Mishal Husain | |
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.jpg) Husain in 2025 | |
| Born | (1973-03-12)12 March 1973 (age 52) Northampton, England |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | news |
Mishal Husain (born 12 March 1973) is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. She is best known for having presented a range ofBBC News programmes, most notablyBBC Radio 4'sToday programme. She has occasionally appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday edition of theBBC News at Ten, and more rarely, theBBC News at Six. She has hostedThe Andrew Marr Show,HARDtalk,Impact andBBC Breakfast.
Mishal Husain was born on 12 March 1973 inNorthampton, England,[1][2][3] to Pakistani parents. Her father, Imtiaz Husain (1943–2016), fromLahore, was a physician who ended his career as aconsultanturologist atBedford Hospital,[4] whose parents were a doctor fromMultan and Mary, anAnglo-Indian nurse.[5] Her mother, Shama, a teacher and former producer forPakistan Television Corporation,[6] was the daughter ofSyed Shahid Hamid,[2][5] the first Director-General of Pakistan'sInter-Services Intelligence.[7]
Husain has a younger brother[6]and began her private education at theBritish School inAbu Dhabi; the family were also based inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a period.[8][9] She returned to England at the age of twelve to continue her education atCobham Hall School, an independent school inCobham, Kent.[3][10] She read law at the women-only New Hall, Cambridge (nowMurray Edwards College, Cambridge), followed by a master's degree in International andComparative Law at theEuropean University Institute inFlorence, Italy.[11][12]
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Husain gained her first experience in journalism at the age of 18, spending three months as a city reporter inIslamabad, Pakistan, at the English-language newspaperThe News. Then, while at university, she did several stints at the BBC as work experience.[12]
Her first job was atBloomberg Television in London in 1996, where she was a producer and sometimepresenter. Two years later, in 1998, she joined the BBC as a junior producer in the newsroom and for theNews 24 channel, and then in the Economics and Business Unit. Within a few months, she moved in front of the camera and has since worked in a variety of roles: on the dailyBreakfast programme, onAsia Business Report (based in Singapore), and as a presenter of business news on bothBBC World News and theBBC News Channel. From September 2002 she was the corporation'sWashington correspondent, serving as the main news anchor through the buildup to theinvasion of Iraq and duringthe war. She has interviewed many high-profile figures includingPaul Wolfowitz,Richard Armitage,Richard Perle,Paul Kagame andEmmerson Mnangagwa.[13]
On 8 May 2010, she published an autobiographical essay inThe Independent based on a nostalgia trip to the UAE.[14] In 2011, Husain hostedImpact onBBC World News, but in the spring and summer of 2011 she was engaged in making a documentary on theArab Spring, for airing in the autumn of 2011. She has presented the Sunday evening editions of theBBC Weekend News onBBC One.[11]
On 17 March 2013, she presented the lastNews at Ten to be broadcast fromBBC Television Centre. On 16 July 2013, the BBC's Director-GeneralLord Hall announced that Husain was to become a presenter ofBBC Radio 4'sToday programme in the autumn. Husain presented her first edition ofToday on 7 October 2013, when her co-presenter wasJohn Humphrys.[15] On 7 November 2013, it was announced that Husain would be part of the BBC's Commonwealth Games Presenting team.[16] Husain was also an occasional relief presenter of theBBC News at Six and the weekday edition of theBBC News at Ten, as well as on theBBC News Channel during major breaking news stories. She has occasionally presentedNewsnight onBBC Two.
