Veteran broadcaster Moira Stuart hails CBE as ‘magnificent honour’
She became the UK’s first female African-Caribbean newsreader on British TV in 1981.
Veteran broadcaster Moira Stuart has said “it hasn’t been easy” but she is “moved and lifted” to be made a CBE in the New Year Honours.
The 72-year-old, who was the first African-Caribbean woman to read the news on British television, is recognised for her services to media.
Stuart became a Radio 4 newsreader and programme presenter after beginning her BBC career as a radio production assistant in the 1970s.
She said: “I’m so moved and lifted by this recognition of my work.
“Because over the years, since my first Radio 4 news bulletin in 1978 through to my last BBC News summary in 2018, I’ve been committed to public service broadcasting, which gave me the chance to shift barriers, open doors, and change so many stagnant stereotypes.
“No it hasn’t been easy, but this magnificent honour means so much to me, and I shall cherish it always.”
Stuart enjoyed a history-making career in radio and television at the BBC, spanning nearly five decades, after returning to read the news bulletins on Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 breakfast in 2010.
Born in Hampstead, London, her TV presenting roles have included The Andrew Marr Show, BBC Breakfast and News After Noon.
The broadcaster joined Classic FM in 2019 to become the station’s morning newsreader, and presents Moira Stuart Meets…, featuring interviews with famous faces in arts, politics, sport and entertainment.
Stuart has also presented documentaries including In Search Of Wilberforce for BBC Television and BBC World Service documentary The Unknown Soldier.
She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 2006 and an honorary doctorate from Canterbury Christ Church University in January 2013.
Stuart has won numerous awards, including best newscaster of the year in the 1988 TV and Radio Industries Club Awards and the Women of Achievement television personality prize a year later.
Most recently, she received the Harvey Lee award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting at the Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) ceremony in March 2020.
The gong, which was announced ahead of the ceremony, recognised her five decades in broadcasting.
The awards are voted for by journalists who write about television and radio, and the winners were announced during a ceremony at Banking Hall, central London.
Stuart also appeared in the 2021 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
Partnered with professional dancer Aljaz Skorjanec, she performed a salsa which judge Craig Revel Horwood gushed over, saying: “I really, really enjoyed that.”
Stuart was made an OBE for services to broadcasting in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2001.
