Mark Carruthers

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1965) is a Northern Irish

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He currently presents a number of television and radio programmes for BBC Northern Ireland.

Broadcasting work

Carruthers first joined BBC Northern Ireland in 1989 contributing to ''Good Morning Ulster'' and ''PM Ulster'' on BBC Radio Ulster. In addition to having presented BBC Newsline, he has also presented '' Spotlight'' and ''Let's Talk'' for television and ''Evening Extra'' on BBC Radio Ulster.BBCi: BBC Newsline - Meet The Team: Mark Carruthers' profile
/ref> In August 2009, Carruthers became part of the presenting team of ''Good Morning Ulster'' as part of a series of presenter changes at BBC Radio Ulster. He is now the presenter of ''The View'' and ''Sunday Politics'' on BBC One Northern Ireland. He also presents the weekly politics podcast ''Red Lines'' on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, ...

. He has been nominated for four Royal Television Society awards for his work – in 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2003. In 2005 he and his BBC Newsline co-presenter, Donna Traynor, lifted a prestigious IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best News Programme.

Personal life

Carruthers was born in Londonderry, grew up in

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years between ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

, studied at Coleraine Academical InstitutionThe Belfast Telegraph: "My passion"
dated 29 December 1998; accessed 9 February 2009 and went on to study for degrees in Political Science and Irish Politics at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. Carruthers has an interest in the theatre. He was one of the founders of Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988 and took part in drama groups at college and university, including a stage appearance in a Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, production of ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

'' alongside James Nesbitt. He was Chairman of the Lyric Theatre Board until 2015 and was at the forefront of the campaign to rebuild the theatre on its south Belfast site for almost ten years. He was appointed an

for services to

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

in the 2011 New Year Honours list. He is co-editor of ''Stepping Stones - The Arts in Ulster 1971-2001'' which was published by

Blackstaff Press The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...

in 2001. In 2013 ''Alternative Ulsters – Conversations on Identity'' was published by Liberties Press, a series of interviews by Carruthers with leading writers, actors, journalists and politicians. The book was a success and was re-issued in paperback in December 2014. The following year ''Alternative Ulsters'' was shortlisted for the prestigious Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. In July 2019 Carruthers was awarded an honorary doctorate (

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

) from

for distinction in broadcasting. He is married with three children and lives in south

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

References

External links

BBCi: BBC Newsline - Meet The Team: Mark Carruthers' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carruthers, Mark 1965 births Alumni of Queen's University Belfast BBC newsreaders and journalists Living people People educated at Coleraine Academical Institution Mass media people from Derry (city) Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Television presenters from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire British social commentators