Rachel Horne ( Gibson) is a Northern Irish newsreader and journalist. She presented the

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 ...

children's news programme '' Newsround'' from 2002 until 2006. She also presented

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 ...

' business bulletins on the

BBC News Channel The BBC News channel is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel owned and operated by the BBC. The channel is based at and broadcasts from Broadcasting House in the West End of London from which it is anchored during ...

and travel news on weekday mornings on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

in March to December 2018. She joined

Virgin Radio UK Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by News Broadcasting, which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the U ...

as a breakfast show newsreader in January 2019. She has been married to comedian Alex Horne since 2005.

Early life

Horne grew up in

Lisnaskea Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and th ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, on the shores of

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...

. Her maternal uncle was The Most Rev. Dr Edward Daly (1933-2016), who served as the Lord Bishop of Derry from 1974 until 1993. At the age of 18, Horne went travelling and taught English in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. After reading Law and Theology at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, she studied for a postgraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism at

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

Career

Horne has worked for

productions '' Breakfast with Frost'', BBC Radio Five Live and ''Newsbeat'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. She later worked for BBC Essex on their ''Breakfast'' programme as a reporter.

''Newsround''

Horne joined

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

's flagship news programme, '' Newsround'' in December 2002. Alongside Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes, Thalia Pellegrini and Adam Fleming, Horne was part of the bulletin team and the main reporter. Initially, Horne also presented spin-off programme, ''Newsround Showbiz'' until its axe in 2005 due to poor ratings. Horne left ''Newsround'' in 2006.

Business News

Following her departure from ''Newsround'', Horne joined

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 ...

's flagship business programme '' Working Lunch''. Horne was a member of the team as its business reporter from May 2006. Horne remained on the programme until its relaunch in 2008. After ''Working Lunch'', Horne joined the

's Business News team in 2009. Horne became a regular presenter, often presenting the afternoon and evening shift. Horne presented Monday to Thursday throughout the afternoon and evening after returning from maternity leave in 2012. It was announced in 2012 that the BBC News Channel's business bulletins would be axed as part of the Delivering Quality First scheme. Horne left the channel for a time after the move to New Broadcasting house. Horne reappeared presenting the business on the BBC News Channel during 2015 and presented regularly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Radio

Horne joined

in March 2018, replacing Lynn Bowles as the new regular weekday mornings travel news reporter. When Chris Evans left the BBC for

in January 2019, Horne went with him, along with Vassos Alexander and a number of other former Radio 2 breakfast show colleagues. Horne has since on occasion returned to presenting the travel news on Radio 2. Horne took on an expanded role on the new Virgin Radio breakfast show including becoming the programme's newsreader. Horne announced she was leaving the show on 28 March 2024.

Personal life

Horne married British comedian Alex Horne in 2005, whom she met at

. The couple have three sons and live in

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, Rachel Living people Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Broadcasters from County Fermanagh British children's television presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters British radio presenters British television presenters British women television presenters British women radio presenters Year of birth missing (living people)