Alumni profile - Bridgid Nzekwu

2 June 2026

Bridgid graduated from Queen Mary with a BA in European Studies (French & German), achieving First Class Honours and graduating top of her year. She is now Managing Director of PA Media Academy, following a distinguished career spanning television journalism, communications and media training.

In this blog, she reflects on her journey from studying at Queen Mary to becoming one of the UK’s leading media professionals. She shares memories of her time at university, including her year abroad in France, the academic support she received during serious health challenges and the experiences that inspired her career in television news. Bridgid also discusses breaking barriers as the UK's first mixed-race female newsreader, her transition into communications and leadership and the resilience and adaptability that have shaped her career.

 

What first drew you to Queen Mary and to studying European Studies?

I chose Queen Mary for its outstanding language faculty and was excited by the European Studies French & German course that offered a joint BA Hons but with more flexibility to study a wide range of disciplines, including my eventual obsession – linguistics – plus a year working abroad. Whilst I had the grades to apply to Oxbridge, I didn’t consider it seriously. I was the first in my family to go to university and, despite being a confident teenager, I didn’t feel ready to live away from home. At Queen Mary I had the best of both worlds. A highly regarded Russell Group university close to home (I’m an East London girl), a faculty that was home to stellar tutors and alumni who went on to fabulous careers. I received an unconditional offer and the decision was made. It was definitely the right decision!

Looking back at your time at Queen Mary, what experiences or memories stand out most?

The year spent teaching English in a French lycée (high school) in Orléans was unforgettable. It was my first time living away from home and my cancer treatment was finished. It felt like the world was opening up in such an exciting way.  I will never forget my tutor, Caroline Bailey, from the French department, who supported me through an exceptionally tough first year at university. She arranged to invigilate some of my exams wearing a full hazmat, astronaut-style PPE suit in the isolation unit of the Royal London hospital where I was an in-patient for some weeks due to having no immune system after chemo and radiotherapy. It was mostly thanks to Caroline that I didn’t drop out of my course altogether at that point. Winning the Prix de l’Ambassade de France for my degree dissertation (17,000 words on the legend and politics of Joan of Arc) and graduating with First Class Honours, top of my year, are proud memories. As well as working hard, I put this success down to the rigorous yet supportive academic environment at Queen Mary, where ambition, determination and self-confidence were very much fostered. 

It felt like the world was opening up in such an exciting way.

When did you realise you wanted to pursue a career in television news and presenting?

I would have been in my mid-teens when I first realised I was drawn to TV news. My mother was a news obsessive, one of the few times the TV was on in our house, so it started there, but becoming a journalist seemed like a pie-in-the-sky idea, something that would never happen. A useless careers advisor at school had suggested I be a dentist. It was a patently ludicrous idea, so I focused on what I was good at – languages. With top A-Level results in French and German, it felt realistic to study modern languages at university and become an interpreter, perhaps working at the UN or the European Commission one day. By the time I graduated I knew it was journalism, specifically TV news, specifically Channel 4 News that I wanted to pursue. 

How did your university experience prepare you for a career in journalism?

The atmosphere I recall was one in which students were encouraged to believe there was no obstacle to pursuing any path we chose. This mindset certainly helped me make my way into journalism and land my dream job. I didn’t succeed at my early attempt to get into the BBC on a journalist trainee scheme – unlike the other applicants, I hadn’t written for or edited any student magazine at university. So, I accepted a job in a technology consultancy, a role that involved research and writing pieces for an industry journal. For four years I saved hard and volunteered as a hospital radio newsreader and producer (up the road from Queen Mary at the Royal London Hospital) and then did a journalism diploma before starting my TV news career at ITN.

You became the UK’s first mixed-race female newsreader at a time when television newsrooms were far less diverse. What challenges did you face entering the industry?

My idol had always been Zeinab Badawi on Channel 4 News, one of the few women of colour in news at the time. But how to get there? I didn’t know any journalists, I had zero connections and no mentors. The most disheartening moment was seeing all four interviewers’ jaws drop and interest evaporate when I walked into an interview for a BBC regional journalist trainee position straight after getting my diploma. I think they assumed Bridgid Nzekwu was an Irish-Polish name. They made it as clear as day that I was not what they were looking for. ITN took a more inclusive approach. Arriving at Grays Inn Road (1997) after securing my first TV news producer role on The Big Breakfast News, I was super aware of the icons in the building - Trevor McDonald on ITV and Zeinab Badawi still on Channel 4 News.  I believed I could follow in their footsteps but it was challenging. While representation onscreen was becoming more diverse, the people hiring, managing newsrooms and editing programmes were not from these backgrounds. Moving from the Big Breakfast News to Channel 4 News, I discovered all the producers were graduates and all, except me, had Oxbridge degrees. It took hard work, patience, resilience but also some great editors (Peter Barron, Lea Sellers) to believe in me and give me the opportunities that eventually helped me become a specialist reporter and anchor.

Your career has spanned reporting, presenting, communications and media training. How have those different roles shaped your approach to communication and leadership?

