Background
Franks was born on 14 May 1968 in Moseley, Birmingham.
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Tim Franks
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Education
He was educated at King Edward"s School, Birmingham, and at Wadham College, Oxford University, where he graduated with a 2:1 (BAHons) in Oriental Studies (Chinese).
Career
He also, from time to time, presents Hardtalk on British Broadcasting Corporation World News, and documentaries across British Broadcasting Corporation television and radio. He was previously an award-winning foreign correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation.
He joined the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1990, as a World Service Production Trainee, and spent five years as a producer, reporter and part-time presenter. In 1995, he was appointed World Service Political Reporter, based at Westminster, and then World Service Political Correspondent in 1997.
He covered not just British politics but events in Northern Ireland, including the breakdown of the Ireland Republican Army ceasefire in 1996, civil disorder over the Parades in Northern Ireland, and the Good Friday Agreement.
In 1999, he became a political correspondent for domestic British Broadcasting Corporation television and radio, including a spell as the political correspondent for Today. He also started presenting, from time to time, The World at One and contributing to the arts pages of the New Statesman magazine.
In 2001, Franks became a British Broadcasting Corporation Foreign Correspondent. His first posting was to Washington, in the six months after the September 11 attacks.
In March 2002 he began a five-year tour of duty as Europe Correspondent, based in Brussels.
He reported from across Europe, as well as from Iraq during the war of 2003. In 2004, his training for the London marathon coincided with a month spent in Baghdad. He was also, during this time, used as an occasional presenter on the Today programme.
In 2007, he was appointed British Broadcasting Corporation Middle East Correspondent, based in Jerusalem.
Franks"s appointment was rumoured to have been influenced by the former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He broadcast across the region, but with a particular focus on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
His 2008 television report about witnessing a deadly attack in Jerusalem drew complaints from the public for its graphic nature. Through his three and a half years in the region, Franks kept a diary, which the British Broadcasting Corporation regularly published.
In 2010, he returned to London, to take up a role as British Broadcasting Corporation Sports Correspondent – a position he combined with occasional presenting on Newshour on British Broadcasting Corporation World Service, Hardtalk on British Broadcasting Corporation World News, and radio documentaries.
In December 2012, his reports for Newshour on the activities of the Greek far right made headlines in Greece. In May 2013, he joined Newshour full-time, as the main evening presenter. He continues to present Hardtalk from time to time, along with documentaries on television and radio.
In November 2013, Franks secured the first broadcast interview with the former cyclist Lance Armstrong since Armstrong"s confession, ten months earlier to Oprah Winfrey, that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.
Achievements
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Born
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Nationality
United Kingdom