Sean Rafferty MBE (born 1947, [1] [2] [3] Belfast) is a Northern Irish broadcaster, known for his work on BBC Radio 3.
Sean Rafferty MBE (born 1947, [1] [2] [3] Belfast) is a Northern Irish broadcaster, known for his work on BBC Radio 3.
Rafferty was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and spent his childhood in Newcastle, County Down, as an adopted child. [2] He went on to study law at Queen's University, Belfast. [4]
Rafferty's original career was as an accountant. [4] In 1969, he met the head of BBC Northern Ireland at a conference. This meeting led to Rafferty joining the BBC as a researcher. [5]
Rafferty became a regular presenter on the BBC Northern Ireland news television programmes, Scene Around Six and Inside Ulster. In 1990, he fronted the first chat show on BBC Radio Ulster, entitled Rafferty. From 1994, he joined the morning radio news programme, Good Morning Ulster , and the arts programme 29 Bedford Street, and the following year, he launched the drivetime news and current affairs programme on Radio Ulster, Evening Extra . [1] Rafferty also fronted a makeover show, Room for Improvement. [5]
After years working mainly in news and current affairs, Rafferty decided to cross over into arts broadcasting. In 1997, he moved to London to present the drivetime music magazine programme on BBC Radio 3, In Tune , [1] featuring a mix of live and recorded classical and jazz music, interviews with musicians, and arts news. [6] In June 2024, at the behest of the recently appointed Controller of Radio 3, Sam Jackson, [3] BBC announced a series of planned presenter changes at Radio 3, including the scheduled retirement of Rafferty from In Tune in April 2025. [7] Rafferty continued to serve as principal presenter of In Tune until his final show on 6 December 2024, [8] after a decision to depart earlier than the previously announced time of April 2025.
In 2004, Rafferty was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. [9]
Rafferty was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. [10]
BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
BBC Newsline is the BBC's national television news programme for Northern Ireland, broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland from the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland in Ormeau Avenue, Belfast.
BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Irish national radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4.
Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022.
Gerard Michael Anderson was a radio and television broadcaster for BBC Northern Ireland. Renowned for his unique style and distinctive sense of humour, Anderson often referred to himself on his show, as "Turkey Neck", "Puppet Chin" or "Golf Mike Alpha".
Noel Thompson is a Northern Irish news journalist with BBC Northern Ireland. He was part of the presenting team for BBC Radio Ulster's flagship morning programme Good Morning Ulster.
Mark Carruthers OBE is a Northern Irish journalist. He currently presents a number of television and radio programmes for BBC Northern Ireland.
Stephen Raymond Nolan is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland. In the 2023–2024 financial year he earned a salary in the range of £405,000-£409,999 for his work on BBC Radio Ulster, Nolan Live on BBC One and The Stephen Nolan Show on Radio 5 Live.
Eamonn Holmes is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist. He co-presented the breakfast television show GMTV (1993–2005) for ITV, before presenting Sunrise (2005–2016) for Sky News. Holmes co-presented ITV's This Morning (2006–2021) with his wife Ruth Langsford on Fridays and during the school holidays. In January 2022, he joined GB News to present its breakfast programme alongside Isabel Webster. He has also presented How the Other Half Lives (2015–2019) and It's Not Me, It's You (2016) for Channel 5.
Wendy Elizabeth Austin Hewitt is a former BBC journalist and broadcaster in BBC Northern Ireland, and former presenter of BBC Radio Ulster's current affairs programme Talkback.
Paul Thompson Clark MBE is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist. He is currently a presenter and reporter for UTV Live.
Pamela Ballantine MBE is a freelance Northern Irish television presenter, best known for her 27-year career at UTV.
John Alexander Fullerton, MBE is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist, who was a reporter and football commentator for BBC Northern Ireland until he retired in 2016. However, he made a return in 2020 to commentate on Ballymena United matches for their live streaming services while no fans were in attendance due to COVID-19.
George Jones is a musician and former radio and TV personality from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Gerald "Gerry" Kelly is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist, best known for his presenting career at UTV where he presented the Friday night talk and variety show Kelly from 1989 until 2005.
Evening Extra is the BBC's drive time news and current affairs radio programme in Northern Ireland. It is broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Foyle and BBC Sounds on weekday evenings, from 4pm to 6pm. It is presented by Richard Morgan, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey. The programme provides a daily round-up of the day's main news and sports stories, as well as the latest breaking news.
Linda McAuley,, was formerly a presenter for the BBC Radio Ulster consumer advice programme On Your Behalf.
David Gerard (Davy) Sims is a broadcaster, writer and communications consultant from Northern Ireland. He lives in Holywood, County Down was educated St. Patrick's College, Knock.
John "Sean" Coyle is a Northern Irish radio broadcaster from Derry, Northern Ireland who, until 2019, worked for BBC Northern Ireland on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle, hosting The Sean Coyle Show from 10:30am - Noon, Monday to Friday from the Foyle Studios on the Northland Road,
In Tune is a British music magazine programme on BBC Radio 3. It is broadcast in the weekday evening "drive time" slot and features a mix of live and recorded classical and jazz music, interviews with musicians, and arts news. It is billed as "Radio 3's flagship early evening music programme".
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
