Clive Myrie

Clive Augustus Myrie (born 25 August 1964) is an English journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC.

He is one of the BBC's chief news presenters and correspondents.

Since August 2021 he has been the host of the long-running BBC quiz shows Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind.

Clive Augustus Myrie was born on 25 August 1964 in Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire, England, to Jamaican immigrant parents, who came to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

His uncle Cecil was a munitions driver in the Royal Air Force during the war.

His mother was a seamstress who worked for Mary Quant, while his father Norris was a factory worker who made car batteries and carpets.

His parents are divorced, and his father returned to Jamaica following his retirement.

Myrie was educated at Hayward Grammar School in the Great Lever area of Bolton, followed by Bolton Sixth Form College, where he completed his A-levels.

He graduated from the University of Sussex with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1985.

Myrie joined the BBC in 1987 as a trainee local radio reporter, on the corporation's graduate journalism programme.

His first assignment was as a reporter for Radio Bristol in 1988, returning to the BBC after a year with Independent Radio News.

He then reported for Points West, and latterly BBC Television and Radio News.

In 1996 he became a BBC foreign correspondent and has since reported from more than 80 countries.

He initially became the BBC's Tokyo correspondent, and was then the Los Angeles correspondent from 1997 to 1999.

He was appointed BBC Asia Correspondent in 2002 and was Paris correspondent from 2006 to 2007.

His career has encompassed major stories such as the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton, and wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

During the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, Myrie was an embedded correspondent with 40 Commando Royal Marines, joining them initially on HMS Ocean and subsequently during operations on the Al-Faw Peninsula.

Myrie had to write a "goodbye" letter to his family, in case of his death due to the danger this particular assignment posed.

After latterly serving as Europe correspondent based in Brussels, he was appointed a presenter on the BBC News Channel in April 2009, replacing the retired Chris Lowe.

Since joining BBC News, Myrie has presented the BBC Weekend News and weekend editions of BBC News at Ten and BBC Breakfast, both on BBC One.

In September 2010 Myrie broke the story that ETA had declared a unilateral ceasefire after he met an ETA operative in Paris, who handed over a tape of the organisation's leaders making the declaration.

He has presented the 18:30-to-midnight slot, Monday to Thursday, on the BBC News Channel.

In June 2014, he began presenting weekday bulletins on BBC One.

During the 2015 general election, he was the main presenter of Election Tonight at 19:30 and 21:30.

Myrie reported extensively from Kathmandu on the earthquake that struck the city on 25 April 2015, including the rescues of two Nepali citizens who were found alive under two collapsed buildings on 30 April 2015.

Myrie has occasionally presented on BBC World News, including World News Today, World News America and the 2016 US election.

He appeared as a guest on BBC One's Have I Got News for You on 15 April 2016.

In October 2017, Myrie visited Bangladesh to report on the Rohingya refugee crisis.

In September 2017, Myrie appeared as a panellist on Richard Osman's House of Games quiz show.

He has also presented with Katty Kay the current affairs programme Beyond 100 Days.

Since 2019, Myrie has focused on BBC One network bulletins with the evening shift presented by a set of relief presenters.

In 2019 Myrie began presenting the BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten on alternate Fridays with Sophie Raworth following the departure of Fiona Bruce to Question Time.

He now presents the BBC News at Ten on Fridays and in the absence of Huw Edwards.

On 22 March 2021 it was announced that Myrie would become the new host of the flagship BBC Two quiz show Mastermind and its BBC One spin-off show, Celebrity Mastermind, following John Humphrys' decision to leave after 18 years.

Myrie made his debut as host on 23 August 2021.

In November 2021, he featured as a guest participant in an episode of the BBC Two programme Celebrity Antiques Road Trip with fellow newsreader Reeta Chakrabarti.

Myrie hosted a documentary series on Jazz FM entitled The Definitive History of Jazz In Britain, broadcasting over ten weeks from 4 April to 6 June 2021.

He also occasionally presents classical music on BBC Radio 3.

In February 2022 he travelled to Ukraine and was the anchor for BBC coverage of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In one report on the invasion, Myrie stated that he and other journalists were staying in the city as "We all want to tell the story of this war, and we want to tell it accurately."