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Dermot Murnaghan | |
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| Born | Dermot John Murnaghan (1957-12-26)26 December 1957 (age 67) Barnstaple,Devon, England |
| Education | University of Sussex |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, television presenter |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Employers | |
| Notable credits | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Dermot John Murnaghan (/ˈmɜːrnəhən/; born 26 December 1957) is a British media personality, notable as a journalist, news reporter and television host. He has been a presenter for numerous networks including at Channel 4, a news presenter atCNBC Europe,Independent Television News andBBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots since joiningSky News in 2007, until the end of February 2023.
He also presented theBBC quiz showEggheads between 2003 and 2014 beforeJeremy Vine took over full-time.
On 8 September 2022,Sky News was the first British television media outlet to report that monarch QueenElizabeth II had died, with Murnaghan presenting the afternoon rolling coverage live.
Murnaghan was born inBarnstaple,Devon in south-west England. He and his family later moved toNorthern Ireland, first toArmagh, then toNewry,County Down, and then toHolywood.
Murnaghan was educated at two schools in Northern Ireland: St Malachy's Primary School in Armagh andSullivan Upper School (a grammar school) in Holywood. He later attended theUniversity of Sussex in England, graduating with amaster's degree in History in 1980. He also completed a postgraduate course in Journalism atCity University London.[citation needed]
Murnaghan worked as a trainee reporter on local newspapers before joiningChannel 4 as a researcher and later a reporter forThe Business Programme.
Murnaghan briefly presented theEuropean Business Channel in Switzerland before returning to the UK in 1989 to present the business segments onChannel 4's new breakfast programmeThe Channel 4 Daily,[1] after which he became the show's main presenter in 1991, after the departure of original anchorCarol Barnes, until the programme ended in September 1992. During that same period, he was also a relief presenter onChannel 4 News when the regular hostJon Snow was unavailable, also anchoring Channel 4's weekend news summary bulletins until the end of 1992.
Murnaghan then joinedITV, presenting programmes such as theITV Lunchtime News andNews at Ten. Between 1993 and 1997 he fronted approximately 100 episodes of current affairs seriesThe Big Story.[2] In 1997, as anITN news presenter, Murnaghan broke the news of thedeath of Diana, Princess of Wales to viewers on ITV.[3] He later presented theITV Evening News and theITV Nightly News when ITV relaunched their news output in 1999. He also worked on ITV's general election coverage in 2001.
From September 2002 to December 2007 Murnaghan was a main presenter ofBBC Breakfast, replacingJeremy Bowen. He presented the show alongsideSophie Raworth,Natasha Kaplinsky,Kate Silverton,Sian Williams andSusanna Reid. He was also a regular stand-in on theBBC Six O'Clock News andBBC Ten O'Clock News and co-presented theBBC News at Six on Fridays from September 2003 to summer 2007 alongsideSian Williams. His presenting style was lampooned in theimpersonation sketch showDead Ringers byJon Culshaw, his widely spaced legs on the presenting couch mocked with the phrase "I'm Dermot Murnaghan, watch my crotch follow you round the room."
Whilst at the BBC, he co-presentedBBC Two'sTreasure Hunt (2002–2003), a revival of an earlier format onChannel 4 alongsideSuzi Perry. He co-presentedBBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins until December 2007.
In October 2007, it was announced that Murnaghan would be leaving the BBC forSky News. Murnaghan became the second news presenter to depart the corporation in the same month – Natasha Kaplinsky also left to joinFive News, produced by Sky.[4] His last time presenting Breakfast was 20 December 2007.
Murnaghan presented the BBC Two daytime showEggheads from 2003 until 2014, as well as its short-lived spin-off seriesAre You an Egghead? in 2008 and 2009. Following his move to Sky News he shared this role withJeremy Vine, who subsequently became the sole presenter in series 16. Murnaghan has guest presented reports for different travel shows including ITV'sWish You Were Here...? and BBC One's rival programmeHoliday. He has made cameos as a newsreader in the 2004 filmWimbledon,[5]Absolute Power andMidnight Man.
From January 2011 until December 2016, Murnaghan presented his own show entitledMurnaghan on Sky News that aired on Sunday mornings from 10 am until 12 noon. Since September 2016, he has presentedSky News Tonight from Monday to Thursday. For the2019 general election Murnaghan hosted Sky News' overnight coverage, entitledThe Brexit Election.[6]
On the night of 8 September 2022, Dermot Murnaghan announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, presenting the afternoon rolling news coverage following an announcement from Buckingham Palace earlier in the day as Sky News was the first television news organisation to report her passing.
On 19 January 2015, Murnaghan was criticised for his supposedly hostile attitude towards Shadow Business SecretaryChuka Umunna during an interview where Murnaghan asked Umunna if he agreed with the statement sent by the Communities Secretary to the Muslim community earlier in the day. Umunna acknowledged that he had not read it, though Murnaghan nonetheless continued to press the Shadow Business Secretary, resulting in an abrupt end to the interview after Murnaghan cut-off Umunna mid-speech by saying "so you are not going to speak until you get the party line right?" Umunna stormed out of the interview at this point. Viewers complained about the "poor attitude" exhibited by Murnaghan during the interview.[7]
On 8 February 2015, Murnaghan introduced the Estonian president,Toomas Hendrik Ilves, as Toomas Hendrik and proceeded to call him "President Hendrik". President Ilves removed his microphone and left, saying "Tell him to shut up, he can't even get my name right."[8]
On 14 February 2016, Murnaghan confronted British political activist and UKIP memberRaheem Kassam on why he was not wearing a poppy in the United States. Kassam explained he forgot to place it in his new suit jacket but had donated £300 to theRoyal British Legion. Murnaghan continued to press him, stating that it was "disrespectful" and that his news colleagues would be "heavily criticised" if they chose not to wear a poppy even if they donated. Kassam retorted they are "rightly criticised" for choosing not to wear one, which was "not applicable" in his case as he had simply forgotten it. Murnaghan quickly changed topic after Kassam's retort, which Kassam highlighted.[9]
In August 1989, Murnaghan married Maria Keegan inCamden; they have four children. They live together inNorth London. Murnaghan is anArsenal fan.
In 2006, Murnaghan became president of theTelevision and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) and presented the TRIC Awards 2007.[citation needed]
On 9 March 2017, Murnaghan was involved in a hit and run accident. He was cycling throughKentish Town, northwest London, to his work at Sky News when the accident took place. Speaking to Sky News, Murnaghan said the driver of the car which hit him had been using a mobile phone when the incident occurred. The accident forced Murnaghan to be off air from his Sky News show and resulted in his having large bruise marks on the left-hand side of his face. Murnaghan thanked a "good Samaritan" who saw what had happened and told him that the car had sped off.[10][11]
In 2012, he hit the headlines after tabloid pictures emerged of him kissing Sky make-up artist Camilla Tew in a London park.[12]
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