Last week was a huge week for me. I made my presenting debut. Doing that has been something I’ve dreamed about for so many years, but I certainly never thought I would be lucky enough to be given the opportunity whilst I was still in my twenties!
I’ll have been at GB News for two years this August, and getting to be their North West reporter is something I’m incredibly proud of. It’s where I was born, it’s where my family are and it’s somewhere I truly feel at home. More than that, I love the people in the North West - they’re some of the loveliest in the world, in my humble opinion - and it’s truly such a privilege to report from there on a daily basis.
However, when I got the phone call asking me to try my hand at presenting, I have to admit, I was incredibly excited. It would be a new challenge, and it would be a huge goal of mine that I would have achieved.
So, yesterday morning, I boarded a train and made my way down to our studio in London. It was an early start as I needed to be there by around half past eight to start having meetings with the Good Afternoon Britain team.
By the time I’d arrived, I was incredibly excited, but the nerves had also started to set in. I like to think of myself as someone that doesn’t really suffer much with being nervous, but this was the biggest step of my career, and there was no room for error. Especially given that the UK is about to have a General Election and politics would very much be the topic of the day - no pressure!
Sophie Reaper and Tom Harwood speaking to Martin Daubney
GB News
After the meetings, I headed into hair and make up - which was such a relaxing experience, I almost forgot that I would be presenting the national news a couple of hours later! Once that was all done, we started going through scripts and I had the chance to ask any questions. And then it was time!
The first task was to head into the studio around half past 11 to do a “tease” to our programme with Nana Akua and Michael Portillo. They were so welcoming and that really helped to settle my nerves.
Then, at 12 o’clock on the dot, our programme began.
At this point, I have to express my gratitude to team I had around me: the director, the producers, the floor manager - they were all so brilliant. But the two people I need to thank most are the programme’s Senior Producer - Tom - and my excellent co-presenter for the day, Tom Harwood.
They made sure I was always comfortable, they asked me for my opinions on which stories we covered, and, once I’d found my feet, they encouraged me to be myself and really get into the presenter role.
The three hours absolutely flew by, and despite only a couple of *hitches* - which let’s be honest, are absolutely to be expected with live TV anyway - I was so proud of what we did. We talked about the politics of the day (both UK and US), but also mortgages, Jay Slater, Glastonbury and the Euros, to name just a few topics. So, no wonder the time went by so quick!
I cannot thank GB News enough for giving me this opportunity - and who knows, maybe I’ll be back in the studio sooner than you think!
