Lynda Bryans
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Lynda Bryans (born May 1962) is a
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
-born television presenter and journalist from
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
.


Broadcasting career


Television

Bryans began her career in the media industry in 1981."Memories of a life in broadcasting"
News Letter, 2 March 2009, accessed 6 January 2010
Her first job was working as a temporary copy typist for UTV that summer which was immediately followed by a job working as a secretary in the Religious Affairs department at BBC Northern Ireland. She went on to become a newsreader and reporter on BBC's ''Inside Ulster'', as well as reading daytime news bulletins and briefly covering continuity shifts for BBC NI. Bryans' career as a broadcaster began when she applied, as a staff member, for a screen test at the BBC, and she became a continuity announcer and newsreader for the Corporation in Belfast. In an interview with The News Letter, she stated, "I thought I'd apply for a laugh, and ended up being one of six picked out of 100."
TV Room Plus, accessed 15 June 2008
Bryans also presented on network BBC programmes. She was a presenter and reporter for the BBC News and Current Affairs series ''Here and Now'',Lynda Bryans filmography
BFI Film and TV Database; accessed 15 June 2008
and also co-presented with
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...
on ''
Animal Hospital ''Animal Hospital'' is a British television show starring Australian singer and TV presenter Rolf Harris that ran on BBC One from 29 August 1994 to 13 September 2004. Other presenters included Lynda Bryans, Steve Knight, Mairi McHaffie, Rhodri W ...
'' in 1994 and reported for the ''Holiday'' programme until its axe in 2007. Bryans' other television credits include ''Portrush Sea Rescue'', ''News 40'', ITV's recreation of news events from World War II in a contemporary style, and ''Bethlehem Year Zero'' and ''Dateline Jerusalem'', recreating the news events at the time of the birth and death of Jesus Christ. From 2001 to 2005, she appeared as an occasional newscaster on the ITV News Channel at weekends. As well as presenting ''UTV Live'', Bryans and Nesbitt also presented
Anglia Television 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 ...
's networked ''Sunday Morning'' series from 1999 to 2001 and UTV's home and garden series ''Home Sweet Home'' in 2004 and 2006. She was suspended from duty by UTV for a period from February 2010 due to Nesbitt's decision to stand as a candidate in the 2010 general election. In June 2010, it was announced Bryans was leaving UTV after her contract with the station was not renewed. She hosted her final edition of ''UTV Live'' on 30 June 2010.


Radio

November 2005 saw Bryans become part of the daytime line-up on UTV-owned radio station,
U105 U105 is a Belfast, Northern Ireland, based radio station, providing a mix of music and speech as well as hourly news bulletins. It is owned by News Broadcasting and was launched at 6am on 14 November 2005. U105 broadcasts on 105.8 FM in Belfa ...
, hosting the 12.00–15.00 slot, ''U105 Lunch''. She left the station in October 2008.


Personal life

Bryans attended Carryduff Primary School and Ballynahinch Tech. She is married to former broadcaster and now politician
Mike Nesbitt Michael Nesbitt, Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland), MLA (born 11 May 1957) is a Northern Irish politician and former broadcaster
."'I could see myself getting old with Mike'"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 29 February 2004; accessed 6 February 2009.
Bryans is a director of the Northern Irish mental health charity Aware Defeat Depression. She is also a patron of the charity Action Cancer, a patron of the Girls' Brigade Northern Ireland, and, along with her husband, is a board member of Youth Lyric. Bryans co-runs a media production and facilitation company with her husband. In 2006, Bryans received an award from
Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as Belfast Met, is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and an a ...
for her contribution to the life of Belfast. She has two children. She is a practising
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
.


References


External links


Lynda Bryans and Mike Nesbitt's media services website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryans, Lynda 1962 births Living people ITV regional newsreaders and journalists Television presenters from Northern Ireland Journalists from Belfast Irish women television presenters Irish women radio presenters Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Television personalities from Belfast UTV (TV channel) people 20th-century women journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century women journalists from Northern Ireland 20th-century journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century journalists from Northern Ireland Spouses of British politicians