The golden thread running through these roles is storytelling – the skill of knowing how to understand and engage audiences. Whether it’s a print article, a TV script, a press release, a social media post, a blog, a speech or a panel discussion, it’s about communicating in a way that is relevant and relatable to those reading, listening, scrolling or watching.  After 13 years in journalism, I moved into communications and soon realised my penchant for training started way before I was a journalist. As well as teaching English to secondary school students during my university year abroad in France, I had also taught business English to economics students at the Université d'Orléans. In my latter years at Channel 4 News, I mentored young producers and taught many how to write scripts. On leaving full-time journalism for commercial roles, I focused on media training for spokespeople. I’m now in a leadership role, Managing Director at PA Media Academy which trains journalists, communications apprentices and communications professionals at mid and senior levels.  It’s a commercial and people-leader role that requires resilience, confidence, advanced communication skills and an understanding of people that I’ve gained in all my previous roles.

What moments or achievements in your career are you most proud of and why?

• Presenting Channel 4 News alongside the legendary Jon Snow for 10 years, just like the great Zeinab Badawi once did
• Featuring in the “Best of Young British” 2001 feature in New Statesman, alongside David Lammy, David Miliband, George Osborne and others
• Nominations and commendations for my journalism, including Finalist at the 2009 Business Reporter of the Year awards
• Presenting news for the BBC in 2023 (this was 26 years after that awful BBC interview panel mentioned above)
• Being named Outstanding Woman in Professional Services at the 2018 Precious Awards
• In 2024 being appointed Managing Director of PA Media Academy, the training business of the UK and Ireland’s national news agency

These experiences have taught me to be resilient, to feel supremely fortunate to be alive, to make the most of new opportunities and to find joy in everyday life.

You’ve spoken openly about overcoming serious health challenges. How have those experiences shaped your outlook on life and work?

The amazing, precious NHS has saved my life 3 times. With its help I have survived teenage cancer (Hodgkin Lymphoma), breast cancer in 2012 and most recently 10-hour open heart surgery in 2022 to treat life-threatening radiation damage caused by the radiotherapy I underwent 30 years before. These experiences have taught me to be resilient, to feel supremely fortunate to be alive, to make the most of new opportunities and to find joy in everyday life. After facing life-threatening situations, you can’t help but have a changed perspective on what really matters and what really is, or is not, something to worry about. Since leaving full-time journalism in 2010, I’ve worked part-time, making sure there’s time for rest and wellbeing. My challenge now is to maintain that healthy balance in a more senior, more demanding commercial role.

 As Managing Director of PA Media Academy, what changes in the media industry excite you most and what concerns you?

I have the privilege of seeing some of the best and most exciting new talent in journalism coming into the industry. They are full of ideas, energy, ambition and infectious positivity, learning their craft under the tutelage of highly experienced journalists who are now devoting themselves to training the next generation of the Fourth Estate.  Never has this work been more important.  

Trust in news media has sadly fallen from the heights the industry enjoyed when I first entered a newsroom in 1997. Society and democracy are threatened by ubiquitous misinformation and disinformation and the seemingly unstoppable rise of fake AI-generated content. These present an immense challenge to journalism but there is undoubtedly an opportunity for reputable, trusted, honourable, ethical journalism to stand out and call out and hold power to account.  Every day I encounter our students, I feel confident that the media industry will prevail.

There is undoubtedly an opportunity for reputable, trusted, honourable, ethical journalism to stand out and hold power to account.

What advice would you give to current students who are still figuring out their career path?

It’s important to know that there’s no need to panic or feel disappointed if you haven’t yet figured out your career. There are so many paths to a fulfilling, rewarding working life and most working lives don’t involve a single job for life. Change is challenging but you should expect and embrace it.  One of the most helpful steps is to consider one’s aptitudes and what one does and doesn’t enjoy or find interesting.  In a life span that might last 100 years, like the great Sir David Attenborough, why shouldn’t one enjoy several careers, as he has done? In my case, I’m in my fifth career iteration since leaving university: first new media technology consultant, then TV journalist, then freelance communications consultant, then media trainer and now Managing Director of a business.  On a recent episode of the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase was asked whether it’s worth going to university at all, given the debt-free alternative of apprenticeships and the rise of AI. He said what matters is the skills acquired at university, not necessarily the certificate. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve hired several staff over the last two years and the people who stood out had key things in common:

1. They did not use AI to write their CV and covering letter (AI-generated applications were totally obvious, all read the same and were instantly binned)
2. They had excellent soft skills – good communicators, able to get on with others and collaborate
3. They showed humility and willingness to learn, despite their achievements/grades/experience

Yes, it’s valuable to have good qualifications but these are by no means the only (or most critical) deciding factor to build a successful career.  I would counsel any student at any stage to think about the importance of communications skills (a superpower in my opinion), resilience, interpersonal skills and adaptability as these are prized in all workplaces and are necessary strengths for a successful career in any field. To anyone wanting to become a journalist, all this absolutely applies, as it’s a competitive, demanding but rewarding career that is not for the faint-hearted. There are many paths but there is also one essential qualification for both graduate and non-graduate aspiring journalists, namely the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism.  This 5-month (or 10-month part-time) course teaches skills not found on many journalism degrees that are essential for an entry-level newsroom job. If any QM student would like to know more, I’m happy to connect and give advice.