Lucy Ash is a British documentary-maker, journalist, broadcaster and author. Her work mainly appears on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

platforms. Much of her work has focused on former Soviet countries. She has also focused on prisons considerably in her work.

Background

Ash attended Camden School for Girls in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. Between the ages of 12 and 16, Ash spent part of every summer staying with a French family. She attended the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1980 to 1983, where she studied English Language and Literature at New College.

Broadcasting career

Ash's work in radio started in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where she worked as producer in the BBC's bureau in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

from 1990. In 1994, she moved back to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where she reported considerably from former Soviet states for the programme ''Eurofile'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. In 2002, Ash received an Amnesty International UK Media Award for an edition of '' Crossing Continents'' on

which focussed on Israel/Palestine, and in 2004 she was again given the award for another edition of ''Crossing Continents''. In 2011 and 2012, Ash presented a series of ten programmes on BBC Radio 4 which looked at how young people in Europe were dealing with the political and economic crises affecting them. As of 2010 and 2013, Ash was a presenter of '' Outlook'' on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. Also in 2010, Ash presented an edition of ''This World'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

which focused on the stealing of brides in Chechnya. Also in 2013, Ash began being a trustee for Jerwood Arts, an organisation funding early-career artists. In 2014, Ash presented an edition of ''Our World'' on

BBC World News BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...

and

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, examining

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

following the Russian annexation of the territory. In the mid-2010s, Ash presented editions of ''Crossing Continents'' on BBC Radio 4. She reported for '' From Our Own Correspondent'' throughout the 2010s. Ash continues to present editions of ''Crossing Continents'' and ''Assignment'' on the BBC World Service. She also continues to produce reports for the

website. She reports regularly for ''From Our Own Correspondent''. She occasionally writes for non-BBC outlets; in February 2025 she wrote for the

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

. From March 2023 until May 2025, Ash held a fellowship at Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Institute for Human Sciences), during which she examined the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

under President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. She is a member of the Committee of Supporters for the RAW in WAR Anna Politkovskaya Award.

Writing career

On 3 October 2024, Ash's book ''The Baton and the Cross: Russia's Church from Pagans to Putin'' was published; the book examined the history of the

. The book was shortlisted for a book prize.

Personal life

Ash married the broadcaster and author John Kampfner in 1992. Ash can speak fluent French and Russian. She resides in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Lucy Alumni of the University of Oxford People educated at Camden School for Girls British broadcasters British journalists British radio presenters BBC radio presenters BBC Radio 4 presenters Radio producers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people