Hosts

Nikki Bedi

Presenter, The Arts Hour

Nikki Bedi is an international television and radio broadcaster with a passion for making arts and culture accessible. She has covered the arts across the globe for over two decades and interviewed some of the world’s biggest names and talents, celebrities and industry heavyweights. Nikki currently curates, writes and hosts The Arts Hour, the BBC World Service’s flagship arts and culture program.  

Marnie Chesterton

Presenter, Unexpected Elements

Marnie Chesterton is the presenter on Unexpected Elements on the BBC World Service. She has two decades of experience of working in audio, predominantly in science and health programmes. She spent 7 years making science and environment output for Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and has been with the BBC since 2013, producing science radio and podcasts for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. Her background is in anatomy, but she’s drawn to the magic of Dark Matter, and loves telling stories about how the world fits together.   

James Coomarasamy

Presenter, Newshour

James Coomarasamy has been one of the hosts of BBC World Service Radio’s Newshour programme since 2010. James spent fifteen years as a BBC Correspondent in Washington, Paris, Moscow and Warsaw. He is a fluent Russian & French speaker, who frequently presents from the field and played a prominent role in the BBC World Service coverage of the last five US presidential elections.

Tim Franks

Presenter, Newshour

Tim Franks anchors BBC World Service's leading international current affairs program Newshour, which broadcasts globally and on a range of public radio stations in the U.S. Previously, Tim was an award-winning foreign correspondent for the BBC. For three years, he was the BBC's Middle East correspondent, based in Jerusalem. He spent five years prior to that as the BBC's Europe Correspondent, based in Brussels, and reporting across the continent. He also, during this period, spent extended time in Iraq during the war of 2003, and in its aftermath.

Jonathan Frewin

Senior Journalist, Partner Production Hub 

Jonathan Frewin is a senior journalist in the BBC Partner Hub, writing and presenting Topline for the USA and conducting radio two-ways with partners around the world. Jonathan has worked across World Service Languages, News and Business. Jonathan was the first social media manager for BBC Business, launching the pan-departmental Facebook and Twitter accounts. He was features and planning editor on World Business Report and Business Daily and spent several years on BBC’s Cast 1 for Marketplace before moving to the Partner Hub. He also lived in Dubai for two years as a self-shooting and editing TV reporter, working on the weekly BBC World News TV show Middle East Business Report.  

Rob Hugh-Jones

Editor, BBC Partner Production Hub 

Rob Hugh-Jones is Editor of the BBC Partner Hub, the BBC’s bespoke service for partner stations serving America, and other regions of the world including Asia and Africa. His team produces a wide range of curated audio content for partners. Much of this illustrates the top stories from around the world that the BBC is reporting each day. Programmes include Topline, live 2-ways, various modules like Soccer Look Ahead. Before this, Rob was Managing Editor of WNYC's The Takeaway, and Managing Editor of PRI's The World.  

James Menendez

Presenter, Newshour

James Menendez is an anchor of the BBC Newshour, which broadcasts globally on BBC World Service via public radio partners in the U.S. He joined the program in 2012 having worked as a host, correspondent, and producer internationally for the BBC. Prior to anchoring Newshour, James was the BBC's correspondent in Venezuela from 2003-2004. He has worked globally for the BBC as a correspondent, reporting from across the Middle East and Haiti, Columbia, and Europe. James has also worked for the BBC as a world affairs producer, which included deployments to a range of countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kuwait.