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Mishal Husain

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Mishal Husain
Husain in 2010
Born (1973-03-12) 12 March 1973 (age 51)
Northampton, England
Education
Occupations
  • News presenter
  • journalist
Notable credits
SpouseMeekal Hashmi (m. 2003)
Children3
Websitenews.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/impact_asia/presenters/default.stm

Mishal Husain (born 12 March 1973)[1][2] is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. She is best known for having presented a range of BBC News programmes, most notably Radio 4's Today programme. She occasionally appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday edition of the BBC News at Ten, and more rarely, the BBC News at Six. She has hosted The Andrew Marr Show, HARDtalk, Impact and BBC Breakfast.

Early life

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Mishal Husain was born on 12 March 1973 in Northampton, England,[3][1][2] to Pakistani parents. Her mother was a teacher and former producer for Pakistan Television Corporation, and her father was a urologist.[2] She has a younger brother.[4]

She is the granddaughter of Syed Shahid Hamid,[2] the first Director-General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.[5]

Husain was privately educated at the British School in Abu Dhabi; the family were also based in Saudi Arabia for a period.[6] Husain returned to England at the age of 12 to continue her education at Cobham Hall School, an independent school in Kent.[3] She read law at New Hall, Cambridge (now Murray Edwards College, Cambridge) followed by a master's degree in International and Comparative Law at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.[7][8]

Journalism career

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Husain gained her first experience in journalism at the age of 18, spending three months as a city reporter in Islamabad, Pakistan, at the English-language newspaper The News. Then, while at university, she did several stints at the BBC as work experience.[8]

Her first job was at Bloomberg Television in London in 1996, where she was a producer and sometime presenter. Two years later, in 1998, she joined the BBC as a junior producer in the newsroom and for the News 24 channel, and then in the Economics and Business Unit. Within a few months, she moved in front of the camera and has since worked in a variety of roles: on the daily Breakfast programme, on Asia Business Report (based in Singapore), and as a presenter of business news on both BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. From September 2002 she was the corporation's Washington correspondent, serving as the main news anchor through the buildup to the invasion of Iraq and during the war. She has interviewed many high-profile figures including Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, Paul Kagame and Emmerson Mnangagwa.[9]

On 8 May 2010, she published an autobiographical essay in The Independent based on a nostalgia trip to the UAE.[10] In 2011, Husain hosted Impact on BBC World News, but in the spring and summer of 2011 she was engaged in making a documentary on the Arab Spring, for airing in the autumn of 2011. She has presented the Sunday evening editions of the BBC Weekend News on BBC One.[7] On 2 December 2011, it was announced that Husain would be part of the BBC's Olympic Presenting team.

On 17 March 2013, she presented the last News at Ten to be broadcast from BBC Television Centre. On 16 July 2013, the BBC's Director-General Lord Hall announced that Husain was to become a presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme in the autumn. Husain presented her first edition of Today on 7 October 2013, when her co-presenter was John Humphrys.[11] On 7 November 2013, it was announced that Husain would be part of the BBC's Commonwealth Games Presenting team.[12] Husain was also an occasional relief presenter of the BBC News at Six and the weekday edition of the BBC News at Ten, as well as on the BBC News Channel during major breaking news stories. She has occasionally presented Newsnight on BBC Two.

Husain won the Broadcaster of the Year Award at the London Press Club Awards in 2015.[13]

In 2013, Husain interviewed the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi. During the intense exchange, "Kyi lost her cool following a tense interview". It was claimed Suu Kyi was heard muttering "no one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim".[14]

On 27 November 2017, Husain recorded an interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.[15]

