RANVIR Singh has already been a familiar face on news media as a presenter and political editor for ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Her public prominence ascended to a whole new level onceshe joined BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing last year, which took her all the way to the semi finals.
The 43-year-old left the dance show bathed in a new-found love and respect from her admirers. Paired with professional partner Giovanni Pernice, she wowed both the judges and viewers with her fancy footwork, as she uncovered hitherto undiscovered talents, notably in the ballroom dances.
Her engaging, modest, and down-to-earth personality particularly played a big part in endearing her to millions of viewers.
The show has also put a spotlight on the determination and positivity that this true ‘Lancashire lass’ has been exhibiting since childhood.
Born in Preston into a Sikh family, she lost her father at an early age. She was able to secure a place in a private school in Kirkham, thanks to a government scholarship. Her determination to justify the faith put in her would pave the way for her subsequent success.
Singh’s career as a journalist has already been on an upward trajectory, but the success on Strictly propelled her to become one of the highest paid presenters on ITV, with the channel reportedly offering a deal ‘as good as a golden handcuffs’ to extend her contract, which would see her hosting a variety of programmes across the channel.
Before joining ITV in 2012, Singh spent 12 years at the BBC where she was a producer, reporter and presenter on both regional and national radio and television. She made her name as the anchor of the much-loved regional news programme North West Tonight, alongside the legendary Gordon Burns. She co-presented the show for nearly five years and in 2010 was awarded ‘Best On Screen Talent’ at the Royal Television Society’s North West Awards.
Her reportage for Good Morning Britain saw her travelling around the world onboard the RAF Voyager with the prime minister, as well as to the slums of Sierra Leone. She was the first to report on the refugee crisis on the Macedonia/ Serbian border and has received much acclaim for her sensitive live reporting from the ground, whether it’s the Grenfell Tower fire or the Westminster attack.
She has won the prestigious Golden Nymph Award in the ‘Live Breaking News’ category at the 59th Monte Carlo Television Awards in 2019 for the coverage of the 2018 attack.
Singh, who was presenting the show that day, came in for praise from judges who applauded her ‘ability to strike the perfect tone of urgency, without being alarmist and guiding viewers with a balance of fact and speculation.’
The coronavirus crisis has seen Singh bringing the journalistic principles of fact-checking on social media, fronting #AskRanvir for GMB online. The campaign providing clear, concise information about the latest updates and guidelines from the government has generated 1.2 million impressions across GMB’s social media channels, attesting to her popularity online. She has also fronted several ITV primetime factual series, including Eat, Shop, Save, Real Stories with Ranvir Singh and All Around Britain.
Educated at Lancaster University, where she studied English and philosophy, she returned to Preston to complete a postgraduate qualification in journalism. A true ‘Lancashire lass’, she keeps her connection to her roots alive, serving since 2017 as the chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire, her alma mater.
