Ashley John-Baptiste
Ashley John-Baptiste (born 1990) is a BBC broadcast journalist and presenter.[1][better source needed]
Childhood and education[edit]
Baptiste was born in 1990 in Southwark, South London.[2] From the age of two until he was 18, he grew up in four foster families and spent two years in a residential care home.[3][4]
After attending three different primary schools, his secondary education was at Bacon's College, a comprehensive school in Rotherhithe with a higher than average proportion of pupils from troubled backgrounds.[5] He was suspended several times, and had already been issued a final warning when the opportunity arose to visit a summer school organised by the Sutton Trust at Cambridge University.[6] This was when he realised that he would have to take responsibility for himself and that he had the potential to succeed.[7][8]
With the encouragement of his then foster parents and his MP, in 2008 he won a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating in 2011 with an upper second.[9][1][2][10] During this time, he mentored other students from similar backgrounds to his own.[1][11]
Career[edit]
Baptiste was a member of the band The Risk. In 2011, he quit the finals of ITV's X Factor to pursue a career in the media, and soon after obtained a place on the BBC creative access scheme[12] and began working as a broadcast journalist.[1]
- In 2012, he presented a BBC Three documentary Care Home Kids: Looking For Love.[13][14]
- In 2012, he was the keynote speaker at an event organised by The PLACE (Project for Looked After Children's Education), an initiative of South Tyneside Council.[15]
- In 2013, he was the keynote speaker at the Havering College of Further and Higher Education awards ceremony.[3]
- In 2018, he was a reporter at the Fifa World Cup.[1]
- In 2019, with Angelica Bell, he co-hosted an episode of The One Show, a British television magazine and chat show programme, and has since become a regular presenter.[13]
- In 2019, with Kym Marsh, he co-presented 11 episodes of the documentary For Love or Money.[16]
- In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, he wrote a BBC News long-read article entitled "The Mangrove Nine: Echoes of black lives matter from 50 years ago".[17]
- In 2020, with the Rev Kate Bottley, he co-hosted an 8-episode series for BBC Two called Stories Of Us.[18]
- In 2020, he presented the BBC documentary Being Black at Cambridge.[19]
- In 2020, he was named the first ever ambassador for the Royal Television Society (RTS) bursary schemes, which support those studying broadcasting and entertainment.[20]
- In 2022, he presented the BBC documentary "Split up in care - Life without siblings" as part of his campaign for a change in the fostering laws.[21][22]
From 2015 to 2018 he presented documentaries for the Victoria Derbyshire programme about the care system, children with facial deformities, and the Grenfell Tower fire,[13][23][12] and has also made original documentary films on interfaith foster care and bullying.[20]
He is currently an RTS-nominated BBC broadcast journalist and Digital Senior Reporter for BBC News.[20]
He is an ambassador for The Fostering Network, a fostering charity.[citation needed]
He is the founder of Be Inspired, an organisation working in collaboration with Southwark Council, and Care Leaver Covenant, which have the aim of connecting care-experienced young people with each other and help them achieve their aspirations.[24][25][better source needed]
Awards[edit]
In 2018 Baptiste was shortlisted for the Royal Television Society's Young Talent Of The Year Award.[13]
Personal life[edit]
Baptiste met his birth mother, who was a care leaver herself, at the age of 10 for the first time since going into care.[26][6] He has never met his birth father. In his mid-20s, in spite of having been told by social workers that he was an only child, he found out for the first time that he had four older half-brothers on his father's side, one of whom he has met.[27] [28]
At the age of 14, his St Lucian foster mother took him to a Salvation Army church where he became involved in the youth group. This led to a moment in his faith journey when he prayed, "If you are real, I want you to be my Father".[29] He credits his mindset of having potential and his sense of self-worth to having grown up in an environment where faith was very important.[7]
Baptiste sings and plays the piano. He considers that music-making has been crucial to his personal development and well-being.[29]
He is married to Joanna John-Baptiste, a maths teacher. The couple have two daughters, born in 2020 and 2022.[30]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC broadcast journalist and presenter". www.performingartistes.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Fitzwilliam's X Factor ex-student". www.fitz.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b "From care to Cambridge: Ashley John-Baptiste inspires students at Havering College of Further and Higher Education". PRWeb. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Foster care: Meeting the boy who lived at 35 addresses". 23 July 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Ashley John-Baptiste announced as first RTS Bursary Schemes ambassador - Bacon's College". www.baconscollege.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020.
- ^ a b Ashley John-Baptiste interview - music by Jack Cook, retrieved 29 January 2022
- ^ a b Raw, Gemma. "Exclusive interview with Ashley John Baptiste". Sanctuary Personnel. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ "You and Yours - X Factor's Ashley John-Baptiste - Why I Quit - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ "Foster care: Meeting the boy who lived at 35 addresses". BBC News. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ John-Baptiste, Ashley (6 October 2020). "Being black at Cambridge, I had some good times, but I struggled to feel I belonged". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "On being black at Cambridge". University of Cambridge. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b What makes a great journalist with Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC Young Reporter, retrieved 29 January 2022
- ^ a b c d "Who is new The One Show presenter Ashley-John Baptiste?". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC Three - Care Home Kids: Looking for Love". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Singer provides young people of South Tyneside with the X Factor - South Tyneside Council". www.southtyneside.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "For Love or Money | Apple TV". Apple TV. 3 November 2019.
- ^ "The Mangrove Nine". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC Two - Stories of Us". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC World News - Being Black at Cambridge". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "Ashley John-Baptiste announced as the first ambassador for the RTS bursary schemes". Royal Television Society. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Split Up In Care - Life Without Siblings". 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "'I grew up in care alone - why did no-one tell me I had siblings?'". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Meet...Ashley John-Baptiste". Royal Television Society. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Be Inspired – An inspiring and entertaining virtual experience for care experienced young people across the UK". Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Inspiring care experienced young people". Voice Online. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC The One Show 14/01/2019 Ashley John-Baptiste". YouTube. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "'I grew up in care alone - why did no-one tell me I had siblings?'". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ John-Baptiste, Ashley (26 January 2022). "A moment that changed me: a stranger contacted me – to say he was my brother". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ a b "The Sunday Hour - Ashley John-Baptiste - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ Hannam, Laura (4 May 2021). "Ashley John-Baptiste in for Love or Money: How old is he? When was he on X Factor?". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 29 January 2022.