People Person

It was eight years ago that Joanne Malin began presenting the regional evening bulletin, when she returned to her home city of Birmingham after working for various radio and TV stations in London and elsewhere. In her media career she has won several prestigious awards and been nominated for many more, so it's surprising to learn that journalism was not her original vocation.

"When I was 18 I went to the Italia Conti Academy in London, and studied performing arts for three years," she reveals. The famous stage school launched the careers of names like Naomi Campbell, Emily Lloyd, Sheree Murphy and Martine McCutcheon, all of whom were there at the same time as Joanne, though not in her year group.

She went on to work as a dancer, with her first role - a pantomime starring Russ Abbott - taking her back to Birmingham. "After that, back in London, I was in the musical 42nd Street, and then I played Frenchie in the stage show of Grease," she remembers. "That was such a great experience - we toured the country before the show went to the West End, and people in the audience would dress up and sing along. I'll never forget it."

Joanne then travelled the world as a dancer on the QE2, but says she always knew that performing was not going to be her long-term career. "I had been quite academic at school really, and I decided I wanted to try something else." She embarked on an NCTBJ (National Council for the Training of Broadcast Journalists) course at Portsmouth, from which she graduated with distinction and also won a prize for Best Documentary.

Her first media job was on local radio in Northampton, before spells with the Reuters radio division and Virgin Radio in London. Joanne then gained TV experience with L!VE TV, the notorious (she says "wacky") cable channel run by The Sun's former editor, Kelvin MacKenzie, and responsible for introducing the News Bunny and topless darts to British culture.

Joanne's drama training was undoubtedly a major bonus in her transition between careers: "My former life fed into my current one. In both jobs I could travel and meet new people, and of course presenting live news is similar to theatre in that you have one chance to get it right!"

Her Central News job allows her plenty of opportunities to meet local communities, and she is often asked to attend fundraising events and open ftes as a recognised personality. She is also involved with charity work, in particular the Variety Club of Great Britain and the NSPCC, and took part in the Race for Life in Cannon Hill Park over the summer.

"Community events are part of the job, really, because Bob Warman (her co-presenter) and I are the 'faces' of Central News and it helps to promote the programme," she explains. However, her eagerness to get involved has much more to do with public spirit than publicity-seeking - for instance, her idea for The Big Clean Up, an annual event where everyone within a community pitches in to tidy up their town.

The scheme has now been taken up by ITV on a national basis, and Joanne says she came up with the idea after hearing about towns having one-off clean-up days. "I've also really got into recycling recently," she adds, clearly pleased to be able to make a contribution to society. She is thoroughly enjoying rural life, having moved to Alvechurch a year ago.

"I never thought I'd be living anywhere like this - Worcestershire is so beautiful and I'm trying to see and do as much as possible," says Joanne. This includes her support for Bewdley Festival, the annual arts event that brings numerous celebrities to the region every October.

"We originally came back to the area so that my husband, Andrew, could take up a trainee position at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital," she explains. "Two years ago, when he became a consultant, he had the option of going back to London, but we decided to stay. This is my home, and I love it."

She and Andrew share their home with the newest addition to the family - an excitable puppy called Maisy, who also joined the Central News team recently by helping Joanne present a segment about dog training. "My job is so varied that I never get bored," Joanne points out. "One day I could be talking about dog training, and the next we could be reporting on a terrorist threat in Birmingham."

She says two of the biggest stories she has covered on Central News have been the collapse of the region's car manufacturing industry, and also the Birmingham tornado, which she narrowly escaped being caught up in. "A tornado is one thing you don't expect to be reporting on in this country!" she comments.

Nationally, she reported on the Dunblane massacre and the death of Princess Diana, both of which she found especially upsetting. "I was at L!VE TV when Diana died, and I was told to come straight to the studio when the news broke - I ended up broadcasting for 17 hours," she recalls. "We had nothing prepared, because it was so unexpected, but we were the first station to put together a tribute programme. I would have loved to interview Diana - she was such a style icon."

She may never have interviewed Diana, but her career has given her the opportunity to meet Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and many other politicians and celebrities, as well as the everyday people who make up the majority of news stories. Joanne clearly loves her job, which involves longer hours than many viewers realise - she generally works from 11am-7pm, researching stories and occasionally presenting the lunchtime bulletin as well as the 6pm show.

"I'm very happy at ITV - we have a great team, and myself and Bob get on really well even though we're chalk and cheese!" she says. "We even text each other every day to find out what we're going to wear for the show, to make sure we don't clash."

So they don't have a stylist apiece? "I'm afraid not!" Joanne laughs. "I do my own hair and make-up, and although I do get a clothing allowance, I choose my outfits myself. It's not as glamorous as you might think!"

The 2006 Bewdley Festival will be opened by Joanne at 8pm on October 6, and runs until October 14. For a full programme of events, call 01299 403355 or visit www.bewdleyfestival.org.uk.