Sophy Ridge

Last updated

Sophy Ridge
Sophyridge.jpg
Ridge in 2012
Born
Sophy Arabella Ridge

(1984-10-17) 17 October 1984 (age 39) [1]
London, England
Alma mater St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • presenter
Children2

Sophy Ridge (born 17 October 1984) is an English broadcast journalist who has worked for Sky News since 2011.

Contents

Born in London, Ridge studied English Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, before working for the tabloid newspaper News of the World . She left the newspaper to join Sky News as a political correspondent in 2011. Six years later, she started hosting her own politics show on the channel, Sophy Ridge on Sunday .

Early life

Ridge was born on 17 October 1984 in Richmond upon Thames, London. [1] Both her parents are teachers. Ridge has one younger brother. [1] Her secondary education was at the selective grammar Tiffin Girls' School in London. During her time there, she did work experience at the local newspaper, the Richmond and Twickenham Times . [1]

She continued her education at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and obtained a second-class BA degree in English Literature. [1] [2] During her final year of university she did a period of work experience at the tabloid newspaper News of the World , which led to a position on their graduate training programme. [1]

Career

After graduation in 2006, Ridge was a trainee reporter at the tabloid newspaper News of the World. [3] After completion of her training programmes she initially worked as a consumer affairs correspondent in 2009. She then gained a job as a political correspondent on Sky News in 2011. [2] [4]

During her time there she covered a broad range of political stories and travelled with the Prime Minister to Afghanistan, New York and Brazil. She was based in Colorado for the channel's coverage of the US elections and was known for her round the clock broadcasting at the annual party conferences.

Ridge covered the 2015 general election as a senior political correspondent for Sky News, reporting on the Labour Party's campaign and conducting interviews with party members. Her exclusives during this time included Ed Miliband's resignation as leader of the Labour Party following the result of that general election and Jeremy Corbyn's victory in the subsequent Labour Party leadership election. [1]

In 2017 Ridge became the host of her own show, Sophy Ridge on Sunday. [4] [5] In the same year Ridge released her first book The Women Who Shaped Politics, a non-fiction book which discussed women's contribution to British politics. [6] She also started writing columns in the tabloid newspaper Metro . [7]

In 2022, she launched The Take with Sophy Ridge, a 30-minute discussion show based on the interviews that had featured in that week's edition.

She continued to present both programmes until July 2023 when it was announced that, from September 2023, she would present a new weeknight political programme for Sky News called Politics Hub. [8]

Awards

Ridge won the MHP Communications 30 to Watch award in 2012, and was shortlisted as Young Journalist of the Year in the Royal Television Society Awards in 2013. [9] [10] In 2016, she won an award for Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the Words by Women awards. [11]

Personal life

Ridge married Ben Griffiths, a journalist for the Daily Mirror , in 2014. [12] They have two children. [13] [14] [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sophy Ridge, the woman changing on-screen politics". Royal Television Society . June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Sophy Ridge". St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Saner, Emine (19 February 2017). "Sky's Sophy Ridge: 'We're at a tipping point with women in politics'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 Sweney, Mark (16 November 2016). "Sophy Ridge to host new Sunday morning show on Sky News". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Sky News Launches New Show, Sophy Ridge on Sunday". Sky. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Simpson, Keith (24 April 2017). "Book review: The Women Who Shaped Politics". Total Politics. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Final Sophy Ridge on Sunday this weekend – Politics Hub starts on September". TV Newsroom. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "MHP announces the winners of the inaugural MHP 30 to Watch – recognising the most talented young journalist stars of the future". MHP Communications. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "RTS Announces Winners For Television Journalism Awards 2013". Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Belam, Martin (22 March 2016). "Words By Women awards make their mark with celebration of solidarity". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Homewood Herald July–August 2014 Web Edition" (PDF). Homewood Road United Reformed Church St. Albans. p. 2. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  13. ↑ @sophyridgesky (1 October 2017). "I'm on maternity leave – you're in the capable hands of @skynewsniall" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Otter, Saffron (16 May 2021). "Sky News announces Sophy Ridge on Sunday replacement as she goes on maternity leave". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sky News announces new weekly topical shows with hosts Sophy Ridge, Trevor Phillips and Beth Rigby". Sky News. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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