1. Early life

2. Education

3. Life and career

4. References

5. External links

Early life

Johnson was born in the former mining village of Chesterton,^[2] in Staffordshire in 1969, and grew up in the market town of Newcastle-under-Lyme (also in Staffordshire). He is the son of BBC Radio Stoke commentator Nigel Johnson.^[2]

Education

Johnson was educated at Newcastle-under-Lyme School, an independent school in his hometown of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, followed by the University of Birmingham and the University of California, Berkeley.

Life and career

Johnson joined the BBC after university - working as a reporter at BBC Radio Solent and BBC Radio Manchester. His first television role was as a sports journalist on BBC South's news programme South Today. During this time he was also the relief presenter for Sally Taylor and worked for several other BBC Television outlets. He was named Royal Television Society Regional Sports Presenter of the Year in 2002 ^[3] and was nominated on three other occasions.

He left BBC South in September 2011 after 14 years^[4] to replace Gordon Burns as the main anchor on North West Tonight, originally alongside Ranvir Singh^[5] and then Annabel Tiffin. In April 2014, Johnson anchored coverage of the 25th Anniversary Service for the Hillsborough Disaster. The programme was named Best Regional News Programme at the Royal Television Society North West Awards.^[6] Johnson and the BBC team won the award again in 2015 for a compilation entry.^[7] The programme also won the award in 2017 for a compilation of coverage on the Manchester Arena Bombing, in which Johnson played a leading role.^[8] BBC North West Tonight, presented by Johnson, was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for News Coverage in 2014 and again in 2017.^[9] He was nominated as Nations & Regions Presenter of the Year at the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards in 2018 and 2019^[10] and was winner of the Broadcast Presenter Award at the O2 Media Awards NW in 2018.^[11]

From 2009–2011, he was a regular relief presenter on the BBC News Channel, presenting a variety of shifts during the week and at weekends. He broke the news of the death of singer Amy Winehouse. He also presented BBC World simulcasts on the Norwegian shootings by Anders Behring Breivik and the start of western bombing operations in Libya in 2011.

Johnson has also been a regular reporter on the BBC's Match of the Day and Final Score programmes.^[12] He was part of the Match of the Day reporting team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and is, possibly, the only person to have read the BBC News and commentated on Match of the Day on the same day.^[13]

Since 2012, he has been a regular presenter of BBC Breakfast on Sundays. He has also presented the Friday, Saturday and Bank Holiday editions of the programme.

Johnson is a patron of Willowbrook Hospice in Prescot on Merseyside, England.^[14] He was also a patron of Southampton charity the Rose Road Association's 'Change My Life' appeal ^[15] and was a supporter of Naomi House Children's Hospice, for whom he hosted a range of fund-raising events. He has also anchored the BBC's regional Children in Need coverage (south or north west) since 1998.

References

External links

• profile as anchorman of BBC's North West Tonight news bulletin programme.
• BBC - South Today - Presenters - Archived Profile.

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