Eleanor Oldroyd (born in
Bury, Lancashire
Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015.
The town is within the historic county boundaries ...
, 2 June 1962) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
sports broadcaster with
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
.
Early life
Oldroyd was educated at
Oxford High School and
Girton College
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Broadcasting career
Beginning her career in commercial radio, Oldroyd joined
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC's local radio station serving Shropshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Boscobel Drive in Shrewsbury.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 61,000 ...
as a Sports Producer in 1986 before moving to London in 1988.
She worked at
Newsbeat
''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically you ...
and then at BBC Sport, reporting and presenting on both
Radio 5 and
5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
.
She first hosted the Sunday afternoon sports show in 1993. In 1995, she became the first female presenter of ''
Sports Report
''Sports Report'' is one of the longest-running programmes on British radio, and is the world's longest-running sports radio programme. It started on 3 January 1948, and has always been broadcast from 17:00 on Saturday evenings during the foo ...
'' (since it started in 1948) when she stood in for
Ian Payne.
She is a regular on 5 Live's ''
Fighting Talk
''Fighting Talk'' is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show ''Around ...
'' – known as the "First Lady of Fighting Talk" – and hosts several weekly 5 Live shows including Saturday Breakfast (with Chris Warburton), the evening
5 Live Sport programme and the Friday Sports Panel.
She covers the
Wimbledon tennis championships and was part of the ''
Test Match Special
''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 L ...
'' team from 2000 to 2005.
She led the station's coverage of the
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...
from Sochi.
She was named the Sports Journalists' Association Broadcast Presenter of the Year for 2014 and 2016
Following the death of
His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, she led the coverage of his funeral, sat in a small, specially built studio above the high altar. She was the only reporter or broadcaster present in
St Georges Chapel on the day of his funeral.
Personal life
Oldroyd was formerly married to fellow BBC sports presenter
Nick Mullins and has two children.
She supports
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
despite coming from a family of Birmingham City fans.
References
External links
''Saturday Breakfast''(BBC Radio 5 Live)
''Sunday Breakfast''(BBC Radio 5 Live)
BiographyBBC Sport Website blog
1962 births
Living people
BBC sports presenters and reporters
BBC Radio 5 Live presenters
Women sports announcers
British radio personalities
People educated at Oxford High School, England
People from Bury, Greater Manchester
British women radio presenters
{{UK-radio-bio-stub