Nicholas Newton Henshall Witchell

OStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(born 23 September 1953) is an English journalist and news presenter. The latter half of his career has been as royal correspondent for BBC News.

Early life and career

Witchell was born on 23 September 1953 in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. He was educated at

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orpha ...

, a British fee-paying school in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. W ...

, and at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , t ...

, where he read Law and edited the ''

Leeds Student ''The Gryphon'' is the student newspaper of the University of Leeds. It is published monthly during term time and its editor, the newspaper's only paid position, is elected annually by Leeds University Union members. The articles are written ...

'' newspaper. In 1974, Terence Dalton Limited published his book ''The Loch Ness Story'', a history of alleged sightings of the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

. Witchell has worked for the BBC since 1976.Tim Luckhurst (28 August 2005
"Nicholas Witchell: more touchy than feely"
''The Independent''. Retrieved on 7 March 2016. He and

Sue Lawley Susan Lawley (born 14 July 1946) is a retired English television and radio broadcaster. Her main broadcasting background involved television news and current affairs. From 1988–2006, Lawley was the presenter of ''Desert Island Discs'' on BBC R ...

were the first readers of the ''

BBC News at Six The ''BBC News at Six'' is the evening news programme bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on the BBC News channel and on British television channel BBC One on weekdays at 6:00pm. For a long period, the ''BBC ...

'' when the programme was launched on 3 September 1984 (replacing the early-evening news magazine ''

Sixty Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...

''). In 1988, the ''Six O'Clock News'' studio was invaded during a live broadcast by a group of women protesting against the

Section 28 Section 28 or Clause 28While going through Parliament, the amendment was constantly relabelled with a variety of clause numbers as other amendments were added to or deleted from the Bill, but by the final version of the Bill, which received ...

law (which sought to prevent councils from promoting

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

). Witchell grappled with the protesters and was said to have sat on one woman, provoking the frontpage headline in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'': "Beeb Man Sits on Lesbian". During the 1989 journalists' strike, Witchell was one of the few newsreaders not to strike. This was

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

by ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...

'' with a puppet likeness shown not only breaking the journalists' strike by working, but also showing up through the news broadcast doing various other jobs within the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

and jobs covered in the news report. In 1989, he moved from the evening to the breakfast news slot, where he remained for five years.About BBC News: Nicholas Witchell profile
BBC News website During the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, he was a volunteer presenter on the BBC

Radio 4 News FM Radio 4 News FM was the national BBC station devoted to rolling news service that was on air during the Gulf War from 16 January until 2 March 1991. It was broadcast on Radio 4's FM frequencies, whilst regular scheduled service continued on ...

service. Witchell was the first reporter to relay the news of the death in 1979 of

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...

, the death in 1986 of former Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", h ...

, the 1987 Zeebrugge ferry disaster, the 1988 Lockerbie disaster, and the death in 1997 of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

Royal correspondent

In 1998, Witchell became a royal and diplomatic correspondent. In 2002, his obituary of

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

, recorded before her death but screened following the announcement, was reportedly not well received at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ha ...

, as it mentioned her lovers and "copious" consumption of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

. Witchell provoked royal displeasure again in 2005. At a press conference at the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internationa ...

ski resort of

Klosters Klosters is a Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. In 2021, the municipality shortened its name to K ...

, Witchell asked Charles, then-Prince of Wales, how he and his sons were feeling about his forthcoming marriage to

Camilla Parker-Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

. After a response from his son

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

, the Prince of Wales said under his breath, and referring to Witchell, "These bloody people. I can't bear that man. I mean, he's so awful, he really is." A spokesman for the BBC defended their reporter saying, "He is one of our finest. His question was perfectly reasonable under the circumstances."

Life outside journalism

Witchell is a governor of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for Disabled People, an Officer of the Order of St John and a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He has two daughters and currently lives in Central London with his wife Maria, née Staples. Witchell appeared as himself in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' Christmas Special "

Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events concer ...

", broadcast on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

2007.

References

External links

Transcript of interview at Kloisters 31 March 2005, including a video of Witchell's response to Charles's outburst about him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witchell, Nicholas 1953 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds BBC newsreaders and journalists British male journalists Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Officers of the Order of St John People educated at Epsom College People educated at Kingswood House School People from Cosford, Shropshire Royal correspondents