent women to take part in the What's it going to take? campaign for the charity Women's Aid.
In 2009, the NSPCC inducted her into its Hall of Fame in honour of her continued work on their behalf. In accepting the honour, she said, "The work of the NSPCC and ChildLine is desperately important and I do little compared to what needs to be done. But I'm very honoured to be included in the Hall of Fame."[47]
Personal life
Bruce met Nigel Sharrocks (born 1956)[48] when he was director of the advertising agency where she worked.[38] He is non-executive chairman of Digital Cinema Media.[49] They married in July 1994 in Islington, London. The couple have two children, a son born in January 1998 and a daughter born in November 2001.[12][50] Bruce encountered much adverse publicity for her decision to return to work with Crimewatch 16 days after the birth of her daughter.[51][52] In 2014, Bruce stated that she did not use social media because of the misogynistic abuse directed towards female celebrities.[53] She lives in Belsize Park, London, and also has a second home in Sydenham, Oxfordshire.[54][55]
She was awarded the female Rear of the Year title in 2010, and accepted it in person.[56] The following year, however, she declared that her acceptance of it had been "hypocritical" and that the award was "demeaning".[57]
See also
References
- ^ "Fiona Bruce - Biography". Hello!. from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Singapore in Malaysia
- ^ Singapore State was formerly (between 1963-1965) a state and one of 14 States of Malaysia
- ^ Bruce, Fiona (13 September 2009). "Fiona Bruce's Singapore". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b Pettie, Andrew (30 January 2009). "Interview: Fiona Bruce". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Feinstein, Sharon (24 October 1999). "The day I discovered my long-lost family". Sunday Mirror. from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Who Do You Think You Are: Fiona Bruce". BBC. London. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Press Association (7 December 2018). "Fiona Bruce shows off serious and silly sides during long BBC career". Evening Express. from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "BBC's Fiona Bruce opens up about family member's mysterious death". HELLO!. 14 March 2021.
- ^ "BBC - Who Do You Think You Are? - Fiona Bruce". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ . Inspirational Speakers. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Wallis, Lucy (18 December 2003). "Fiona Bruce's wild days". BBC News Online. from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Hagan, Angela (5 August 2000). "Sex, lies and hospital dramas; Crimewatch's Fiona Bruce confesses to a little white lie that had painful repercussions". Daily Mirror. London. from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Hoggard, Liz (6 August 2016). "What I've learnt: Fiona Bruce". The Times Magazine. London. p. 8. ISSN 0140-0460. from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Busfield, Steve (9 October 2006). "BBC to axe Real Story". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Cross row stokes Christian anger". BBC News Online. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b Armstrong, Lisa (30 May 2020). "Fiona Bruce: 'You don't ever want to become the story'". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Fiona Bruce announced as new Question Time presenter". BBC Media Center. 7 December 2018. from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Gregory, Robinson (3 March 2020). "Fiona Bruce surprised at Question Time's 'level of toxicity'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Bray, Abbie (24 January 2020). "Question Time flooded with 250 complaints after Laurence Fox's controversial race row about Meghan Markle". Metro. London: DMG Media. ISSN 1469-6215. from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Labour MP accuses Fiona Bruce of 'trivialising' Stanley Johnson 'wife-beater' claims". Yahoo News. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Shaw, Neil (11 March 2023). "Fiona Bruce apologises after her domestic violence comments on Question Time". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ "BBC Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce to step down from charity ambassador role after claims she trivialised domestic violence". Sky News.
- ^ "Fiona Bruce to step back from Refuge after 'storm' over Stanley Johnson remark on Question Time". BBC News. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Deacon, Michael (5 September 2008). "Fiona Bruce: Antiques Roadshow". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Bruce to host Antiques Roadshow". BBC News Online. 22 June 2007. from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Pettie, Andrew (31 August 2018). "Fiona Bruce says 'too sexy' for Antiques Roadshow jibes are a compliment". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (20 October 2008). "TV ratings - October 19: Antiques Roadshow pulls in priceless 8 million viewers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (3 July 2007). "Last night's TV: The Real Cherie". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Fletcher, Alex (14 October 2008). "Bruce hosts Sir Alan Sugar documentary". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Fake or Fortune?". BBC. from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "BBC One – The Queen's Palaces". BBC. from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "BBC One – Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure". BBC. from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "BBC – Hive Minds". BBC Media Centre. from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Weaver, Matthew (19 July 2017). "BBC accused of discrimination as salaries reveal gender pay gap - as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Press Association (5 January 2019). "Fiona Bruce: I don't know how much I earn". Irish Examiner. from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Bruce, Fiona (1 March 2009). "Ha, Eat My Bottom, Jeremy". The Sunday Times. London. p. 16. ISSN 0956-1382. ProQuest 316494699.
I don't think he really cared but now I think I've managed to do something that will really get to him: perch my bottom -- nice or otherwise -- on his patch
- ^ a b c d Cadwalladr, Carole (6 August 2006). "I'm no career bitch". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Sweeney, Mark (6 May 2008). "Bruce turns action hero in BBC HD ad". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Wolf, Matt (10 December 2007). . Broadway.com in London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Clarkson, Jeremy (7 January 2007). "Worshipping the god of hell fire". The Sunday Times. London. p. 16. ISSN 0956-1382. ProQuest 316594301.
Fiona Bruce, the agonisingly gorgeous newsreader, wants to replace her Volvo with something less enormous
- ^ Tyrrel, Rebecca (30 July 2011). "Fiona Bruce put her Rear of the Year award to good use". The Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Lewis, Mike (25 November 2004). "Was Real Story 'the real story'?". BBC News Online. from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ . fathers.ca. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (21 November 2004). "Angry fathers attack 'biased' Bruce". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee (July 2005). "Programme Complaints: Appeals to the Governors. Real Story, BBC One, 22 November 2004" (PDF). BBC Trust. pp. 13–15. (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ . NSPCC. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
The work of the NSPCC and ChildLine is desperately important and I do little compared to what needs to be done. But I'm very honoured to be included in the Hall of Fame
- ^ "Top Aegis exec Nigel Sharrocks steps down following Dentsu sale". www.moreaboutadvertising.com. 30 May 2013.
- ^ "Nigel Sharrocks". The Drum. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Jardine, Cassandra (28 June 2007). "Life is very good". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 21. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
Although she's no green goddess herself, Fiona Bruce is delighted that the BBC recycles its 'ageing' presenters
- ^ Leonard, Tom (27 November 2001). "I am not a mad career monster". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 9. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Burstall, Emma (11 January 2009). "New mothers have a job already – they just don't go to the office". The Independent. London. p. 42. from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Plunkett, John (1 July 2014). "Fiona Bruce hits out at 'misogynistic' Twitter commenters". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "The Belsize Story, Belsize Village | Home". www.belsizevillage.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Abbott, Christian (23 August 2022). "Fiona Bruce returned to work just 16 days after birth of daughter". mirror. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^ Creedon, Liam (9 June 2010). "Fiona Bruce collects Rear Of The Year trophy". Press Association. London. from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Hutchison, Peter (13 June 2011). "Fiona Bruce says Rear of the Year award was 'hypocritical and demeaning'". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 11. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
External links
- Media related to Fiona Bruce at Wikimedia Commons
- Fiona Bruce at IMDb
- Vision Aid Overseas
- Profile from BBC News
- BBC Newswatch Profile
- Profile from 'Real Story'