Sian Williams

Sian Mary Williams born 28 November 1964 is a BBC journalist and current affairs presenter. Presently on maternity leave from 5 February 2009, since 2005, she has been co-anchor of BBC Breakfast on Mondays through Thursdays. She also regularly presented the News at Six and occasionally presented the News at One and the News at Ten.

Williams was born in London to Welsh parents, and raised in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Although born and raised in England, Williams is Welsh by heritage, her family hailing from Llanelli, South Wales. She gained a BA in English and History from Oxford Polytechnic, and was also a student of Japanese and international business at Liverpool John Moores University.

Prior to her career in television journalism, Williams spent over a decade with BBC Radio after joining the corporation in 1985. Williams worked on BBC Local Radio in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester before becoming a producer and reporter in Liverpool. Williams later joined a national spoken word network, BBC Radio 4, as a producer on The World at One and PM programmes. Williams spent the next few years reporting and editing news programmes on the station, and also on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Williams's first job in television news was when she joined digital rolling news channel BBC News 24, which was soon to launch, as an output editor. During screen tests for potential presenters, one became unwell and Williams was asked if she would be willing to audition for the role. When she did, producers were so impressed that they offered her the position alongside Gavin Esler presenting from 4pm–7pm; one of the prime slots on the channel. She remained with the channel for nearly two years before joining the Six O'Clock News in 1999 as their Special Correspondent. During this time she also began filling in for the programme's presenters, Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce, as well as regularly presenting the national news bulletins on BBC One at weekends. She joined the BBC's Breakfast programme in January 2001 as a Relief Presenter, initially presenting on Friday-Sunday alongside Darren Jordon, to cover for main presenter, Sarah Montague, and then later with Jeremy Bowen, to cover for Sophie Raworth. She also regularly deputised on the Six O'Clock News and the One O'Clock News during this period. In 2004, Sian covered Raworth on the Six during her maternity leave, co-presenting with George Alagiah, and the following year, reported from Sri Lanka and Thailand on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and from Pakistan on the Kashmir earthquake. In May 2005 she was confirmed as the main female presenter of the programme, presenting initially alongside Dermot Murnaghan and since January 2008, with Bill Turnbull on Mondays to Thursdays. Other television credits include BBC Wales (One Show, with Aled Jones, and the Big Welsh Challenge, where she spent a year learning Welsh) as well as presenting BBC One daytime programmes including Now You're Talking and City Hospital. While working at Breakfast, she has also presented for BBC Radio 5 Live. Sian is the new President of TRIC (Television and Radio Industries Club) for 2008-2009. She is supporting two charities during her year of office.

Williams married Neale Hunt in February 1991, a former director of advertising firm McCann Erickson, London, now head of his own media company Media Therapy. The have two sons, Alex (born 1991) and Joss (born 1994). Hunt and Williams got divorced in 2001. Williams' third son Seth was born in October 2006, for which she disclosed in an interview to promote blood donation that she received two litres of blood as a result of complications from the birth. Williams gave birth to daughter Eve on 5 March 2009, and her second with her partner Paul Woolwich, a BBC executive in Current Affairs and Business programmes.