1. Dermot John Murnaghan is a British media personality, notable as a journalist, news reporter and television host.
31 Facts About Dermot Murnaghan
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Dermot Murnaghan has been a presenter for numerous networks including at Channel 4, a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News.
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Dermot Murnaghan has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots since joining Sky News in 2007, until the end of February 2023.
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Dermot Murnaghan presented the BBC quiz show Eggheads between 2003 and 2014 before Jeremy Vine took over full-time.
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On 8 September 2022, Sky News was the first British television media outlet to report that monarch Queen Elizabeth II had died, with Murnaghan presenting the afternoon rolling coverage live.
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Dermot Murnaghan was educated at two schools in Northern Ireland: St Malachy's Primary School in Armagh and Sullivan Upper School in Holywood.
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Dermot Murnaghan later attended the University of Sussex in England, graduating with a master's degree in History in 1980.
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Dermot Murnaghan completed a postgraduate course in Journalism at City University London.
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Dermot Murnaghan worked as a trainee reporter on local newspapers before joining Channel 4 as a researcher and later a reporter for The Business Programme.
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Dermot Murnaghan briefly presented the European Business Channel in Switzerland before returning to the UK in 1989 to present the business segments on Channel 4's new breakfast programme The Channel 4 Daily, after which he became the show's main presenter in 1991, after the departure of original anchor Carol Barnes, until the programme ended in September 1992.
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Dermot Murnaghan then joined ITV, presenting programmes such as the ITV Lunchtime News and News at Ten.
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In 1997, as an ITN news presenter, Dermot Murnaghan broke the news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales to viewers on ITV.
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Dermot Murnaghan later presented the ITV Evening News and the ITV Nightly News when ITV relaunched their news output in 1999.
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Dermot Murnaghan worked on ITV's general election coverage in 2001.
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From September 2002 to December 2007 Dermot Murnaghan was a main presenter of BBC Breakfast, replacing Jeremy Bowen.
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Dermot Murnaghan presented the show alongside Sophie Raworth, Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Silverton, Sian Williams and Susanna Reid.
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Dermot Murnaghan was a regular stand-in on the BBC Six O'Clock News and BBC Ten O'Clock News and co-presented the BBC News at Six on Fridays from September 2003 to summer 2007 alongside Sian Williams.
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Dermot Murnaghan co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins until December 2007.
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In October 2007, it was announced that Dermot Murnaghan would be leaving the BBC for Sky News.
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Dermot Murnaghan has guest presented reports for different travel shows including ITV's Wish You Were Here.
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Dermot Murnaghan has made cameos as a newsreader in the 2004 film Wimbledon, Absolute Power and Midnight Man.
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On 19 January 2015, Dermot Murnaghan was criticised for his supposedly hostile attitude towards Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna during an interview where Dermot Murnaghan asked Umunna if he agreed with the statement sent by the Communities Secretary to the Muslim community earlier in the day.
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On 8 February 2015, Dermot Murnaghan introduced the Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, as Toomas Hendrik and proceeded to call him "President Hendrik".
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On 14 February 2016, Dermot Murnaghan confronted British political activist and UKIP member Raheem Kassam on why he was not wearing a poppy in the United States.
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Dermot Murnaghan continued to press him, stating that it was "disrespectful" and that his news colleagues would be "heavily criticised" if they chose not to wear a poppy even if they donated.
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Dermot Murnaghan quickly changed topic after Kassam's retort, which Kassam highlighted.
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In 2006, Dermot Murnaghan became president of the Television and Radio Industries Club and presented the TRIC Awards 2007.
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On 9 March 2017, Dermot Murnaghan was involved in a hit and run accident.
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Dermot Murnaghan was cycling through Kentish Town, northwest London, to his work at Sky News when the accident took place.
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The accident forced Dermot Murnaghan to be off air from his Sky News show and resulted in his having large bruise marks on the left-hand side of his face.
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Dermot Murnaghan thanked a "good Samaritan" who saw what had happened and told him that the car had sped off.