Career
After leaving print media, Ackroyd switched to broadcasting and joined the news team of local radio station Pennine Radio in Bradford (now The Pulse of West Yorkshire). She later moved to neighbouring Radio Aire in Leeds, becoming the United Kingdom"s first female radio news editor in 1981. She later became the station"s programme controller, often presenting some weekend shows herself, until her departure in 1990.
Ackroyd switched to television and became a co-anchor for Yorkshire Television"s regional news programme Calendar in 1990, alongside Richard Whiteley, and later, Mike Morris.
In September 2001, she switched to the British Broadcasting Corporation to present the Leeds-based edition of Look North with Harry Gration. Departure from the British Broadcasting Corporation
Ackroyd last presented Look North on 1 March 2013.
Several weeks later, a Yorkshire Post article questioned her absence from the programme and whether her salary, reported to be around £150,000 per year, was justified. The British Broadcasting Corporation declined to explain her prolonged absence, citing unspecified "editorial reasons".
Shipley Member of Parliament Philip Davies called for the Corporation to explain whether Ackroyd was still being paid despite her ongoing absence.
In July 2013, the British Broadcasting Corporation announced that Ackroyd had been dismissed by the Corporation after twelve years after what was considered to be an unspecified "breach of contract" and would not return to present Look North. Ackroyd"s freelance contract was terminated without compensation. The same month, it was also revealed that an investigation into Ackroyd"s tax arrangements was underway.