Andrea Byrne

Andrea Byrne-Benfield
Born

Andrea Benfield
1978 (age 37–38)


Guildford, Surrey

Occupation Journalist
Notable credit(s) ITV News: Wales at Six,
ITV News weekend bulletins

Andrea Byrne (née Benfield) (born c. 1978 in Guildford, Surrey), is an English journalist and presenter; she currently presents ITV News: Wales at Six.

Personal life

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Byrne graduated from Southampton University with a degree in English literature, before gaining a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Highbury College, Portsmouth. Latterly, she has gained a political diploma through the Open University.[1]

Byrne married Wales rugby player Lee Byrne on 1 January 2012.[2] Byrne took a year-long sabbatical in June 2013,[3] returning to ITV Cymru Wales to anchor the relaunched Wales at Six.[4]

Career

Andrea Byrne

Byrne started her journalism and media career as a local radio reporter for Guildford-based County Sound Radio. She then joined local television station MyTV Portsmouth as a reporter, but when the station was forced to lay off staff, she was promoted to news editor at the station. When Portsmouth TV ceased broadcasting she moved to Oxford's local TV station, Six TV before joining Thames Valley Tonight on ITV Thames Valley as a reporter.[5] It was while here that she produced a series of special reports on the Royal Air Force, reporting on pilots and their training at RAF Odiham before they were posted to Afghanistan,[6] which was also shown nationally on ITV2 and placed runner-up in the regional Royal Television Society awards.[7]

Following the departure of Lucy Owen to BBC Wales' flagship news programme Wales Today in November 2007, Byrne applied for the resulting vacancy on ITV News Cymru Wales. On 17 December, it was announced that she had beaten 80 other applicants to the post,[1] and undertook her first show opposite Jonathan Hill on 14 January 2008.[8] Prior to her debut, Benfield moved from Surrey to Cardiff Bay.[8]

Since joining ITV Wales, Byrne has presented a number of various regional non-news programmes for the station, including the arts and entertainment series The Wales Show, documentary series Tidal Wales, ITV Wales weekly political programme Sharp End[9] and coverage of the Royal Welsh Show and the National Eisteddfod.

Byrne was also a newscaster of ITV News weekend bulletins, debuting in June 2010. She has appeared as an occasional relief newscaster of the ITV Lunchtime News, ITV Evening News and ITV News at Ten on ITV.

She acted as a newsreader for GMTV from 16–20 August 2010, and for replacement programme Daybreak from 27–31 December 2010, both on ITV Breakfast.

References

  1. 1 2 Karen Price (19 December 2007). "Andrea's on-screen sparkle wins her Lucy Owen's old job". Western Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  2. ↑ Welsh rugby star Lee Byrne proposes to TV presenter Andrea Benfield before move to France Wales Online, 27 March 2011
  3. ↑ Andrea Byrne takes time out to live with rugby star Lee Byrne in France Elena Cresci, Wales Online, 26 May 2013
  4. ↑ "Plenty of you asking when I'll be back on @ITVWales - well the answer is June." @andreabyrnetv, Twitter, 5 February 2014
  5. ↑ "ITV Thames Valley seek green wedding couples". ITV Thames Valley. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "RAF Odiham invited to Meridian TV". Royal Air Force. 3 April 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Southern Cenre Programme Awards 2006/7". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  8. 1 2 Alice Klein (15 January 2008). "'I feel liberated now we don't have to wear formal suits'". Western Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  9. ↑ "Wales Tonight (ITV Wales) - ITV Local". ITV website. ITV. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.

External links

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