Nicola Beckford

Languages

English

Accent

Neutral

Nicola Beckford is an award-winning BBC journalist. She presents the regional television news programme, ‘Midlands Today’ on BBC One during BBC Breakfast and at lunch time.

Her career includes presenting Woman’s Hour, You & Yours and Pick of the Week on BBC Radio 4. She has also presented Midlands Today’s evening news programme and BBC television news bulletins in Bristol and Cambridge.

Prior to her presenting career, Nicola reported for the BBC’s One and Six o’clock news, Radio 4’s Today Programme and Radio 5 Live.

Nicola was one of the first BBC journalists in the UK to discover the power of the Freedom of Information Act to uncover stories. Her commitment to journalism has influenced the Government to make changes in UK law. In 2012 Nicola revealed on BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, how hundreds of children were being detained in police cells because of a shortage of mental health hospital beds. This story led to a change to the Mental Health Act. Reporting for the BBC Six o’clock news, Nicola also uncovered how hundreds of hospital patients in England were victims of life changing “never events”, preventable errors considered so serious the NHS says they should never happen.

As a result, she was invited to speak at conferences in the UK and internationally including at the Health and Safety Executive, the Foreign Office and at the Scottish Parliament.

Nicola is also an accomplished conference and awards host and excellent communicator, as a result of her working for more than twenty years in broadcasting. Her highlights include hosting the Interchange Conference and interviewing retail expert Mary Portas on her “Work Like a Woman” book tour.

Prior to embarking on her broadcast career, Nicola worked as a secondary school teacher in inner city schools in her home city of Birmingham, where she was determined to encourage her students to fulfil their potential.

Nicola is available for voiceover work.