Kate McCann

British journalist

This article is about the journalist. For the mother of the missing child, see Disappearance of Madeleine McCann. For the US state legislator, see Kate McCann (politician).

Kate McCann

Born|  (1988-04-15) 15 April 1988 (age 36)

London, England

Alma mater| Newcastle University
Occupation(s)| Journalist, television presenter
Known for| The Daily Telegraph
Sky News
TalkTV
Times Radio

Kate McCann (born 15 April 1988) is a British journalist and the political editor of Times Radio. Prior to this, she was political editor of TalkTV between 2022 and 2023, a political correspondent for Sky News between 2018 and 2022, and The Daily Telegraph's senior political correspondent between 2015 and 2018.

## Early life and education

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McCann was born on 15 April 1988 in London, England, and has a brother. Their family motto is "Dare to be Different".[1][2][3][4] She attended a comprehensive school in Yorkshire,[5] then studied politics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, graduating in 2009.[4] While at university, she was a news editor for the student newspaper, The Courier.[6]

## Career

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After graduation, McCann worked in parliament as an MP's researcher till 2011.[4][7]

In September 2015, McCann joined The Daily Telegraph as senior political correspondent, after having previously worked for The Guardian, City A.M., and as The Sun's Whitehall correspondent.[8][9] Her stories included the publication of a leaked draft of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's manifesto, less than a month before the 2017 general election. She described it as the highlight of her career in a 2022 interview.[8][10] The following year, she became the Chair of the Press Gallery, only the second female chair in its 200-year history.[4]

She left The Daily Telegraph in July 2018 to join Sky News as a political correspondent.[11] After four years at Sky News, she became the political editor of TalkTV.[8] In July 2022, McCann co-hosted TalkTV's televised election debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the two remaining candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party. After half an hour, when Truss was making a speech, McCann fainted;[1] as a result, the show came off air and was later cancelled.[12] She recovered shortly afterwards and apologised to both candidates on social media.[13]

She has co-hosted a Sunday morning political show with Adam Boulton on Times Radio since September 2022.[14] In July 2023, it was announced that McCann would become the station's political editor in September 2023.[15] In the same month, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland.[1] In January 2024, McCann was one of four guest panellists on BBC Question Time, hosted by Fiona Bruce.[16] In February 2024, McCann revealed on Twitter that she had her drink spiked in a bar "by a group of men so brazen they didn't care who saw". McCann shared her experience following an investigation by The Times into the extent of drink-spiking in Britain.[17]

In January 2025, it was announced that McCann would co-present Times Radio breakfast from Monday to Thursday alongside Stig Abell, beginning in early February 2025.[18]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Graduations 2023: University honours political journalist and broadcaster". University of Sunderland. 13 July 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
2. ^ Greenwell, Daisy (11 April 2011). "How we met: Sam Parker and Kate McCann". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023. "Kate McCann, 22"(subscription required)
3. ^ @KateEMcCann (13 April 2018). "I'm 30 on Sunday. To mark the occasion my brother has bought me a chicken nugget for every year I've been alive" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 November 2023 - via Twitter.
4. ^ a b c d Francombe, Amy (28 July 2022). "Kate McCann — the political journalist who stole the show at last night's Fight for No.10 debate". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
5. ^ @KateEMcCann (20 April 2018). "Like @janemerrick23, @haynesdeborah and others I went to comprehensive school in Yorkshire and university in Newcastle. Had no friends or family in journalism and worked hard to get this job. But ..." (Tweet) - via Twitter.
6. ^ "The Courier" (PDF). Newcastle University. 6 July 2009. p. 2\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
7. ^ McCann, Kate (8 November 2010). "Diary of a parliamentary researcher: My first week working in Westminster". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
8. ^ a b c Tobbitt, Charlotte (26 April 2022). "TalkTV political editor Kate McCann says 'dare to be different' is mantra of new channel". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
9. ^ "Kate McCann". LinkedIn. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
10. ^ McCann, Kate (11 May 2017). "Jeremy Corbyn's left-wing Labour manifesto leaked". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.(subscription required)
11. ^ Mayhew, Freddie (31 July 2018). "Telegraph's Kate McCann joins Sky News politics team as Sky's Beth Rigby promoted to deputy political editor". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
12. ^ "TV debate between Truss and Sunak cancelled after presenter faints". The Guardian. 26 July 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
13. ^ Adams, Charley (27 July 2022). "A bit bruised but glad to be back, says TV debate host Kate McCann". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
14. ^ "Kate McCann and Adam Boulton to host Sunday mornings on Times Radio". Radio Today. 23 August 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
15. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (3 July 2023). "Kate McCann moves from TalkTV to become the radio station's political editor". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
16. ^ "BBC One - Question Time, 2024, 18/01/2024". BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
17. ^ "Drink spiking: 'Men who spiked my drink brazen' says presenter Kate McCann". BBC News. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
18. ^ "Kate McCann to co-host breakfast on Times Radio with Stig Abell". RadioToday. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.