Sameena Ali-Khan (born 30 December 1967) is a British

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

who is known as a television presenter,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and newsreader. She is also a published author. Since commencing her media career in 1997 for 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 ...

, Ali-Khan has worked in various areas of broadcasting. Upon moving from the BBC to the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

network in 2005, she has become a popular recognised face at

ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...

, as one of the main presenters for the

ITV News Central ''ITV News Central'' is a British television news service for The East and West Midlands, broadcast and produced by ITV Central. History Launched on Friday 1 January 1982, replacing ''ATV Today'', ''Central News'' was initially a pan-region ...

programmes. Ali-Khan has won numerous awards during her broadcasting career, including three RTS Midlands Best Screen Personality Awards in 2010, 2014 and 2015, for her work on

Life and career

Early life and education

Ali-Khan was born in

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 ...

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 ...

, but initially raised in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to Indian parents, where her father was a professor at one of the country's universities. The family moved regularly around the world, Ali-Khan living in many places such as

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. She travelled extensively due to the occupations of her father, and this gave her a desire to learn and an interest in journalism. On her return to England, Ali-Khan studied for a degree in physiology and chemistry at the University of Salford, Manchester. Whilst studying, Ali-Khan launched her initial broadcasting career with a commercial radio station

Sunset 102 Sunset 102 was a radio station broadcasting to Manchester between 1989 and 1993. History Sunset 102 launched as the first of a series of stations in areas which were already served by an Independent Local Radio station. Known as Incremental radi ...

in 1989. Ali-Khan completed her degree and followed up with a Masters in Art, specialising in TV features and documentary production, again from the University of Salford, Manchester.

Broadcasting career

1997–2000: ''
BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...
''

After the completion of her master's degree, Ali-Khan began her broadcasting career with the

working on both Asian and mainstream programmes at

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...

2000–2005: ''Drive on the
BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...
and
Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport i ...
''

Ali-Khan relocated to Birmingham in 2000 and began hosting Drive on the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

and

Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport i ...

stations. Ali-Khan confesses that it was more by default than design that she ended up on a news programme like the Asian Network's Drive, ''I'm a failed medic!'' she said. ''I did a science degree, but didn't really like it, just mixing chemicals in a lab. As a break, I ended up going to a radio station on Wednesdays, which was my half-day off, and I just got a feel for radio then. I was answering phones but within about six months they allowed me to go on air and it all started from there''. It was while she was working on both the Asian and mainstream programmes at BBC Radio Lancashire that she heard that the Asian Network would be taking over the Asian programming there. I ended up applying for the job at the Asian Network in Birmingham as a Senior Broadcast Journalist. With no experience at all she got the job. Khan said "It was a turning point in my life". For the first few months she was just in a management role, then she job-shared that, as well as doing Drive, finally she went into presentation full-time, which has always been her first love.

2005–present day: ''
ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
and ITV Weekend News''

After working at the

for 5 years, Ali-Khan made the move from radio to television and joined

in 2005. Ali-Khan initially was a

presenter Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a news program * Sports commentator, an announcer who presents analysis of a sporting event * Radio personality, presenter or announcer on a radio show * Television ...

of the East edition of ''

Central Tonight ''ITV News Central'' is a British television news service for The East Midlands, East and West Midlands (region), West Midlands, broadcast and produced by ITV Central. History Launched on Friday 1 January 1982, replacing ''ATV Today'', ''Cent ...

'' alongside Steve Clamp, before leaving to go on maternity leave in mid-2008. During this period Ali-Khan also presented the '' ITV Weekend News'' on occasion during 2006. Ali-Khan returned from maternity leave on 2 February 2009, now co-presenting the West Midlands edition of the programme, before it was merged with the East Midlands edition a fortnight later, and was renamed

. After the merger, Ali-Khan became one of the main co-presenters of the pan-regional evening edition of the ''

'' programme, usually sharing the broadcasting duties with her fellow presenter

Bob Warman Robert Paul Warman (born 11 October 1946) is an English retired television presenter. Early life Warman was born on 11 October 1946 in the Chuckery district of Walsall, Staffordshire.Shropshire Star Weekend supplement article, by Simon Penfold ...

. Ali-Khan returned to occasionally present the '' ITV Weekend News'' from 2020.

Other Television work

2011: ''Royal Wedding Day''

In 2011, Ali-Khan was the presenter reporting from the Mall, for Sky News' and the BBC's coverage of the historic wedding of the second heir to the throne,

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

, and

Catherine Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew u ...

2016: ''Healthy Kitchen Cooking''

In 2016 Al-Khan presented the ''Healthy Kitchen Cooking'' show. A short series of programmes, featuring recipes for easy to make healthy dishes, with Chef Rachel Muse. The show was broadcast on channel #Sky 845.

Author

In 2014 Ali-Khan published her first novel, as the co-author of a romance based book, written with her husband, and published by

Mills & Boon Mills & Boon is a romance imprint of British publisher Harlequin UK Ltd. It was founded in 1908 by Gerald Rusgrove Mills and Charles Boon as a general publisher. The company moved towards escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. In 1971, the ...

. They use the pseudonym Riya Lakhani as the author's name.

2014: ''A Date with a Bollywood Star''

*''A Date with a Bollywood Star'' written by Riya Lakhani (2014)

Awards/Conferences/Events Host

Outside of her television work, Ali-Khan utilises her presentation skills as a host for award ceremonies and on the conference circuit, at a variety of events. Ali-Khan has hosted dozens of ceremonies since the late nineties, ranging from award presentations to chairing panel discussions. She has conducted events for numerous organisations including Facebook, Dechert LLP, Department for Communities and Local Government and Birmingham Education Partnership. The wide-ranging topics she has covered have included Wealth Management, Education, Business, Terrorism, Diversity, Mental Health, Brexit and the Arts.

Personal life

Ali-Khan is married with two children and lives in Fox Hollies, Birmingham. Ali-Khan describes herself on her Twitter profile as having a ''Big smile & big heart!''. She counts her interests outside of work as her family, cooking, fashion design, keeping fit, particularly cycling and swimming. Also due to her education and studies she still retains an interest in anything scientific. In January 2013, Ali-Khan was featured on the cover of a magazine for the first time. Pukaar Magazine featured an interview with Ali-Khan, giving an insight into her work and lifestyle, highlighted with photos from her first studio based fashion photo-shoot.

Official Website

In 2018, Ali-khan created her own personal website a
www.sameena.co.uk
Ali-Khan posts regular updates about any upcoming activities, details about her lifestyle and features a photo library, including video showreels.

Charity work

Ali-Khan is an ambassador for Breast Cancer Research and

The Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by Charles III, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds w ...

. She is also a patron for Breaking the Silence, a domestic abuse charity. She regularly speaks at schools and colleges.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''ITV News Central'' - Meet the team
at

itv.com itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 13 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers the ITVX streaming service, with sections for ITV News, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali-Khan, Sameena 1967 births Living people Alumni of the University of Salford British television newsreaders and news presenters ITV regional newsreaders and journalists British people of Bengali descent British women television journalists Mass media people from Belfast Mass media people from Manchester