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Paddy O'Connell

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For the Irish Gaelic footballer, see Paddy O'Connell (Gaelic footballer).

Paddy O'Connell
O'Connell in December 2013.
Born
Guy Patrick O'Connell

(1966-03-11) 11 March 1966 (age 58)
Guildford, Surrey, England
EducationGresham's School
University of Aberdeen
OccupationJournalist
Years active1989–present
Notable creditBroadcasting House

Guy Patrick O'Connell (born 11 March 1966 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter. He presents BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme[1] each Sunday morning. He is also an occasional presenter of the PM programme.[2] O'Connell is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Education

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O'Connell was educated at Gresham's School[3] in Norfolk, and the University of Aberdeen, where he studied political science.[4]

Career

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O'Connell began his broadcasting career in 1989 on the BBC's local radio trainee scheme, leading to five years spent as a BBC local radio reporter in Devon, Essex and Cleveland. He then joined BBC Radio 5 Live at its launch in 1994, before moving to the United States to present BBC World Service's programme The World.[5] He has also presented and reported for a range of other radio stations across the world, including in Australia and Canada.

In 1997 O'Connell became BBC News's North America Business Correspondent and Wall Street anchor, based in New York City. He appeared regularly on BBC World, BBC News 24 and BBC One news bulletins, reporting on and presenting business news. Alongside Richard Quest, he was the U.S.-based anchor for the BBC's programme World Business Report on BBC World and BBC News 24, on which he became well-known for his relaxed but incisive style, and his deadpan delivery.

O'Connell was in New York City at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and was due to attend a meeting inside the World Trade Center on that day.[6] He reported from the scene of the attacks just hours later, interviewing survivors in the aftermath, and anchored the BBC's coverage from the scene that evening.

He stayed in New York for a further two years but left the United States, and the BBC, in 2003. He then did a variety of freelance work, including a wide range of work for the BBC. He fronted a wide range of news and entertainment shows on the corporation's youth-orientated digital channel BBC Three. He presented Celebdaq,[7] a show based around a celebrity stock exchange, allowing O'Connell to mix his vast business knowledge with his interest in showbusiness. He also worked on Liquid News, replacing the late Christopher Price as its main presenter; presented the one-off Flashmob – The Opera; and was a main anchor on the BBC's offbeat evening news bulletin The 7 O'Clock News.[8]

O'Connell was one of the main presenters on the daily BBC Two business news programme Working Lunch,[9] and anchored the show every Friday and occasionally at other times, presenting alongside Adam Shaw or Nik Wood. He joined the programme in 2003 and produced a number of special reports alongside his presentation duties. He left the programme on 26 September 2008, ahead of its relaunch with new presenters. He also appeared regularly on BBC Breakfast, presenting the programme's business news segments from the London Stock Exchange, filling in for regular business reporter Declan Curry.

He presented the weekday evening TV quiz show Battle of the Brains on BBC Two, before being replaced by Nicky Campbell.[10]

O'Connell has been a regular presenter on the London radio station LBC 97.3.[5]

Current TV and radio work

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O'Connell currently works on a wide range of BBC radio and TV programmes. He presents the weekly BBC Radio 4 Sunday morning news programme, Broadcasting House.[2] He joined the programme full-time in 2006, having previously covered for its former presenter Fi Glover while she was on maternity leave.

On an episode of Broadcasting House in March 2013 O'Connell was so moved by the journalist Emilie Blachère's reading of her poem "A Love Letter from Emilie Blachère to Rémi Ochlik" that he was unable to continue and the programme fell silent for over ten seconds.[11][12] Blachère read her poem on the first anniversary of the death of the photo-journalist Rémi Ochlik, her partner, who died with the veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin during the Syrian Civil War in 2012.[11][13]

From 2004 he commentated on the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals on BBC Three. He also presented various behind-the-scenes segments at the main final of the contest, shown on BBC Three. In 2010 O'Connell took part in a Eurovision edition of PopMaster on the Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2, losing to John Kennedy O'Connor. He was again a contestant on 17 May 2013, winning the contest against Ken Bruce, with John Kennedy O'Connor as question master. On 17 March 2011 he announced via Twitter that he had been replaced as a commentator for the Eurovision semi-finals as the BBC "refreshed" its Eurovision team. He appeared in the 2011 documentary The Secret History of Eurovision. In 2017 he appeared alongside Ken Bruce on Radio 2's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest final and in recent years he has often been heard in conversation with Ken Bruce during Radio 2's Eurovision Song Contest coverage. In 2023, after Bruce's departure from Radio 2, he was announced as part of their Eurovision lineup, hosting the two semi finals for the station.[14]

In 2016 he presented a series on BBC Radio 4, Travels with Bob, in which he visited various places in Britain with his border terrier.[15]

In 2023 he joined the Newscast (podcast) team, mostly at weekends alongside Laura Kuenssberg.[16]

He also regularly chairs the First Wednesday discussions hosted by the Frontline Club in West London, in which experts and key figures debate current geopolitical events happening around the world.

Personal life

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O'Connell is gay[17] and is an ambassador for the charity Stonewall.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Broadcasting House". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Paddy OConnell Official Website". www.paddyoconnell.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Performing Arts | Gresham's - Notable, Lost, and Remembered - Old Greshamians". Gresham's School. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. ^ "My week: Paddy O'Connell". The Guardian. 18 July 2009. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 - Broadcasting House - Paddy O'Connell". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  6. ^ Pool, Hannah (11 September 2006). "Leader of the House". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Paddy O'Connell". IMDb. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Paddy O'Connell". SpeakOut. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Paddy O'Connell". SpeakOut. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  10. ^ "BBC Two - Battle of the Brains, Series 2, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b Marsden, Sam (3 March 2013). "Choked BBC presenter falls silent after hearing love letter to photographer killed in Syria". The Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  12. ^ Sanderson, David (3 March 2013). "Radio 4's Paddy O'Connell lost for words after girlfriend reads love poem for Remi Ochlik". The Times (London). Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  13. ^ Blachère, Emilie (4 March 2013). "A love letter from Emilie Blachère to Rémi Ochlik". Le journal de la photographie. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Eurovision final on Radio 2 to be hosted by Rylan and Scott Mills". RadioToday. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  15. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Travels with Bob - Available now". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O'Connell join Newscast for new weekend episodes as the BBC podcast goes seven days a week". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Taking pride in EG's LGBT special issue". Estates Gazette. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  18. ^ "Story Details". www.isbi.com. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
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