Sian Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2010 | |
| Born | Sian Mary Williams (1964-11-28)28 November 1964 (age 60) Paddington,London, England |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Education | City, University of London (DPsych) University of Westminster (MSc) Oxford Brookes University (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist,presenter,Psychologist |
| Employer(s) | Channel 5 (2016–present) BBC (1985–2015) |
| Notable credit(s) | BBC Breakfast BBC News Your Money Their Tricks Sunday Morning Live 5 News at 5 Save Money: Good Health Supermarket Secrets Revealed |
| Spouse(s) | Neale Hunt (m. 1991–2006) |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | sianwilliamsmedia |
Sian Mary Williams ([ˈʃɑn]; born 28 November 1964) is aWelsh journalist, current affairspresenter,[1][2] and psychologist.
From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions ofBBC Breakfast as well as all main news bulletins onBBC One. She presented two series ofBBC One's discussion programmeSunday Morning Live from 2014 until 2015.
From January 2016 until March 2022, she was the main presenter of5 News at 5.[3] In March 2022ITN announced[4] Williams was to leave her daily presenting role. Williams said in the announcement she planned to continue with some broadcasting projects, but also devote more time to "delivering psychological support". Williams is a registered counselling psychologist with theHealth and Care Professions Council.[5][failed verification]
Williams was born inPaddington, London, to Welsh parents and was brought up inEastbourne,East Sussex.[2] Her mother, Katherine Rees, was fromLlanelli and had moved to London training to be a nurse atSt Mary's Hospital, where Williams was born.[2][6][7] Williams' father was fromSwansea, and his family had been farmers inGlamorgan.[2][6] He was a journalist, working first in print and later in radio.[8] Williams has two younger twin brothers.[9] She gained aBA degree in English and history fromOxford Polytechnic (nowOxford Brookes University), and studied critical journalistic writing at theUniversity of Rhode Island.[10][11] In 2012, Williams began training in psychology, gaining an MSc degree from theUniversity of Westminster,[12][11] and was awarded a doctorate in Counselling Psychology in 2021 fromCity, University of London after working in theNational Health Service and elsewhere.[13]
Williams joined theBBC in 1985 and began working as a reporter and producer forBBC Local Radio stations inLiverpool,Sheffield,Leeds andManchester. From 1990 to 1997, she was editor forBBC Radio 4'sThe World at One andPM programmes. Williams was also a programme editor for a number of news and election specials across Radio 4 andBBC Radio 5 Live.[14][15]
Prior to the channel's launch in 1997, Williams joinedBBC News 24 as an output editor. During screen tests for potential presenters, one applicant became unwell and Williams was asked to step into the role.[15][16] Producers were impressed with her performance and they offered her the prime presenting slot of 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm alongsideGavin Esler.[16] She remained with the channel for nearly two years before joining BBC One'sSix O'Clock News in 1999 as Special Correspondent.[14] She became a relief presenter of the bulletin and in 2001 she became its main Friday presenter duringFiona Bruce's maternity leave. Williams also became a main presenter of the BBC One weekend news bulletins.
Williams joinedBBC Breakfast on 12 January 2001 as a relief presenter, initially presenting on Friday–Sunday alongsideDarren Jordon, to cover for main presenter,Sarah Montague, and then later withJeremy Bowen, to cover forSophie Raworth.[16] She also regularly deputised on both theSix O'Clock News and theOne O'Clock News during this period. In 2004, Williams covered for Raworth on theSix O'Clock News during her maternity leave, co-presenting withGeorge Alagiah, and the following year, reported from Sri Lanka and Thailand on the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and from Pakistan on theKashmir earthquake.[16]
In May 2005 she was confirmed as the main female presenter ofBBC Breakfast, presenting initially withDermot Murnaghan and thenBill Turnbull from 2008. Williams leftBBC Breakfast on 15 March 2012 after the programme's production team was relocated toSalford. In 2012 she rejoinedBBC Radio 4 to co-presentSaturday Live.[17]
Williams has presented programmes outside of news and current affairs includingThe One Show,Big Welsh Challenge,Now You're Talking andCity Hospital. In 2010, Williams was a reporter forWatchdog.[18] In 2013, she hostedYour Money, Their Tricks withNicky Campbell andRebecca Wilcox. Williams also presented a three-part interview series forBBC One Wales titledThe Sian Williams Interview featuringTanni Grey-Thompson,Suzanne Packer andSiân Phillips.[19]
In June 2014, Williams became the new presenter ofSunday Morning Live, BBC One's religious and ethical debating programme.[20] She presented the programme for two series before stepping down and being replaced byNaga Munchetty in June 2016.
On 5 November 2015, Williams announced she would be leaving the BBC to become the new main presenter of5 News. She presented her first5 News bulletin on 4 January 2016.[3] From 2017 to 2021 she co-presentedSave Money: Good Health alongsideRanj Singh on ITV.[21][citation needed] and 'Secrets of your Supermarket Food on C5.[22] Since 2021 Williams has presented a dedicated weekly mental health slot[23] on5 News called "Mind Matters with Dr Sian", bringing positive awareness to issues like autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression. In March 2022ITN announced[4] Williams was to leave her daily presenting role at5 News but would continue to front "Mind Matters". Williams said in the announcement she planned to continue with some broadcasting projects, but also devote more time to "delivering psychological support".
In 2022 it was announced that she would be the new presenter of BBC Radio 4'sLife Changing programme,[24] which began in October.
In November 2023, Williams participated in Series 7, Week 8 ofRichard Osman's House of Games.[25]
Williams was president of TRIC (Television and Radio Industries Club) for 2008–09 and won the title of Best Presenter in 2012 and 2013. She became an Honorary Fellow of theUniversity of Cardiff in July 2012.[26] and was awarded the title of Doctor of Arts ofOxford Brookes University in 2017 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the pursuit of academic excellence.[27]
In 2016 Williams' bookRise: Surviving and Thriving after Trauma, dealing with adversity, was publishedWeidenfeld & Nicolson.[28]
In February 1991, Williams married Neale Hunt, a former director of advertising firmMcCann Erickson, with whom she has two sons.[9] Following the couple's divorce, Williams married Paul Woolwich in 2006, with whom she has a son, a daughter and a stepdaughter.[9][29][30] After giving birth to her third son in October 2006 she later disclosed in an interview that she received two litres of blood following complications.[15] Williams lives inGoudhurst,Kent, having previously lived inMuswell Hill,North London.[31][32]
Williams ran the 2001New York City Marathon and spent several days recovering in hospital fromhyponatraemia. After several years not participating in running, she completed theVirgin London Marathon in 2013 and 2018.[33]
During filming for the BBC'sComing Home in November 2010, Williams discovered she was the first member of her family to have been born outside Wales in 350 years of her known family tree.[2][6]
In May 2016, Williams revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She toldWoman and Home magazine that she was diagnosed in 2014, a week after her 50th birthday. She said she had always thought she was healthy as she "did all the right things – I was a green tea drinker, a salmon eater, a runner". She said her main fear was not seeing her two youngest children grow up.[34]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Main Presenter:5 News 2016–present | Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by | Main Presenter:BBC Breakfast 2005–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Presenter:BBC News at Six 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
