Not to be confused with Jenny Buckley.

Ginny Buckley
Born (1968-04-01) 1 April 1968 (age 56)
Rochdale, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationJournalist

Virginia Louise Buckley[1][2] (born 1 April 1968 in Rochdale)[3][4][5] is a British journalist, radio and television presenter.

Early life

Buckley was born and brought up in Rochdale, England,[6] before moving to Australia at the age of 18.

She started her career early, appearing regularly from the age of 12 for BBC local radio in Manchester, where she presented a children's radio programme. At the age of 12 she appeared on the BBC children's programme Multi-Coloured Swap Shop,[7] where she interviewed Noel Edmonds, David Bellamy and the pop group Sad Café.[citation needed][8]

Buckley also worked as an actress appearing in numerous plays for BBC Radio and studied Performance Arts and Media Studies at Oldham's Grange Arts Centre.[citation needed]

Broadcasting career

At the age of 18, Buckley moved to Australia; she lived in Sydney and worked for several years in commercial radio.[7] She worked as a junior in the newsroom at 2UW and later at Triple M, first in the news room and then as a producer for the show Club Veg.

She went on to become a reporter for the children's television program C'mon Kids for the Nine Network in Australia during its 1990-1991 incarnation.

In 1991, after returning to England, Buckley was a co-presenter with Ross King on the BBC TV Children's game show "The Wetter The Better" recorded at the Sandcastle Leisure Centre in Blackpool. She worked for Granada Television in Manchester, where she was a reporter on the regional news programme Granada Tonight.[9] She also presented ITV's Bodycheck[9] and Taste for Travel.

In 2001, Buckley joined the BBC One travel programme Holiday first as a reporter and later as the main anchor, following on from Craig Doyle.[10] She left in 2005 when she was replaced by Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen.[2] She also presented the BBC One spin-off programme Holiday 10 Best.

Buckley returned to her news background in 2005 when she joined Sky News[2][9] (2005–07), anchoring their afternoon output. In a memorable blooper during her time at Sky, she mistakenly introduced playwright Harold Pinter as "Howard Pintus", saying that he was joining her in the studio, then correcting herself to announce that he had died. He had in fact won the Nobel Prize in Literature.[11]

Buckley has also presented a BBC Two documentary on the environmental impact of travel, entitled Should I Really Give Up Flying[12] and regularly presents the flagship ITV1 Current Affairs programme Tonight.[13][14]

In June 2010, she co-hosted Crimewatch Roadshow on BBC One alongside Rav Wilding.[6]

For three years she was presenter of the internet car review site, Carbuyer and appeared in weekly car review videos for Carbuyer's YouTube channel alongside journalist and presenter Mat Watson and then James Batchelor[15][circular reference]

In 2014 she joined the reporting team for the consumer programme Watchdog on BBC One[16] and in 2015 became one of the presenters on the BBC's Escape to the Country.[17]

Buckley became the Founder and CEO of Electrifying.com - a multi-channel media platform fronted by three TV presenters and journalists: founder Ginny Buckley, Nicki Shields and Tom Ford. It was launched in March 2020 after assembling a team of electric and alternatively fuelled vehicle experts with decades of years of experience in the automotive sector for consumers seeking jargon-free advice about the switch to electric cars.[18]

In August 2022, Buckley presented Channel 4's Dispatches: Why Is My Car So Expensive?, where she reported on the rising cost of used and new car prices.[19]

In January 2023, Buckley looked into the pros and cons of owning and operating an electric vehicle in an episode of Tonight called Your Car: Time to Switch?[20]

In May 2023, Buckley presented an episode of Tonight called All-Inclusive Holidays: Unpacked, in which she investigates the popularity of all-inclusive holidays.[21]

Acting

Buckley made her television acting debut in 2008, playing a newsreader on The Bill.

Writing

Buckley went on to write regularly about cars and transport for many national newspapers and magazines and became the first female motoring editor of a national newspaper when she took on the role at the News of the World.[9][22]

In January 2015 Buckley was announced as the new Motoring Editor for Good Housekeeping magazine in the UK.[23] Buckley is a Juror for World Car of the Year Awards (WCOTY).[24]

Personal life

Buckley lives in Shiplake[25] and is a mother of one.[6] She is a supporter of Manchester United, and is a trustee of the club's charity, the Manchester United Foundation.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Virginia Louise Buckley". FreeBMD. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Wylie, Ian (15 June 2005). "Sky's the limit for Holiday girl". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media.
  3. ^ "Virginia Buckley". Companies House. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Ginny Buckley". Celebwings.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Buckley, Rochdale Hall of Fame » Rochdale TownTalk". Rochdale.towntalk.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Rav Wilding to be joined by Ginny Buckley for Crimewatch Roadshow on BBC One Daytime BBC Press Office, 30 April 2010
  7. ^ a b "Buckley lands 'dream job' on Holiday - Press Gazette". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Buckley lands 'dream job' on Holiday | Press Gazette". Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d Sky News strengthens presenting team Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Sky Press Office, 10 June 2005
  10. ^ Barrett, Patrick (10 May 2004). "NoW's Buckley to host Holiday Programme". MediaGuardian. London: Guardian News and Media.
  11. ^ "Pinter left 'speechless' after winning Nobel Prize at 75". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Up and away?". BBC News. 21 December 2006.
  13. ^ "Escape to the Country star Ginny Buckley: everything you need to know about presenter". HELLO!. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  14. ^ We love factual - Holiday Horrors Unpackaged: Tonight, ITV1, 8pm Mirror, 16 January 2009
  15. ^ Carbuyer
  16. ^ "Ginny Buckley - Watchdog report". Vimeo.com. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Escape to the Country - what time is it on TV? Episode 4 Series 16 cast list and preview". Radiotimes.com. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Meet the Team | Electrifying".
  19. ^ "Dispatches: Why Is My Car So Expensive?". channel4.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Your Car: Time to Switch?". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Episode 13: All-Inclusive Holidays: Unpacked - Tonight". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  22. ^ Ginny Buckley Bags A Nissan 350Z Roadster Car Pages, 20 October 2004
  23. ^ "Sexist showrooms put women off car buying". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  24. ^ "World Car Awards - 2023 Jurors". Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Climate bill can help save planet, says TV presenter". www.henleystandard.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Manchester United Foundation - Engage. Inspire. Unite". Mufoundation.org. Retrieved 27 December 2016.

External links