The airwaves beckoned and Ali joined Radio Bristol as an early morning presenter.

Then came a move down south and into television as a news presenter and reporter on Spotlight (in Devon and Cornwall).

Now Ali's back in the West Country she's a familiar face on Points West and presents Radio Bristol's Saturday morning show.

Ali is a familiar voice on Radio Bristol

But she hasn't always worked in the media - one of her first jobs was as a trainee bus driver in Bath.

She travelled up to the Midlands to take a degree in media studies in Coventry, which led to a job not in broadcasting but selling designer swimwear in London's Harvey Nichols.

Her top sale was a £2000 cossie which couldn't be submerged in water!

She had a brief spell at BBC Television Centre in London working directly under the Director General (filing his letters!) before the move back west where she finally became a broadcast journalist.

Other pursuits take her to the theatre and cinema.

"I love the West Country, says Ali, "I think it's one of the most beautiful parts of Great Britain and I take a real pride in my roots."

Mum Ali's (she has a young son, Callum) interests outside the BBC take her back to her farming roots - she's a big fan of gardening and has run competitions on Points West and Radio Bristol to find the region's best garden.