Tom Brook (born 16 June 1953) is a British journalist who is based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and works primarily for

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 ...

. He is mainly seen 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 also 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 ...

. He is the main presenter of its flagship cinema programme '' Talking Movies'', and has presented every episode since it was first broadcast in February 1999. He is also a member of the

Critics Choice Association The Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is an association of television, radio and online critics. Their membership includes critics who review film and television. Founded in 1995, it is the l ...

Early life

Brook was born in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

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 ...

, but went to primary school in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He completed his secondary education at

William Ellis School William Ellis School is a voluntary aided secondary school and sixth form for boys located in Gospel Oak, London, England. Admissions The School is located near Hampstead Heath in north London. It is situated just east of Parliament Hill an ...

in north London before going on to

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1975. Brook's parents were Caspar Brook, the first director of the Consumers’ Association in Britain, and Dinah, a former education correspondent of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''.

Broadcasting career

Brook joined 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 ...

in April 1976 as a news trainee and, after working attachments in Belfast, Birmingham, and Manchester, he was appointed as a producer on Radio 4's

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

programme in 1978. In January 1980, he was posted to the BBC's office in New York as a news and current affairs producer. On the night of 8 December 1980, he was the first British journalist to report live from outside the home of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

in the Dakota Apartment building on New York's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

, following the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of the former the former Beatle. Since 1985, he has reported on the US film industry for the BBC. From 1985 to 1998, Brook was

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's US correspondent for the top-rated ''

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

'' series presented by

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas' Hospital, Lo ...

. In 1999, he began presenting and producing the cinema news programme '' Talking Movies'' for the BBC, which, as of 2020 has surpassed 500 episodes. He has an international following among movie fans and key figures in the global film industry. The programme covers cinema news from around the world, as well as delivering reviews of the latest films and exclusive interviews with top Hollywood and international talent. The longevity of the series has also allowed Brook to report from some of the world's top film festivals, including

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, Sundance,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

. In 2019 the programme marked a significant milestone with its twentieth anniversary on the air. Special anniversary editions of the show were recorded in front of a live audience in New York and Mumbai in which Sir Kenneth Branagh and Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan were guests of honour. He has also covered the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for BBC News every year since 1985, frequently reporting live from the red carpet. Brook has interviewed some of the most celebrated names in international cinema including such Twentieth Century greats as James Cagney and Bette Davis. He has also interviewed some of America's most influential personalities from CBS veteran anchorman Walter Cronkite on his last day of presenting at the network as well as former President's Carter and Ford. More recently, some of the big names he has interviewed include Adam Driver, Cynthia Erivo, Dev Patel, Renee Zellweger and Barry Jenkins, Over the years, Brook has also contributed to numerous additional BBC programmes and outlets, including ''

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

'', ''Correspondent'', '' Front Row'', '' The Late Show'', '' The Six O'Clock News'',

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

, '' Hard Talk Extra'', and ''

'' 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 ...

. He has been a frequent online contributor. In 2013 he started writing The Reel World column for BBC Culture on new developments on the big screen.

Personal life

Brook holds both UK and US passports. He has lived in New York for more than four decades. His home is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is married to Samuel Wahl MD, chair, Department of Pathology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York who has been his partner since January 1990.

References

External links

BBC UK Profile

BBC World News Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Tom 1953 births Living people Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge BBC World News BBC newsreaders and journalists British expatriates in the United States British film critics British television presenters Journalists from London

Early life

Broadcasting career

Personal life

See also

References

External links