Helen Fospero
Encyclopedia
Helen Fospero is an English
television newsreader
and journalist
.
, North East Lincolnshire
and attended Whitgift School
on Crosland Road in Grimsby. She left school just before her 18th birthday and started her career at the local weekly newspaper. A short time later she joined a national news agency, writing for tabloids and broadsheets in Fleet Street
.
at the end of the 1980s. She was a home news editor when the channel launched in 1989, and took on many roles in her nine years there, including reporter and presenter on Sunrise and Live at Five
. In 1997, she was poached by Breakfast Television station GMTV
, where she met John Stapleton
, who acts as a mentor to her. Fospero was initially the Showbiz
correspondent, then later became the United States
correspondent, based in New York
.
In November 2002, when the BBC
launched the new Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
area, Fospero was appointed by Greg Dyke
to front the new version of regional news magazine programme
Look North
along with Peter Levy.
After her daughter was born, Fospero left Look North to find a position based in London
to be closer to her family, and after standing in on BBC London News
, she joined Five News
and Sky News
. Helen then gave birth to her second child in mid 2009. From September 2009 she spent a year with GMTV
as a news presenter.
Since 18 June 2011 she has guest presented ITV Breakfast
programmes Daybreak
and Lorraine
.
Helen can now be heard on BBC Radio 5 Live
as a newsreader.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Early life
Born Helen Jane Morton, she grew up in GrimsbyGrimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...
and attended Whitgift School
Whitgift School, Grimsby
Whitgift School is a comprehensive co-educational secondary school on Crosland Road in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England.-Admissions:...
on Crosland Road in Grimsby. She left school just before her 18th birthday and started her career at the local weekly newspaper. A short time later she joined a national news agency, writing for tabloids and broadsheets in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
.
Television career
Morton's television career began when she was one of the first journalists to be recruited by Sky TelevisionBritish Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
at the end of the 1980s. She was a home news editor when the channel launched in 1989, and took on many roles in her nine years there, including reporter and presenter on Sunrise and Live at Five
Live at Five (Sky TV series)
Sky News at Five and Sky News at Six are the titles of Sky News' authoritative hour-long evening news round-ups, beginning at 5pm and 6pm, British time.-Format:...
. In 1997, she was poached by Breakfast Television station GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, where she met John Stapleton
John Stapleton
John Martin Stapleton is an English journalist and presenter. He is currently working as a freelancer with various media outlets.-Television career:...
, who acts as a mentor to her. Fospero was initially the Showbiz
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
correspondent, then later became the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
correspondent, based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
In November 2002, when the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
launched the new Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds...
area, Fospero was appointed by Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
to front the new version of regional news magazine programme
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
Look North
BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)
BBC Look North is the BBC's regional TV news service for East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, north Norfolk and northeast Cambridgeshire produced by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire...
along with Peter Levy.
After her daughter was born, Fospero left Look North to find a position based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to be closer to her family, and after standing in on BBC London News
BBC London News
For other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs...
, she joined Five News
Five News
5 News is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by Sky News. From 1 January 2005, Sky News was awarded the contract to provide the news for Channel 5, replacing ITN, which had provided the channel's news service from the channel's launch in 1997...
and Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. Helen then gave birth to her second child in mid 2009. From September 2009 she spent a year with GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
as a news presenter.
Since 18 June 2011 she has guest presented ITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast Limited is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
programmes Daybreak
Daybreak (ITV)
Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (TV programme)
Lorraine is the early weekday morning, lifestyle and entertainment show for the British ITV network, presented by Lorraine Kelly. ITV Breakfast produces Lorraine, which airs every weekday from 08:30 until 09:25, following Daybreak...
.
Helen can now be heard on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
as a newsreader.
Personal life
Fospero married an American TV producer Carl Fospero in May 2003 in Oxfordshire. The couple live in London and have a daughter called Francesca, born February 2004, and a son Jack born in early 2009.External links
- Official Website
- Helen Fospero ROAR Global