Husain won the Broadcaster of the Year Award at theLondon Press Club Awards in 2015.[17]
On 27 November 2017, Husain recorded an interview withPrince Harry andMeghan Markle.[18]
In June 2024, during the lead up to the2024 UK general election, Husain was selected to chair and referee two televised debates on the BBC. At the first debate, the leaders of the seven largest UK political parties were invited, whilst the second was a head-to-head debate betweenRishi Sunak, who was theUK Prime Minister and leader of theConservative Party at the time, andKeir Starmer, leader of theLabour Party. Husain commented that she "saw the role as a privilege".[19] Whilst both debates had considerable challenges, with Husain having to handle the latter being interrupted by protestors, about which she described as being another "aspect of our democracy",[20][21] Husain was praised for her handling of both debates,[22][23][24] withTatler magazine describing Husain as 'the clear winner' of the debate and giving 'a masterclass in broadcasting',[23] andThe Times newspaper describing the performance as 'stunning', speculating Husain had emerged as a rival toClive Myrie for lead anchor for the channel, following the departure ofHuw Edwards.[24]
In September 2024, Husain was criticised by some Jewish organisations who claimed the journalist failed to sufficiently challenge comments that they considered to be antisemitic during an interview on theToday programme with the Iranian-American academic and political analystMohammad Marandi. Marandi had been specifically invited to be asked about the Iranian view of theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and any potential Iranian response, and the programme contained other interviews including those withIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt ColPeter Lerner and US DiplomatDennis Ross to get a broad perspective on the complex politics of the region. After the BBC reviewed the complaint, it issued a statement pointing out that “this was a live interview and he was challenged during the course of the interview, and the Israeli position was reflected," but on balance "however, we accept we should have continued to challenge his language throughout the interview.”[25]
In November 2024, it was announced that Husain would be leaving the BBC to joinBloomberg News, where she will be the editor-at-large of Bloomberg Weekend, and presenting an interview series.[26] Husain's final shift asToday co-presenter was on 17 December 2024, with several past and presentToday presenters joining her in the studio to pay tribute.[27]
In October 2025, Mishal Husain began presenting The Mishal Husain Show, which is a video-podcast, shown online and on Bloomberg Television.[citation needed]
When the first series ofStar Spell – a spin-off fromHard Spell that had only appeared before as a one-off episode – aired, Husain appeared as word pronouncer, replacingNina Hossain. She continued in this role throughout the second series ofHard Spell. Husain appeared in a round of the BBC'sCelebrity Mastermind in 2010, coming third out of four. Her specialised subject was theNarnia books ofC. S. Lewis.
She is also one of the judges for theAmnesty International Media Awards.[11][28] She featured on a show entitledGandhi that was broadcast by the BBC in March 2012. She also featured as the morning anchor presenter on BBC One during the2012 Summer Olympics in London and the2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[29][30]
Husain is an ambassador for the charity Mosaic, which helps young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential.[31]
In January 2014, Husain was awarded the Services to Media award at theBritish Muslim Awards.[32]
Husain has written a book,The Skills, a guide for women on how to achieve their career goals.[33] It was published in 2018, and was described as "the ultimate handbook for women".[34]
In 2024, Husain published a memoir,Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence. It hit the Sunday Times Bestsellers Chart under General Hardbacks.[35]
In January 2025, Husain was elected as a Fellow ofKellogg College, University of Oxford.[36]
In July 2003, Husain married Meekal Hashmi, a chief operating officer at an investment management firm. The couple have three children together.[12][37][38][39] They live inCamden, north London.[40]
Amid widespread condemnation of the killing ofISIL hostages in 2014, Husain voiced support for the use of social media to denounce its extremism. In an interview with theRadio Times, she urged Muslim scholars to use social media to condemn its attempt to use horrific videos to draw support in the West, from the leading British Islamic organisations.[41] Husain, who was the first Muslim presenter of BBC Radio 4'sToday programme, said:[42][43]
I think theNot in My Name campaign is a very positive development because outrage is shared by all right-thinking people. I would really like to see much more of the counterpoint from a theological perspective, with scholars taking to social media to refute the awful arguments we see put forward in those videos.
Media related toMishal Husain at Wikimedia Commons| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Weekend presenter ofBBC Breakfast 2002–04 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Sunday presenter ofBBC Weekend News 2005–2022 | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Today presenter 2013–present withJohn Humphrys, James Naughtie,Sarah Montague,Evan Davis,Justin Webb andNick Robinson | Incumbent |
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| Other | |
