Louise Minchin Biography

Louise Minchin was born in Hong Kong to a British Army Officer on September 8, 1969. Her father served as a Major in the Irish Guards regiment. She was originally named Louise Mary Grayson.

She completed her primary education at St Mary’s School,  Ascot, Berkshire, England. Minchin later earned a degree in Spanish from the University of St. Andrews. Thereafter, she pursued journalism at the London College of Communication.

Minchin grabbed the limelight after joining ‘BBC Radio Live’ in 1998, a national radio initiative of the British Broadcasting Television.

After working with the channel for five years, Minchin was promoted as a news presenter. She appeared on the BBC as a news presenter between 7PM to 10PM for a long time. Most of these news channel appearances were co-hosted by another famous British journalist Jon Sapel.

Minchin is known for her contribution to the show BBC Breakfast. The opportunity to host the show came in 2006, during the regular presenter Sian Williams’ absence. Minchin co-hosted the show along with Kate Silverton, and continued being a part of the show even after Williams return.

In 2008, Minchin was chosen to host the show Missing Live. The show was aired for four weeks during the first experiment. The show was telecast again during the next two years, both these seasons lasted four weeks each.

Minchin was given another new assignment in 2008. She was asked to host the show Sunday Live on BBC One, along with news reporter Colin Jackson.

Her shift was changed after she had worked as a regular News presenter in the 7PM slot for almost nine years. Minchin then started appearing on live television between 2PM to 5PM, which was co-hosted by Emily Maitlis. She is also well-known amongst viewers of the channel for hosting numerous episodes of shows, such as Breakfast and Drive.

Minchin on several occasions also hosted the show BBC News At One, an afternoon news bulletin. She had appeared as a substitute on this show, which is mostly hosted by Sophie Raworth and Kate Silverton.

She hosted several episodes of The One Show in 2010, as a relief presenter. Minchin was also busy with episodes of BBC Breakfast’ during the same year.

Minchin collaborated with famous Rugby player and television presenter Gethin Jones for the documentary series Crime and Punishment. The show was first aired in 2012. The same year, Minchin hosted the ‘5 Live’ show named Drive, replacing the original host Aasmah Mir.

Though Minchin  hosted hundreds of episodes as a news presenter, she is most remembered for being an anchor of the  BBC Breakfast. She has been associated with the show for almost a decade since 2006.

In June 2021, Louise Minchin announced about her decision to leave BBC Breakfast after presenting the show for 20 years. She hosted the show for the final time on September 15, 2021.