Sally Magnusson

Background

Sally Magnusson was born in 1955 and is the daughter of the late Icelandic broadcaster and writer Magnus Magnusson. Her mother, Mamie Baird, also worked as a journalist.

Education

Magnusson was educated at Laurel Bank School for Girls, a former independent school (which later merged with another independent school, The Park School, to form Laurel Park School, itself to merge in 2001 into Hutchesons" Grammar School) in the city of Glasgow, followed by the, where she studied English Language and Literature.

Career

She also presents Tracing Your Roots on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4 and is one of the main presenters of the long-running religious television program Songs of Praise. Magnusson started her career in journalism at the The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh and then the Sunday Standard in Glasgow. She is often seen on British Broadcasting Corporation television, most notably as a long-serving presenter of British Broadcasting Corporation Scotland"s Reporting Scotland news programme, a role she shares with Jackie Bird.

In the 1980s, Magnusson was a presenter on the British Broadcasting Corporation"s Breakfast Time.

In 1987 she was part of the Breakfast Time team, including Frank Bough, Jeremy Paxman and Peter Snow, which covered the results of the general election. From 1989 onwards, she co-presented the programme"s replacement, Breakfast News, initially with Laurie Mayer, and in later years, with Justin Webb.

Magnusson has presented many television programmes, ranging from Reporting Scotland to Panorama to Songs of Praise. In 2005 she joined British Broadcasting Corporation Two"s The Daily Politics as its Friday presenter.

In 2005 she presented the British Broadcasting Corporation"s Scottish Election Night coverage.

On 8 July 2009 Magnusson received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Life of Pee: The Story of How Urine Got Everywhere by Sally Magnusson (2010-10-25)
  • Horace and the Haggis Hunter (Horace the Haggis) by Sally Magnusson (2012-07-01)