In June 2024, during the lead up to the 2024 UK general election, Husain was selected to chair and referee two televised debates on the BBC. At the first debate, the leaders of the seven largest UK political parties were invited, whilst the second was a head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak, who was the UK Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party at the time, and Kier Starmer, leader of the Labour Party (and current Prime Minister). Husain commented that she "saw the role as a privilege".[16] Whilst both debates had considerable challenges, with Husain having to handle the latter being interrupted by protestors, about which she described as being another "aspect of our democracy”,[17][18] Husain was praised for her handling of both debates,[19][20][21] with Tatler magazine describing Husain as 'the clear winner' of the debate and giving 'a masterclass in broadcasting',[20] and The Times newspaper describing the performance as 'stunning', speculating Husain had emerged as a rival to Clive Myrie for lead anchor for the channel, following the departure of Huw Edwards.[21]

In September 2024, Husain was criticised by some Jewish organisations who claimed the journalist failed to sufficiently challenge comments that they considered to be antisemitic during an interview on the BBC Today programme with the Iranian-American academic and political analyst Mohammad Marandi. Marandi had been specifically invited to be asked about the Iranian view of the Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip and any potential Iranian response, and the programme contained other interviews including those with Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner and US Diplomat Dennis Ross to get a broad perspective on the complex politics of the region. After the BBC reviewed the complaint, it issued a statement pointing out that “this was a live interview and he was challenged during the course of the interview, and the Israeli position was reflected," but on balance "however, we accept we should have continued to challenge his language throughout the interview.”[22]

In November 2024, it was announced that Husain would be leaving the BBC to join Bloomberg News, where she will be the editor-at-large of its Weekend Edition, and presenting an interview series.[23] Husain's final shift as Today co-presenter was on 17th December 2024, with several past and present Today presenters joining her in the studio to pay tribute.

Other work and awards

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When the first series of Star Spell – a spin-off from Hard Spell that had only appeared before as a one-off episode – aired, Husain appeared as word pronouncer, replacing Nina Hossain. She continued in this role throughout the second series of Hard Spell. Husain appeared in a round of the BBC's Celebrity Mastermind in 2010, coming third out of four. Her specialised subject was the Narnia books of C. S. Lewis.

She is also one of the judges for the Amnesty International Media Awards.[7][24] She featured on a show entitled Gandhi that was broadcast by the BBC in March 2012. She also featured as the morning anchor presenter on BBC One during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[25]

Husain is an ambassador for the charity Mosaic, which helps young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential.[26]

In January 2014, Husain was awarded the Services to Media award at the British Muslim Awards.[27]

Husain has written a book, The Skills, a guide for women on how to achieve their career goals.[28] It was published in 2018, and was described as "the ultimate handbook for women".[29]

In 2024, Husain published a memoir, Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence. It hit the Sunday Times Bestsellers Chart under General Hardbacks.[30]

Personal life

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In July 2003, Husain married Meekal Hashmi, a chief operating officer at an investment management firm. They have three children[8][31][32] and live in Camden, North London.[33]

Amid widespread condemnation of the killing of ISIL hostages in 2014, Husain voiced support for the use of social media to denounce its extremism. In an interview with the Radio Times, she urged Muslim scholars to use social media to condemn its attempt to use horrific videos to draw support in the West, from the leading British Islamic organisations.[34]

Husain, who was the first Muslim presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "I think the Not in My Name campaign is a very positive development because outrage is shared by all right-thinking people. I would really like to see much more of the counterpoint from a theological perspective, with scholars taking to social media to refute the awful arguments we see put forward in those videos."[35][36]

