Career
On graduation Somerville joined publisher IPC, working on Homes and Gardens magazine, a Women's Journal, the PR section of Woman's Own. Then for two years she was editor of a computer group's house magazine.
Somerville joined the BBC in 1972 as a sub-editor in the radio newsroom, and then became a reporter in 1978. In 1981 she became Labour Affairs correspondent, and in 1983 joined BBC Television News to become one of the most recognised faces on television, co-presenting the BBC Nine O'Clock News. Somerville was the anchor on the BBC News report broadcast on 23 October 1984 which Bob Geldof watched and inspired Band Aid, and ultimately Live Aid.
Somerville moved to ITN in 1987, where she co-presented the Lunchtime News and also deputised as presenter of News at Ten. In addition she presented 3D, a weekly ITV current affairs programme. She was diagnosed as having a brain tumour in 1993, and after neurosurgery recovered well and was a member of the News at Ten team until it ended a 32-year run in 1999. She remained at ITN until October 2001, presenting the ITV Lunchtime News with John Suchet and was the launch anchor for the ITN News Channel.
Between 1999 and 2001 Somerville presented the daily LBC radio show London Life, a two-hour programme devoted to interviews with diverse artists.
As part of ITN'S 'Famous Five', with Gordon Honeycombe, Martyn Lewis, Selina Scott and Anna Ford, she was brought back to the screen for one week in September 2005 for ITN's 50th Anniversary.
In 2010 Somerville returned to television news as a presenter on BBC News. She also occasionally presents BBC Breakfast. In January 2011 Somerville started as an occasional relief presenter of the BBC Weekend News on BBC One.
Somerville joined Rip Off Britain when it returned in Autumn 2011 for its third series. She replaced Jennie Bond to host alongside Angela Rippon and Gloria Hunniford
Read more about this topic: Julia Somerville
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“The problem, thus, is not whether or not women are to combine marriage and motherhood with work or career but how they are to do so—concomitantly in a two-role continuous pattern or sequentially in a pattern involving job or career discontinuities.”
—Jessie Bernard (20th century)
“I’ve been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“I doubt that I would have taken so many leaps in my own writing or been as clear about my feminist and political commitments if I had not been anointed as early as I was. Some major form of recognition seems to have to mark a woman’s career for her to be able to go out on a limb without having her credentials questioned.”
—Ruth Behar (b. 1956)