BBC broadcast journalist and presenter (born 1990)
Ashley John-Baptiste (born 1990) is a BBC broadcast journalist and presenter.[1]
Childhood and education
Baptiste was born in 1990 in Southwark, South London.[2] From the age of two until he was 18, he grew up in four foster families and spent two years in a residential care home.[3][4]
After attending three different primary schools, his secondary education was at Bacon's College, a comprehensive school in Rotherhithe with a higher than average proportion of pupils from troubled backgrounds.[5] He was suspended several times, and had already been issued a final warning when the opportunity arose to visit a summer school organised by the Sutton Trust at Cambridge University.[6] This was when he realised that he would have to take responsibility for himself and that he had the potential to succeed.[7][8]
With the encouragement of his then foster parents and his MP, in 2008 he won a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating in 2011 with an upper second.[9][2][10] During this time, he mentored other students from similar backgrounds to his own.[11]
Career
Baptiste was a member of the band The Risk. In 2011, he quit the finals of ITV's X Factor to pursue a career in the media, and soon after obtained a place on the BBC creative access scheme[12] and began working as a broadcast journalist.[1]
In 2012, he presented a BBC Three documentary Care Home Kids: Looking For Love.[1][13]
In 2012, he was the keynote speaker at an event organised by The PLACE (Project for Looked After Children's Education), an initiative of South Tyneside Council.[14]
In 2019, with Angelica Bell, he co-hosted an episode of The One Show, a British television magazine and chat show programme, and has since become a regular presenter.[1]
In 2019, with Kym Marsh, he co-presented 11 episodes of the documentary For Love or Money.[16]
In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, he wrote a BBC News long-read article entitled "The Mangrove Nine: Echoes of black lives matter from 50 years ago".[17]
In 2020, with the Rev Kate Bottley, he co-hosted an 8-episode series for BBC Two called Stories Of Us.[18]
In 2020, he presented the BBC documentary Being Black at Cambridge.[19]
In 2020, he was named the first ever ambassador for the Royal Television Society (RTS) bursary schemes, which support those studying broadcasting and entertainment.[20]
In 2022, he presented the BBC documentary "Split up in care - Life without siblings" as part of his campaign for a change in the fostering laws.[21][22]
From 2015 to 2018 he presented documentaries for the Victoria Derbyshire programme about the care system, children with facial deformities, and the Grenfell Tower fire,[1][23][12] and has also made original documentary films on interfaith foster care and bullying.[20]
He is currently an RTS-nominated BBC broadcast journalist and Digital Senior Reporter for BBC News.[20]
He is the founder of Be Inspired, an organisation working in collaboration with Southwark Council, and Care Leaver Covenant, which have the aim of connecting care-experienced young people with each other and help them achieve their aspirations.[24][25][better source needed]
Baptiste met his birth mother, who was a care leaver herself, at the age of 10 for the first time since going into care.[26][6] He has never met his birth father. In his mid-20s, in spite of having been told by social workers that he was an only child, he found out for the first time that he had four older half-brothers on his father's side, one of whom he has met.[22][27]
At the age of 14, his St Lucian foster mother took him to a Salvation Army church where he became involved in the youth group. This led to a moment in his faith journey when he prayed, "If you are real, I want you to be my Father".[28] He credits his mindset of having potential and his sense of self-worth to having grown up in an environment where faith was very important.[7]
Baptiste sings and plays the piano. He considers that music-making has been crucial to his personal development and well-being.[28]
He is married to Joanna John-Baptiste, a maths teacher. The couple have two daughters, born in 2020 and 2022.[29]