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Bridgid Nzekwu has spent over 20 years at the top of British television news. She has been part of the Channel 4 and ITV News teams, presenting national bulletins as well as London programmes.
After battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Breast Cancer – resulting in a double mastectomy – years of hormone treatment and a 10 hour open heart operation, Bridgid Nzekwu is an advocate for physical and mental health and wellbeing and is well-placed to work as a keynote and motivational speaker on resilience. Entering a predominately white, male and Oxbridge-dominated industry such as the media newsroom could have been a barrier to her, but she forged on, becoming the UK’s first female mixed-race newsreader.
Bridgid Nzekwu is now a sought-after presenter, corporate host, panel chair, speaker and award-winning media trainer. She has worked with large corporations, SMEs, public sector bodies and industry groups. Bridgid completes detailed research on the client and the subject, before giving advice on content, as well as hosting virtual and live award ceremonies and interviews.
Bridgid Nzekwu received a first-class honours degree from the University of London in European Studies (French and German) in 1992, before receiving a postgraduate degree from the City, University of London in Broadcast Journalism in 1997. As the UK’s first mixed-race female newsreader in the late 90s, Bridgid was determined to not let her race hold her back.
She hit the ground running, and hasn’t looked back since, working in a number of positions for a range of large media companies. She’s worked as a publishing consultant and editor, a newsreader, anchor, reporter and producer for ITV, a news presenter for Channel 4, as well as a PR and Communications freelancer. She has been seen presenting for 5News and as the face of online news for Amnesty International.
During the credit crunch, early recession and financial crisis of 2008/2009, Bridgid led coverage of consumer, business and economic stories on Channel 4. For her efforts, she received a special commendation at the Personal Finance Awards in 2008, was a finalist in the 2009 Business Journalist of the Year Awards, and won – along with the rest of the team – the Best Personal Finance Programme award in 2009.
Bridgid has worked for PA Media (formerly known as the Press Association) since 2018, and is now their Director of Media Training. In 2018, she was named Outstanding Woman in Professional Services at the Precious Awards, which recognised her work as a specialist media trainer coaching high-profile spokespeople and PR/Comms teams in both the public and private sectors.
She is a specialist when it comes to coaching high-profile speakers, interviewees, keynote speeches and challenging Q&A panels. She provides her clients with training in media relationship management as well as crisis management.
For Bridgid, a positive outlook was one of the key ways she got through the frightening health scares she has experienced. She relied on a combination of family and friends, her faith, meditation and yoga, as well as her strong spirit she inherited from her late mother.
She has a particular interest in physical health stemmed from her own experience of surviving cancer twice, as well as undergoing radical breast cancer surgery and treatment. Soon after leaving school, Bridgid was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and went through a gruelling round of radiotherapy before being given a clean bill of health. Then in 2012, she was told that a lump in her left breast which had previously been benign had developed into a malignant tumour. Poignantly, it seems the cause of the cancer was the high dose of radiation she had when younger. And because of this high dose of radiation, she was unable to have any more, and so opted to have her breast removed. But once the doctors told her she had a 25% chance of the cancer returning in the other breast, she opted for a double mastectomy.
Since a large part of her life has been dominated by health struggles, Bridgid developed an interest in traditional healthcare and alternative/complementary therapies, as well as nutrition. She has since studied anatomy and physiology and qualified in 2020 with a distinction in reflexology.
She has presented programmes for the Channel 4 series Embarrassing Bodies (2010) as well as contributing articles to the Sunday Times newspaper. She has also been involved in the making of numerous short films for the NHS, as well as reporting in the education series ‘Save Money!’ for Teachers TV.
Bridgid speaks both as a journalist and as a media trainer, and has delivered lectures at Cambridge University Judge Business School, the University of London Communications Forum and at the Women of Silicon Roundabout Expo. She has moderated at the likes of the Pragma Conference, Fairtrade Conference and the Comms National Awards; presented at the NAB Show Studio in Las Vegas, the Self-Made Summit and at the Lloyds Banking Group virtual show; and interviewed the likes of the Mike Coupe, then the Sainsbury’s CEO and Boris Johnson.
– Current/Consumer Affairs
– Unconscious Bias
– Broadcasting and Presenting
– Journalism
– Human Rights
– Overcoming Adversity
– Politics
– Cancer
– Physical and Mental Wellness
– Complimentary Therapies
Bridgid is a dynamic, authoritative, experienced and entertaining moderator, chair, speaker and event host, confident in working with anyone from SMEs to large corporations.
Bridgid is a fantastic chairperson and ensured that all our panellists had ample opportunities to offer their thoughts on some really insightful questions.
Jo Holden, Hanover Communications
It’s not an exaggeration to say that I was mesmerised by Bridgid’s strong presence, eloquence and experience. Her workshop was one of those that stuck with me and I continue to use her tips and training in all my speaking engagements.
Dr Ghina M. Halabi, Space Scientist, TEDx Speaker and Founder of She Speaks Science
Bridgid is an absolute delight to work with and a highly effective, professional moderator who has worked with HotTopics.ht for a number of years.
Phil Randerson, Founder & CEO, HotTopics.ht
Bridgid is a fantastic presenter and corporate host who has helped bring our corporate events to life and always knows how to get the most our of our speakers and discussion.
Jennie Leitch, Event Manager, Lloyds Banking Group
Bridgid works with us across many of our events, supporting our content, whether that be insightful interviews with a global CEO or lively, red carpet scenarios. Regardless of the brief, Bridgid is expert at putting our interviewees at ease and making their studio experience memorable and enjoyable, which generates wonderful content.
Mike O’Brien, Managing Director, BPL Media