Julia Somerville | |
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Born | Julia Mary Fownes Somerville 14 July 1947 |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, newsreader |
Years active | 1972–present |
Notable credit(s) | BBC Nine O'Clock News ITV Lunchtime News ITV News at Ten Rip Off Britain |
Spouses | Stephen Band (m. 1970–1975)Ray Gowdridge (m. 1984–1992) |
Partner | Jeremy Dixon |
Children | 2 |
Julia Mary Fownes Somerville OBE (born 14 July 1947) is an English television news reader and reporter who has worked for the BBC and Independent Television News (ITN). She began her journalistic career with magazine publisher IPC and edited a computer group house magazine ITT Creed. Somerville joined the BBC as a radio news sub-editor in 1972 and became Labour Affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4 in 1981 before co-presenting the BBC Nine O'Clock News bulletin from 1984 to 1987.
She joined ITN in 1987 as the reader of the ITN News at 12:30 lunchtime bulletin before becoming a co-presenter of News at Ten in 1989. Somerville co-presented News at Ten's short-lived analyst segment Focus on Britain in late 1992 until it was dropped from the bulletin. She presented the Yorkshire Television current affairs programme 3D from 1993 to 1998. Somerville left ITN in 2001 and rejoined the BBC in 2010 and co-presents Rip Off Britain.