Aasmah Mir
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|
Aasmah Mir | |
|---|---|
| Born | Aasmah Saira Mir 7 October 1971 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcaster, journalist |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse |
Piara Powar (m. 2007) |
Aasmah Saira Mir (/ˈæzmə ˈmɪər/; born 7 October 1971) is a Scottish television and radio broadcaster and journalist who currently co-presents the Monday-Thursday breakfast show on Times Radio.
Early life
Mir was born to first-generation Pakistani immigrants in Glasgow,[1] and brought up in the affluent suburb of Bearsden, from the age of ten, where she attended Bearsden Academy.[2][3][4] She graduated from the University of Bristol with an honours law degree in 1993.[5]
Journalism
In 1995 Mir had a brief stint as a reporter for the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, then became a radio researcher. In 2005 and 2006 she was a columnist for the Sunday Herald.[5]
Broadcasting career
Television
Mir began her career in broadcasting in 1992 appearing on a BBC TV programme called The Insiders with Gordon Kennedy.[1] After graduation she joined Scottish Television aged 21 as a trainee and read the early morning news bulletins,[1] and presented the main news show.[1]
She presented a couple of editions of the documentary strand for BBC Two called East[5] in 1996 and some items on Desi DNA.[5] In 1998 she became a reporter for Central TV in Nottingham.
Mir has also presented Just Write on Channel 4 and Around Scotland on BBC Two.[5] In 2010 she became a newspaper reviewer on GMTV with Lorraine and Lorraine.[2]
Radio
In 1999 Mir moved to London as a producer for BBC Radio London and started doing freelance news-reading shifts for the national radio station BBC Radio 5 Live. She joined the station full-time in July 2001.
In April 2006 she covered the weekday morning phone in programme on BBC Asian Network for a fortnight when Sonia Deol left the programme, and before Anita Rani became presenter. She has presented items on the BBC Asian Network Report.[5]
Mir presented the Midday News on 5 Live, Monday to Friday, until 9 January 2009. She joined BBC Scotland in April 2009 as a presenter of the Friday edition of Good Morning Scotland.[1] Also in 2009 she presented a series of programmes for BBC Radio 4 on Scotland's Year of Homecoming,[1][6] as well as Colour Me White for Radio 4, and Gay Life After Saddam for Radio 5 Live. In 2010 she replaced Anita Anand as a presenter of Radio 5 Live's Drive programme. For one week in March 2012, she sat in for Jeremy Vine on his BBC Radio 2 programme.
On 27 September 2012 Mir announced on Twitter that she planned to leave BBC 5 Live, after 11 years with the station. Mir presented her last 5 Live Drive on 9 November 2012. On 29 October 2012 Mir presented an edition of BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. Later she was a replacement for Julia Hartley-Brewer on the LBC 97.3 afternoon programme.
From 2012-20, she was a co-presenter of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live .[7]
In April 2020, she was announced as a presnter for Times Radio when the station launched on 29 June 2020. She co-presents Monday to Thursday breakfast with Stig Abell.[8]
Personal life
Mir is married to Piara Powar, the executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe.[9][10] Mir is an avid fan of Celtic.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Aasmah Mir: Scotland’s not my home any more Times Online, 22 November 2009
- ^ a b Barry, Maggie (31 October 2010). "Scots drivetime BBC radio host on fighting talk fuelling on-air duels". Sunday Mail. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Williams, Tessa (7 January 2013). "At home with... Aasmah Mir". The Scotsman.
- ^ "School pain for Aasmah". Evening Times. 24 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Aasmah Mir Biography Archived 30 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine BBC Press Office, May 2010
- ^ A Very Scottish Homecoming Archived 19 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Radio Listings, November 2009
- ^ "Radio 4's Aasmah Mir quits amid rumours of Times Radio role". guardian.co.uk. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Martin, Roy (27 April 2020). "Times Radio schedule revealed ahead of summer launch". radiotoday.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Sectarian row chief married to Celtic fan". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 16 April 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Powar condemns high profile remarks Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine; British Eurosport
External sources
- Aasmah Mir Sunday Herald, 7 August 2005
- Asian Network Reports Special BBC Asian Network – Documentary presented by Mir on Asian Network Report