George Alagiah Biography
George Maxwell Alagiah OBE is a British newsreader, journalist, and news presenter who began his career as a reporter and correspondent for the BBC in 1989. He began his career as a newsreader for BBC News at Six (1984) in 2003, and went on to become a well-known face of BBC news, hosting shows such as BBC News at Ten (2000) and BBC One O’Clock News (1986), among others.
Alagiah earned a degree in political science from Durham University. He covered everything from the Rwandan genocide to the hardship of the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq to the civil wars in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Somalia as one of the BBC’s top international correspondents.
Alagiah has been the host of BBC Four News since its inception in 2002; the show has since been renamed The World and then another edition of World News Today. He joined the BBC Six O’Clock News in January 2003, co-presenting it with Sophie Raworth until October 2005, and then with Natasha Kaplinsky until October 2007.
Moreover, George has been the sole presenter of the Six O’Clock News since December 3, 2007. From 1999 to 2002, he was the deputy anchor of the BBC One O’Clock News and BBC Nine O’Clock News. He has hosted World News Today on BBC World News and BBC Two from 3 July 2006, when it was relaunched GMT on 1 February 2010.
Alagiah was last seen on the show in 2014. He was previously a relief presenter on BBC News at Ten, filling in for regular presenters Fiona Bruce and Huw Edwards when they were absent. George, a specialist on Africa and the developing world, has conducted interviews with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, among others.
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Reports on why affirmative action in America is a “Lost Cause” for the Assignment program, Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaign against the Kurds of northern Iraq for the BBC’s Newsnight program, and a report on the last reunion of Dunkirk veterans are among Alagiah’s other documentaries and features.
As a BBC presenter, he earned £315,000 – £319,999 in 2018-2019. Furthermore, Alagiah was a member of the BBC crew that won a BAFTA award for its coverage of the Kosovo crisis in 2000. He has won multiple honors, including the Royal Television Society’s Best International Report in 1993 and the Amnesty International UK Media Awards’ Overall Winner in 1994. In the 2008 New Year Honours, Alagiah was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
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Alagiah has spoken at the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Royal Overseas League, as well as at literary festivals in Cheltenham, Hay-on-Wye, and London, Keswick. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Board of Directors.
George was a patron of the Fairtrade Foundation from 2002 to 2009. However, he was forced to leave in July 2009 due to a professional conflict of interest, according to BBC management. The BBC received complaints from members of the public who were upset that Alagiah had been asked to resign.
According to the BBC, it would be improper for one of its top journalists to be seen promoting a campaign that plainly reflects a controversial view of global trade, in keeping with its values of impartiality. Alagiah has also been a vocal supporter of microfinance as a development tool, including recent appearances in support of Opportunity International. Since 2000, he has been a patron of Parenting UK.
George won the Asian Awards’ Outstanding Achievement in Television award in 2010. The Burning Land, Alagiah’s debut novel, was shortlisted for a Society of Authors award in 2020. The novel is described as a “thrilling, fast-paced thriller set in South Africa involving corruption and homicide.”
George Alagiah Age
How old is George Alagiah? Alagiah is 68 years old as of 2023. He was born George Maxwell Alagiah on November 22, 1955, in Colombo, Ceylon. In addition, George celebrates his birthday on the 22nd of November every year and his zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
George is a British national and he belongs to a mixed race.
George Alagiah Family
Alagiah was born in Colombo, Ceylon to his parents, Donald Alagiah, an engineer, and Therese, who were Sri Lankan Tamil. George grew up alongside his four siblings Mari, Christine, Rachel, and Jennifer. He is the third born. He has two younger sisters and two older sisters.
His parents moved to Ghana, West Africa, in 1961, where he attended Christ the King International School for his primary education.
After completing his secondary education at St John’s College, a private Roman Catholic school in Portsmouth, England, he went on to Van Mildert College, Durham University, to study politics. He was a sabbatical officer of the Durham Students’ Union. He wrote for and became editor of the student publication Palatinate while at Durham.
In the aftermath of the Asian tsunami in 2004, George returned to his grandfather’s original home in Sri Lanka to assess the damage. Although the family’s former home had been demolished, he recognized an old well where he had played with his sisters, despite the fact that the well had been ruined.
George Alagiah Wife
Alagiah is happily married to Frances Robathan. The couple met at Durham University. The duo tied the knot in 1984 and they have two sons, Adam Alagiah and Matthew Alagiah.
On April 17, 2014, George was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and was treated for it. “He is appreciative for all the kind wishes he has received thus far and is optimistic for a favorable conclusion,” the BBC stated in a statement.
Alagiah reported on Twitter on June 28 that he was making “encouraging progress.” He announced the end of his treatment on Twitter in late October 2015, and he returned to the BBC on November 10th. Cancer had returned in January 2018, and he would have to undergo more treatment.
George said in a March 2018 interview with The Sunday Times that his cancer was terminal and that it could have been identified earlier if the screening program in England, which is automatically offered from the age of 60, was the same as the one in Scotland, which is offered from the age of 50.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March 2020, Alagiah tested positive for COVID-19 and exhibited mild symptoms.
Alagiah revealed in June 2020 that his cancer had spread to his lungs, liver, and lymph nodes. Further, he said that it was not “chronic” or “terminal.”
George Alagiah Height
Alagiah stands approximately at a height of 5 feet 10 inches tall and he weighs 87 kg.
George Alagiah Salary
Alagiah earns an average annual salary of between £325,000-£329,999 at BBC.
George Alagiah Net Worth
Alagiah has an estimated net worth of between $1 million -$5 million. His income is mainly from his successful career as a broadcast journalist.
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