Emily Maitlis Biography

Emily Maitlis, born (6 September 1970) in Canada, educated in Sheffield at King Edward VII School, is a British television newscaster for the BBC in the United Kingdom.

A language graduate from Queens' College, Cambridge, she speaks fluent Mandarin, Spanish and Italian. Prior to working in news, she was a documentary maker in Cambodia and China. She worked for the NBC network and was based in Hong Kong.

Previously, she spent six years with NBC Asia, initially as a reporter creating documentaries, and then as a presenter in Hong Kong. She then moved to Sky News in the UK as a business correspondent, and then to BBC London News when the programme re-launched in 2001. Presently, she stands in on Newsnight on BBC2 for Jeremy Paxman, Kirsty Wark and Gavin Elser on a regular basis. She also presents the 7-10pm slot on BBC News 24 with Ben Brown, including the programme News 24 Tonight, from 7-8pm. During 2005 Maitlis appeared as the questionmistress on the game show The National Lottery: Come And Have A Go. She has also recently presented BBC Breakfast.

Starting from May 2006, she has presented STORYFix on BBC News 24, a more light-hearted look at the week's news set to up-beat music.

Emily Maitlis is the daughter of Professor Peter Maitlis, FRS, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. She is married to Mark, a banker, with whom she has one child and is expecting another. She is a supporter of the United Jewish Israel Appeal.

During 2002, Maitlis admitted that throughout the preceding six years she had been stalked by an ex-university friend. The 32-year-old male student pursued Maitlis with correspondence, and would appear at her place of work. The student concerned was arrested, and Maitlis had to testify at his trial. She lived at the time close to where Jill Dando was killed, and the episode showed similarities to other incidents of stalking involving Julia Somerville and Sarah Lockett.