Six O'Clock News About the Six O'Clock News

We like to think of the Radio 4 Six O' Clock News as "All the news you need to hear". Our aim is that by the end of the half hour, the listener feels that they know the important news of the day from across the UK and around the world.

The format of the programme - dispatches rather than interviews - means we have a high story-count. This enables us to have a more comprehensive news agenda than many other bulletins. Through language and the use of sound, we aim to transport the listener to where the story is happening - be it Gaza or Grimsby.

And with our combination of correspondents and specialist editors we also hope to provide the context for that news - to offer not only information about what is happening but also insight into why it is happening.

Presenters

Chris Aldridge



Christmas 1972 was a life-changing time for Chris as he unwrapped his first transistor radio and decided to become a Radio Luxembourg DJ, like Steve Wright, or a BBC radio announcer.

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Alice Arnold



Alice Arnold trained as an actress and appeared in productions ranging from Evita to As You Like It. She joined the BBC radio drama company in 1988 and performed in over 400 plays and readings. She bumped into Peter Donaldson at a drinks do and joined the Radio 4 presentation team in 1991.

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Carolyn Brown



Carolyn Brown is still on her gap year. She applied for deferred entry to university in order to spend a year writing for her hometown weekly newspaper but was seduced by the glamour of seeing her by-line in print and the nine-pounds-a-week pay packet.

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Harriet Cass



Harriet Cass is one of Radio 4's two senior announcers, responsible for managing the team of announcers and newsreaders. She has been a broadcaster for more years than she cares to remember.

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Kathy Clugston

Kathy comes from Belfast and began her broadcasting career at BBC Northern Ireland as a TV announcer. Having fallen in love with radio, she began moonlighting at the BBC World Service and after a few years flying back and forth moved to London full–time when Radio 4 took her on as an announcer.

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Corrie Corfield



Corrie Corfield was born in Oxford and grew up in the rural idyll of Shakespeare's county. Corrie joined the BBC in 1983 as a trainee studio manager and spent five years with the BBC World Service, and in 1988 joined Radio 4.

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Peter Donaldson



Whilst visiting his father in Cyprus, Peter heard an advertisement for an announcer with the British Forces Broadcasting Service. He auditioned, got the job, and served in Cyprus, Aden, Libya (Tobruk) and Malta, before joining the BBC in 1970.

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Charlotte Green



Charlotte Green joined the BBC after graduating from the University of Kent with a degree in English and American Literature. After a few years as a studio manager she joined Radio 4 Presentation as a continuity announcer and has been specialising in news reading since 1998.

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Annie McKie



After leaving drama school Annie McKie worked in repertory theatre for eight years. She began her career in broadcasting as an in vision continuity announcer on HTV West and eighteen months later she moved to the BBC's Points West. After presenting programmes on BBC Radios Bristol and Gloucestershire she became a Radio 4 announcer in 1998 and started to read the news for Radio 4 in 2004.

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Rory Morrison



Rory embarked on a career in broadcasting at Beacon Radio in the West Midlands as a travel reporter and presenter. He joined the BBC Radio Leeds in 1990 and has also been heard on BBC Radios York and Cleveland. After leaving local radio he worked for a time for British Forces Broadcasting Service before joining Radio 4.

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Susan Rae



After starting professional life as a newspaper journalist in her native Dundee, Susan was working as a reporter for BBC Radio Aberdeen when she was invited to join the presentation team in London.

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Neil Sleat



Neil Sleat began his career in radio as a trainee engineer at the BBC World Service. A stint as a studio manager followed and he spent several happy years tinkling tea cups for radio dramas and juggling tapes on news programmes. On air, Neil cut his teeth as an announcer/studio manager on BBC for Europe. Neil joined the Radio 4 announcing team in 1998.

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