Inside Out West

Alastair McKee

After four years here at Inside Out West, as a reporter and producer, it’s a huge pleasure to be presenting the show.

The west of England is a wonderful place to live and work, rich with surprising stories and fascinating people. But, after emigrating here from London, I still can’t get over how much it rains!

A bit more about me… I never intended to present television programmes. I always planned to be a musician, more specifically a saxophone player.

As fun as that was, I wasn’t quite up to scratch and thought I'd give the media a go instead.

I was turned down by my local newspaper but managed to get a foot in at ITN pushing around a trolley of tapes.

I was trained as a journalist by ITN and worked on many programmes including The Big Breakfast and Channel 4 News.

My filming adventures brought me into contact with some extraordinary people, including the fashion photographer Mario Testino, the singer Thom Yorke and the Queen.

But it was when I moved to Bristol, with my family, to join BBC Inside Out West that the real fun started…

In my role as a reporter I have undergone training as a referee, learnt to use a scythe and been skiing with Eddie the Eagle.

I’ve also investigated why new homes were built on flood plains and why a local zoo bred animals for a circus owner.

When I’m not at work I am still a keen musician. I love nothing more than sitting at the piano at home belting out Yellow Submarine with my young sons.

I am a keen cyclist, swimmer and runner. I recently put them all together and took up triathlons. My legs are still aching!

I love playing and watching football, but my London roots are horribly exposed when it comes to the team I support: Arsenal (sorry!).