Lucy Meacock at Superhero Skyfall 2018-3

Lucy Meacock is an English

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and broadcaster. She is best known for her work in the North West of England as a main anchor of the ITV regional news programme, ''

Granada Reports ''ITV News Granada Reports'' is a British television regional news service, produced by ITV Granada and serving the North West of England. Overview ''Granada Reports'' is produced and broadcast from studios in the Orange Tower at MediaCityUK i ...

'' between 1988 and 2024.

Early life and education

Meacock was born in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

and grew up there before she moved to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

when she was six. She was educated at the

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

, Ursuline Convent, in Chester. She then moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where she attended the independent Morongo Girls College in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. After returning to the United Kingdom, she attended the independent Upper Chine School in

Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

Career

Meacock started her journalism career at the ''

Chester Chronicle ''Chester Chronicle'' is a local weekly newspaper distributed in Chester, Cheshire and North Wales. The first edition was published by founder John Poole on 2 May 1775. Editions are published every Thursday. In 2018, it had a circulation of 7,02 ...

''. She went on to work with

BBC Radio Newcastle BBC Radio Newcastle is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Newcastle upon Tyne, the neighbouring metropolitan boroughs, Northumberland and north east County Durham. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Br ...

, before switching to television in 1984, joining the Tyne Tees newsroom as a reporter, and later, presenter of the regional news programme '' Northern Life''. She later joined

BBC South East BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent, East Sussex (including the City of Brighton and Hove), parts of West Sussex and Surrey. The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (former ...

in 1986 as a presenter for ''

BBC London Plus ''BBC London Plus'' was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. Launched on Monday 3 September 1984, the programme represented the BBC's attempt to boost regional news service for the South East. Prior to the launc ...

'', then after a brief stint with

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

, co-presenting a live weekly magazine show called ''Anglia Live'', she joined

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

in 1988. Meacock won two BAFTA TV Awards for her work on ''Granada Reports'' in 2007, following the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, and again in 2013 for a special programme on the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...

. In 2006, she interviewed the then

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

. Her co-anchors on ''Granada Reports'' and ''Granada Tonight'' included Bob Greaves,

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

, Tony Morris and

Gamal Fahnbulleh Gamal Fahnbulleh (born April 1982) is a British broadcast journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITV Granada. He presents Granada Reports, an evening news programme for North West England and the Isle of Man. He also is now a relief ...

. Meacock went onto present special tribute programmes to both Tony Wilson and Tony Morris following their deaths in 2007 and 2020, respectively. Apart from her work in regional news, Meacock also presented various regional programmes for Granada, including ''The Main Ingreident'', ''Origin Unknown'', ''Hearts and Minds'' and the Friday night debate show ''UpFront'' - later revived as ''The Late Debate'' - alongside Tony Wilson. She was also a guest presenter for the networked show '' This Morning'' from the Albert Dock in Liverpool. In 2007, she joined

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

as a cover presenter for various

ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...

programmes until August 2009, before returning for a second stint between July 2011 and 2015. In November 2009, Meacock was awarded an honorary degree by the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

. In addition to her broadcast work, Meacock hosts various business awards and conferences events, and also mentors new broadcasters, actors and public speakers. Her charity work has involved climbing

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

, cycling from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to Chester and from Chester to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, sleeping out for the homeless and abseiling down Liverpool's

Radio City Tower St Johns Beacon (also known as the Radio City Tower) is a Grade II listed communications and observation tower in Liverpool, England. Designed by James A. Roberts Associates, it was built in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The tower is ...

. On 16 June 2022, Meacock was installed as Chancellor of the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

. On 15 July 2024, Meacock announced her departure from

after 36 years as a main presenter of ''Granada Reports''. Her final programme followed on 1 August 2024.

In popular culture

St Helens based comedy folk band the Lancashire Hotpots included a song about Meacock on their fifth album ''Achtung Gravy''. Meacock made a speaking cameo as herself in the video for the 2008

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

/ Geraldine McQueen Christmas single,

Once Upon a Christmas Song "Once Upon a Christmas Song" is a Christmas single, and the second single to be released by fictional character Geraldine McQueen. It was co-written by Gary Barlow and Peter Kay who plays the character, originating from a parody talent show calle ...

, which reached Number 5 in the UK Singles Chart during the race for Christmas Number One.

References

External links

* * * 1959 births Chancellors of the University of Salford English reporters and correspondents English women journalists English women television presenters ITN newsreaders and journalists ITV regional newsreaders and journalists Living people People from Chester People educated at Ryde School with Upper Chine {{UK-journalist-stub