References

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  1. ^ a b "BBC News – Impact – Profile: Mishal Husain". BBC News. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Yaqoob, Tahira (5 November 2010). "BBC's Mishal Husain: from UAE to US to China". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Skinitis, Alexia (17 October 2009). "Significant others: Mishal Husain". The Times.
  4. ^ Taylor, Jeremy. "My career was not what the doctor ordered". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ BBC One News at Six feature on then-Indian Army involvement in World War Two. 2 September 2020.
  6. ^ Plunkett, John (16 July 2013). "Mishal Husain: 'driven' presenter powers way on to BBC Radio 4's Today". The Guardian.
  7. ^ a b c Biographies – Mishal Husain. BBC Press Office, April 2009.
  8. ^ a b c Khairi, Umber (5 January 2004). "Top of the World". Newsline. Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  9. ^ "Mnangagwa: Mugabes 'to be left in peace'". BBC News. BBC. 15 March 2018.
  10. ^ Husain, Mishal (8 May 2010). "A return to the Emirates: Mishal Husain's journey back to the UAE was a family holiday with a difference". The Independent.
  11. ^ Mahoney, Elisabeth (2 December 2011). "Mishal Husain's debut on the Today programme – radio review". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "BBC announces Olympic presenters". BBC Sport. 2 December 2011.
  13. ^ "BBC's Mishal Husain named broadcaster of the year", BBC News, 15 April 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  14. ^ Saul, Heather (25 March 2016). "Aung San Suu Kyi made angry 'Muslim' comment after tense exchange with BBC presenter Mishal Husain, it is claimed". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022.
  15. ^ Shahid, Sharnaz (28 November 2017). "Who is Mishal Husain? Everything you need to know about the BBC broadcaster handpicked by Prince Harry". HELLO!.
  16. ^ "Mishal Husain: How I'll referee BBC leaders' debate with voters at its heart". BBC News. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  17. ^ O'Reilly, Luke (26 June 2024). "Pro-Palestine protesters heard during televised leaders' election debate". The Independent.
  18. ^ "UK's Sunak and Starmer struggle to be heard as a noisy protest mars their final election debate". AP News. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  19. ^ Amin, Meghna (7 June 2024). "BBC presenter Mishal Husain branded 'brilliant' after 'shambolic' ITV debate". Metro. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  20. ^ a b Strunck, Clara (27 June 2024). "Perfectly poised and authoritative; how Tatler cover star Mishal Husain gave a masterclass in broadcasting by hosting the final TV debate ahead of the General Election". Tatler. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  21. ^ a b Urwin, Rosamund; Turvill, William (10 August 2024). "Mishal Husain tipped for bigger BBC role after Huw Edwards scandal". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  22. ^ Cleave, Iona; Barton, Alex (1 October 2024). "Mishal Husain failed to challenge guest over anti-Semitic conspiracies, BBC admits". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Radio 4 Today host Mishal Husain to leave BBC". BBC News. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  24. ^ Mishal Husain Archived 5 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, KBJ Management. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  25. ^ "BBC announces Glasgow 2014 presenting team", Sport on the Box, 7 November 2013.
  26. ^ Mosaic Charity home page. Accessed 8 September 2015.
  27. ^ "British Muslim Awards 2014 winners". Asian Image. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  28. ^ Stone, Joe (4 February 2019). "From the surgeon to the Spice Girl: how people in high-pressure jobs cope with stress". The Guardian.
  29. ^ Cowdrey, Katherine (25 October 2016). "First book by Mishal Husain to 4th Estate". The Bookseller.
  30. ^ "Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence". HarperCollins Publishers UK. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  31. ^ Llewellyn Smith, Julia (5 February 2006). "'Hello, good morning, and here's my news'". The Daily Telegraph.
  32. ^ "Mishal Husain". Financial Times. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  33. ^ Acharya, Dipal (27 September 2018). "My London: Mishal Husain". Evening Standard.
  34. ^ "BBC Muslim presenter calls for British Muslims to condemn ISIS terror". Al Arabiya. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  35. ^ Swerling, Gabriella (21 October 2014). "Muslim presenter urges scholars to condemn Isis". The Times.
  36. ^ Sherwin, Adam (20 October 2014). "BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain says 'British Muslims should speak out and condemn Islamic State terror'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
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Media related to Mishal Husain at Wikimedia Commons

Media offices
Preceded by Weekend presenter of BBC Breakfast
2002–04 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sunday presenter of BBC Weekend News
2005–2022 		Incumbent
Preceded by Today presenter
2013–present
with John Humphrys, James Naughtie, Sarah Montague, Evan Davis, Justin Webb and Nick Robinson 		Incumbent
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