Manchester Broadcasters & Media Celebrities

Manchester Celebrities
Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting (17)

Jim Hancock

(Born 1948)
Jim Hancock was born on the 10th October 1948 and was educated at Shebbear College in North Devon, before studying for a BA at Manchester University, where he was also President of the Student Union. From 1973-78 he worked as a reporter for Piccadilly Radio in Manchester before joining the BBC in 1979. He has also worked for a spell at Granada Television, has been a breakfast time presenter on ITV's weekday "GMR" programme, and he also had a two year spell as a lobby correspondent with Independent Radio News.
He currently heads "The Politics Show" on Sundays.
In his other role as political editor in the North West, Jim reports for the nightly "North West Tonight" programme as well as local radio in the region.
Jim lives in Cheshire with his wife Catherine and two sons. His interests include supporting Plymouth Argyle Football Club, politics, media and gardening.
He has been the BBC's North West Political Editor since 1998, and in all has been reporting on politics for over thirty years having been Granada's Political Correspondent from 1987-94. Jim has also had two brief periods as a Lobby Correspondent at Westminster for the BBC and ITN, but for most of his career he has been based in the North West.

Danny Boyle

(Born 1956)

Film director Danny Boyle was born on 20 October 1956 in Radcliffe in Bury, and is best known for his popular contemporary films like Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. He went to school at Thornleigh in Bolton, before working briefly as an usher at the Bolton Octagon Theatre. He cites his English teacher at the Bolton school as one of his main inspirations and encouraged him to follow his artistic aspirations.

Later, Boyle worked for a time at the Joint Stock Company and became artistic director at the Royal Court from 1982 to 1987. Later he went on to direct episodes of Inspector Morse, starring John Thaw, for ITV, as well as occasional drama presentations for the BBC.

His first film, Shallow Grave, was made in 1993, with producer Andrew Macdonald and writer John Hodge - a successful production team he went on to work with on several occasions later. Shallow Grave was an immediate success with an appreciative public though it attracted press criticism.

Next, in 1996, working with the same team, he produced the film version of Irvine Welsh's cult novel Trainspotting, which was a massive box office hit.

In 1997 he left for America and made A Life Less Ordinary which starred Cameron Diaz, and which proved less successful with audiences and critics alike.

The Beach came next, but, despite starring heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, the film generally had a cool reception. On his return to England in 2001 he directed Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise and Strumpet for BBC Television. In 2002 he directed 28 Days Later - this too received a mixed reception.

Danny Boyle films are often accused of being poor in characterisation, yet he has emerged as a leading director whose work is always popular with the public, despite frequent bad press from film critics. His father, Frank, still lives in Radcliffe, and Danny continues to watch Bury football team with him at the Gigg Lane football ground on a regular basis.

In 2009 his film "Slumdog Millionaire" was awarded 8 Oscars and numerous BAFTAs

Felicity Goodey CBE, BA, D.LITT

(Born 1949)
Felicity Goodey is a former senior BBC journalist and regional television presenter who has developed and run Precise Communications, a successful media production and training company since 1998.
She was born on the 25 July 1949, the daughter of Henry Ernest Arthur and Susan Elsie Goodey, and went to school at St Austell Grammar School in Cornwall, and later at St Hugh's College, Oxford where she was awarded a BA with Honours in History in 1971.
She is a well-known public figure in the Northwest region of England. In 1994 she fronted Salford City Council's Millennium Lottery Fund bid and successfully secured £64 million money toward the creation of the Lowry at Salford Quays, of which she was subsequently appointed as Chairman of the Trustees.
In 1998 she gave up her role as regular presenter of BBC political programmes in order to accept a government appointment as Director of the North West Development Agency and to broaden her business activities. The following year she was appointed as Chair of the Cultural Consortium of the North West. Felicity was awarded the prestigious David Goldstone Award at the United Utilities North West Tourist Board Awards in 1999, for her outstanding personal contribution to North West Tourism.
In June 2001, she was honoured with a CBE for her services towards the regeneration of Salford Quays. She was also President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry for 2001-2002.

Her various jobs and posts have included:

• Graduate trainee, and reporter for BBC Radio's "World at One", from 1971-85
• Presenter, of "File on Four" for Radio 4 from 1987-99;
• "Northwest Tonight" (BBC TV)
• "NorthWestminster", BBC TV
• Owner and manager, Felicity Goodey & Associates, 1989-98
• Founder and non-executive Director of Excellence Northwest since 1993
• Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry since1999
• Nord Anglia plc since1999.

