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Kirsty Young presented Desert Island Discs for over ten years and is the current President of UNICEF UK. She is also know for her time as a main news anchor. This she has done for both ITV and Channel Five, doing News at Ten, ITV’s Evening News and the Lunchtime News.
She had previously fronted 5 News for the Channel which she presented since its launch in March 1997. During her time as presenter of 5 News Kirsty received the prestigious Sir James Carreras Award for Outstanding New Talent of 1997. This was at the 46th Variety Club Showbusiness Awards. A month later, in March 1998, she was named Newscaster of the Year at the TRIC (Television & Radio Industries Club) Awards.
The programme itself won a Royal Television Society prize, collecting the Team Award at the 1997 RTS Craft & Design Awards. Acclaimed as one of television’s leading talents, Kirsty Young fronted 5 News every weekday evening. She conducted live studio interviews and reporting on the day’s main issues. She also presented various news and current affairs specials for Channel 5.
From January to September 1998, she co-hosted Talk Radio’s weekday breakfast programme.
Early Days:
Kirsty Young’s journalistic career began in 1989 as a newsreader for BBC Radio Scotland. She also presented it’s Drivetime show. In 1992 she moved to STV where she was the presenter of Scotland Today at Lunchtime and Scotland Today. These were STV’s midday and evening news programmes.
From 1994-95 she was the host of ‘Kirsty’, a bi-weekly live discussion programme on the week’s hot topics, on STV. For STV she also presented Late Edition, a live, late-night entertainment and music show. In 1996 Kirsty was a guest presenter of ITV’s The Time, The Place. Her BBC credits include presenting and reporting for Holidays Out, Holiday 96 and Film 96 on BBC1. She also presented BBC2’s consumer affairs show, The Street.
She remains a sometimes guest presenter for BBC’s Have I Got News For You and has been an occasional stand in for Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 Show. Kirsty is also a popular corporate host at awards and conferences.
Royal Coverage:
With the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, Kirsty was back on our screens to host BBC1’s coverage of Her Majesty’s 70 year reign. This included the lighting of 1,500 beacons all over the UK. Later in September that same year Kirsty covered the state funeral for the BBC at Windsor.
