Journalism career
Husain gained her first experience in journalism at the age of 18, spending three months as a city reporter in Islamabad, Pakistan, at the English-language newspaper The News . Then, while at university, she did several stints at the BBC as work experience. [8]
Her first job was at Bloomberg Television in London in 1996, where she was a producer and sometime presenter. Two years later, in 1998, she joined the BBC as a junior producer in the newsroom and for the News 24 channel, and then in the Economics and Business Unit. Within a few months, she moved in front of the camera and has since worked in a variety of roles: on the daily Breakfast programme, on Asia Business Report (based in Singapore), and as a presenter of business news on both BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. From September 2002 she was the corporation's Washington correspondent, serving as the main news anchor through the buildup to the invasion of Iraq and during the war. She has interviewed many high-profile figures including Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, Paul Kagame and Emmerson Mnangagwa. [9]
On 8 May 2010, she published an autobiographical essay in The Independent based on a nostalgia trip to the UAE. [10] In 2011, Husain hosted Impact on BBC World News, but in the spring and summer of 2011 she was engaged in making a documentary on the Arab Spring, for airing in the autumn of 2011. She has presented the Sunday evening editions of the BBC Weekend News on BBC One. [7] On 2 December 2011, it was announced that Husain would be part of the BBC's Olympic Presenting team.
On 17 March 2013, she presented the last News at Ten to be broadcast from BBC Television Centre. On 16 July 2013, the BBC's Director-General Lord Hall announced that Husain was to become a presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme in the autumn. Husain presented her first edition of Today on 7 October 2013, when her co-presenter was John Humphrys. [11] On 7 November 2013, it was announced that Husain would be part of the BBC's Commonwealth Games Presenting team. [12] Husain was also an occasional relief presenter of the BBC News at Six and the weekday edition of the BBC News at Ten , as well as on the BBC News Channel during major breaking news stories. She has occasionally presented Newsnight on BBC Two.
Husain won the Broadcaster of the Year Award at the London Press Club Awards in 2015. [13]
In 2013, Husain interviewed the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi. During the intense exchange, "Kyi lost her cool following a tense interview". It was claimed Suu Kyi was heard muttering "no one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim". [14]
On 27 November 2017, Husain recorded an interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. [15]
In June 2024, during the lead up to the 2024 UK general election, Husain was selected to chair and referee two televised debates on the BBC. At the first debate, the leaders of the seven largest UK political parties were invited, whilst the second was a head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak, who was the UK Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party at the time, and Kier Starmer, leader of the Labour Party (and current Prime Minister). Husain commented that she "saw the role as a privilege". [16] Whilst both debates had considerable challenges, with Husain having to handle the latter being interrupted by protestors, about which she described as being another "aspect of our democracy”, [17] [18] Husain was praised for her handling of both debates, [19] [20] [21] with Tatler magazine describing Husain as 'the clear winner' of the debate and giving 'a masterclass in broadcasting', [20] and The Times newspaper describing the performance as 'stunning', speculating Husain had emerged as a rival to Clive Myrie for lead anchor for the channel, following the departure of Huw Edwards. [21]
In September 2024, Husain was criticised by some Jewish organisations who claimed the journalist failed to sufficiently challenge comments that they considered to be antisemitic during an interview on the BBC Today programme with the Iranian-American academic and political analyst Mohammad Marandi. Marandi had been specifically invited to be asked about the Iranian view of the Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip and any potential Iranian response, and the programme contained other interviews including those with Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner and US Diplomat Dennis Ross to get a broad perspective on the complex politics of the region. After the BBC reviewed the complaint, it issued a statement pointing out that “this was a live interview and he was challenged during the course of the interview, and the Israeli position was reflected," but on balance "however, we accept we should have continued to challenge his language throughout the interview.” [22]
In November 2024, it was announced that Husain would be leaving the BBC to join Bloomberg News, where she will be the editor-at-large of its Weekend Edition, and presenting an interview series. [23] Husain's final shift as Today co-presenter was on 17th December 2024, with several past and present Today presenters joining her in the studio to pay tribute.
Other work and awards
When the first series of Star Spell – a spin-off from Hard Spell that had only appeared before as a one-off episode – aired, Husain appeared as word pronouncer, replacing Nina Hossain. She continued in this role throughout the second series of Hard Spell. Husain appeared in a round of the BBC's Celebrity Mastermind in 2010, coming third out of four. Her specialised subject was the Narnia books of C. S. Lewis.
She is also one of the judges for the Amnesty International Media Awards. [7] [24] She featured on a show entitled Gandhi that was broadcast by the BBC in March 2012. She also featured as the morning anchor presenter on BBC One during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. [25]
Husain is an ambassador for the charity Mosaic, which helps young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. [26]
In January 2014, Husain was awarded the Services to Media award at the British Muslim Awards. [27]
Husain has written a book, The Skills, a guide for women on how to achieve their career goals. [28] It was published in 2018, and was described as "the ultimate handbook for women". [29]
In 2024, Husain published a memoir, Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence. It hit the Sunday Times Bestsellers Chart under General Hardbacks. [30]
In January 2025, Husain was elected as a Fellow of Kellogg College, University of Oxford. [31]
Personal life
In July 2003, Husain married Meekal Hashmi, a chief operating officer at an investment management firm. They have three children [8] [32] [33] and live in Camden, North London. [34]
Amid widespread condemnation of the killing of ISIL hostages in 2014, Husain voiced support for the use of social media to denounce its extremism. In an interview with the Radio Times , she urged Muslim scholars to use social media to condemn its attempt to use horrific videos to draw support in the West, from the leading British Islamic organisations. [35]
Husain, who was the first Muslim presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "I think the Not in My Name campaign is a very positive development because outrage is shared by all right-thinking people. I would really like to see much more of the counterpoint from a theological perspective, with scholars taking to social media to refute the awful arguments we see put forward in those videos." [36] [37]
