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Samantha Simmonds

Samantha Simmonds reads the news on Sky News from 1100 – 1700, Tuesday to Friday, alongside presenters Dermot Murnaghan and Kay Burley.

Samantha joined Sky News in 2005 as a reporter. With Sky News, Samantha has broken the news of Michael Jackson’s death, the sentencing and subsequent hanging of Saddam Hussein, the death of Heath Ledger and the nationalisation of Northern Rock. Samantha was also one of the last people to interview Benazir Bhutto before she was assassinated.

Samantha started reporting for BBC local radio in Yorkshire in 1995 before joining Channel 5 as a producer in 1996. In 1997, Samantha became a producer for BBC News 24 before taking up a role as a reporter in 2000, and going on to report for BBC Breakfast in 2001. In 2003, Samantha became a reporter and presenter for BBC London. With the BBC, Samantha reported live from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and in London after the 7/7 bombings, interviewing injured passengers as they emerged from Edgware Road station.

Samantha grew up in Leeds and attended Liverpool University where she studied a BA in History and Media Studies, before doing a post graduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at City University. Due to a Middle Eastern background, Samantha has a particular interest in Middle Eastern affairs.

Samantha is married with a son, and enjoys boxing, fast cars and Persian food.