Felicity states her interests as the family, theatre, opera and the northwest. She was married in 1973 to John Marsh - the couple have 2 sons.

John Mundy

(Birth date unknown)
John Mundy was born and educated in Manchester and originally trained as an actor, but has worked mostly in TV presentation - with ITV and then the BBC, where he anchored the daily news magazine, "Northwest Tonight", which won the prestigious 'Prix Circom' for Europe's Best Regional News Programme.
During this time, he also became firmly established as a leading voice-over artist. He now voices full-time, mainly on ISDN.

He has provided many voice-overs for documentary programmes including:

• "Rally UK" - a motorsport action series for Channel 5
• "Ring Warriors" - a Thai boxing series for Sky Sports
• "See for Yourself" - a documentary about the BBC licence fees
• "The Hunt for Dr. Mengele" - a BAFTA winning documentary for ITV

  John's television & radio presentations have included:

• "That Was The Year" - a factual history series for BBC-1
• "Open Air" - a live, weekday discussion programme for BBC1
• "Mundy on Saturday" - weekly music programme on BBC Radio 2
• "Christmas Crackers" - children talking about Christmas
  for BBC1
• "The Friday Show" - his own weekly chat leisure programme on BBC1

Jenni Murray OBE, BA, D.LITT

(Born 1950)

Jenni Murray was born on the 12th May 1950 and has become the well-known presenter of BBC Radio 4's popular "Woman's Hour" programme which comes from BBC Manchester studios. She was born and educated initially at Barnsley High School for Girls, and has a degree in French and Drama from Hull University. She also had a Doctor of Literature Degree from Bradford University and the Open University.

She has worked round many of the BBC's regional bases - she joined BBC Radio Bristol in 1973, and went on to be a reporter and presenter for BBC TV's "South Today". In 1983 she joined "Newsnight". In 1985 she moved to Radio 4 as a presenter for the weekday morning's "Today" programme and became the regular presenter of "Woman's Hour" in 1987.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1999 she was made an OBE for radio broadcasting. Jenni is the author of "The Woman's Hour: A History of Women Since World War II" and "Is It Me or Is It Hot In Here: A Modern Woman's Guide to the Menopause".

She was a weekly columnist for The Daily Express from 1998 to 2000 and now writes for various newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Mail. She is President of the Fawcett Society and a regular columnist for "Eve" magazine. She was Broadcaster of the Year in 1998 and 300 Group Journalist of the Year in 1989.

Her interests include reading, riding, theatre and gardens. Jenni Murray is married to David Forgham-Bailey and the couple have 2 sons. Jenni, who for several years has regularly commuted weekly to London from her cottage in Macclesfield, is said to be negotiating a purchase of an apartment in a recently made-over building in Ancoats.

Martin Henfield

(Born 1944)
Martin Henfield is a well-known regional television presenter who was born on the 10th of January 1944. He was educated at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Hartlebury in Worcestershire, before going on to Oxford College of Technology. He began work as a cub reporter on the Worcester Evening News in 1966, before moving to work at the Sunday Mercury in Birmingham in 1968.
He became News Editor at BBC Radio in Birmingham in 1970, a position he held until 1975, when he was appointed as Deputy Manager at BBC Radio Manchester. From 1977-1988 he served as a reporter on the "Northwest Tonight" regional programme after which he was made Manager of BBC GMR Radio in Manchester.
Martin is a member of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society and of Pleasington Golf Club. He declares his interests as, golf, telling stories, building and flying model radio-controlled aircraft. Martin is married to his wife, Maggie.

Diane Oxberry

Diane Oxberry, the now familiar television weather girl, originally studied as a Meteorologist at the Meteorological Office College in Berkshire, before becoming BBC North West's first ever on-screen weather presenter in 1995. She was hitherto only known as a voice to BBC Radio 1 listeners on Steve Wright's afternoon show.
Her easygoing North Eastern style made listeners warm to her and soon she was also to be heard by the nine million listeners of "Simon Mayo's Breakfast Show", for which she won a Silver Sony Award.
She met her husband in the studios at Manchester while co-presenting the children's television show "The 8.15" .
Since 1993 Diane has lived with her husband in Cheshire. They own a horse, two dogs and two cats.