25 Aug 2026

Melissa Reddy

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(16 votes, average: 4.81 out of 5)

 

Melissa Reddy is a South African football journalist and author. She was a senior reporter for Sky Sports and Sky Sports News, specializing in the Premier League, from 2022 to 2025

Whilst studying at university, Melissa Reddy did an internship at Summit TV, a business channel in South Africa. After moving to Cape Town and joining TEAMtalk Media in 2007, and working across many sports, Melissa Reddy was Head of Football by 2011, before becoming Deputy Editor of Kick Off which is Africa’s largest sport publication. On both occasions, she was the first woman to hold such a post, and was also the first to feature as a football analyst on SuperSport’s marquee shows Backpages and Monday Night Football.

Melissa Reddy became the Liverpool correspondent of Goal’s 38 editions worldwide in November 2015. Reddy was then football correspondent at ESPN, wrote for The Athletic, and became the senior football correspondent at Joe, before joining The Independent as senior football correspondent in November 2019.

Melissa Reddy’s television appearances include Sky Sports News’ Tackling Racism, Sunday Supplement, Red Men TV and the BBC’s Premier League Show. Melissa Reddy has also guested on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Melissa Reddy has written for, guested and presented shows on The Anfield Wrap. Melissa Reddy has also presented shows on The Football Ramble, and guested on Second Captains, and BT Sport’s Football Writers Podcast. In 2020, Melissa Reddy started her own podcast interview series entitled Between The Lines with Melissa Reddy. Guests have included Gary Lineker, Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Sturridge.

Also in 2020, Melissa Reddy released her first book, entitled Believe Us: How Jürgen Klopp Transformed Liverpool Into Title Winners. The book was referenced by England national rugby union team head coach Eddie Jones as an insight into the thinking and practices of the elite team produced by Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Melissa Reddy has spoken prominently about the racism and sexism she has endured in forging her career, and the barriers women face.

Melissa Reddy was shortlisted in the Best Writer category in the 2021 Football Supporters’ Association awards.

19 Aug 2026

Dr Shini Somara

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(8 votes, average: 4.88 out of 5)

 

Shini Somara is a British mechanical engineer, media broadcaster, producer and author. She has presented TechKnow on Al Jazeera America and reporting for various BBC shows including The Health Show. Shini Somara has also hosted two educational series of physics and engineering videos on the Crash Course YouTube channel for PBS Digital Studios. She has been a presenter on BBC America, Sky Atlantic, BBC1, BBC2, and PBS.

Shini Somara’s broadcasting career started in 2011 when she presented on the BBC’s The Health Show, covering developments in global health. Later that year, she began hosting No Kitchen Required which aired in 2012 on BBC America. The show involved three professional chefs immersing themselves in alternative culture with tribes and attempting to cook using unfamiliar tribal methods. The first season included trips to Dominica, New Zealand, Thailand and Fiji.

In 2013, Shini Somara started working on the Al Jazeera America talk show TechKnow – a 30-minute show about science and technology. It outlines innovations in technology and science and how they are changing lives of people in America. The shows are recorded with a group of contributors with backgrounds in science and technology.

Between 2014 and late 2016, Shini Somara worked on several BBC productions, including Tomorrow’s Food, Battle of Jutland and Secrets of Orkney with Neil Oliver and Chris Packham, and for Sky Atlantic.

In early 2016, Shini Somara started working with PBS Digital Studios on Crash Course Physics (an online educational resource explaining complicated theories in a simple way with intuitive visuals). She extended her involvement with Crash Course in 2018 with a new series, Crash Course Engineering.

In 2020, Shini Somara was a reporter on the scientific program Razor on CGTN. In January 2021, she was a regular commentator on Science Channel’s Engineering Catastrophes.

14 May 2025

Amanda Akass

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(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

 

Amanda Akass is a political correspondent for Sky News. She began covering politics on local radio during the 2008 London mayoral campaign and has since reported on general and local elections across the country, as well as the Brexit referendum.

Prior to joining Sky Amanda Akass spent ten years at the BBC, most recently as a reporter and presenter in the South East. During her time as regional political editor she interviewed the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer.

Amanda Akass also specialised in crime and court reporting. Her coverage of the Shoreham air crash trial at the Old Bailey won an RTS award and she has carried out several long-form investigations.

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5 May 2025

Sophy Ridge

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(280 votes, average: 4.94 out of 5)

 

Sophy Ridge is an English broadcast journalist who has worked for Sky News since 2011.

After graduation in 2006, Sophy Ridge was a trainee reporter at the tabloid newspaper News of the World. After completion of her training programmes she initially worked as a consumer affairs correspondent in 2009. She then gained a job as a political correspondent on Sky News in 2011.

During her time there she covered a broad range of political stories and travelled with the British Prime Minister to Afghanistan, New York and Brazil. She was based in Colorado for the channel’s coverage of the US elections and was known for her round the clock broadcasting at the annual party conferences.

Sophy Ridge covered the 2015 general election as a senior political correspondent for Sky News, reporting on the Labour Party’s campaign and conducting interviews with party members. Her exclusives during this time included Ed Miliband’s resignation as leader of the Labour Party following the result of that general election and Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the subsequent Labour Party leadership election.

In 2017 Sophy Ridge became the host of her own show, Sophy Ridge on Sunday. In the same year Ridge released her first book The Women Who Shaped Politics, a non-fiction book which discussed women’s contribution to British politics. She also started writing columns in the tabloid newspaper Metro.

In 2022, she launched The Take with Sophy Ridge, a 30-minute discussion show based on the interviews that had featured in that week’s edition.

Sophy Ridge continued to present both programmes until July 2023 when it was announced that, from September 2023, she would present a new weeknight political programme for Sky News called Politics Hub.

In March 2025, Sophy Ridge won the award for Network Presenter of the Year at the 2025 Royal Television Society Journalism Awards.

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12 Jul 2022

Alex Dolan

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(265 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)

 

Alexandra Marie Dolan is a journalist, weather presenter and science teacher who went undercover for the documentary Undercover Teacher, produced by Allen Jewhurst. For this, she was suspended from teaching for one year by the General Teaching Council with the claim that ‘breached student trust’. The decision has received criticism from both teachers and commentators.

Alex Dolan was born in Cuckfield, in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex. She has an older brother. After growing up in Cambridge she attended The Leys School, an independent school in Cambridge and Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies, and studied Marine Biology at Newcastle University. In 2019, Dolan moved from Norwich to Cromer.

More recently, Alex Dolan has been employed as a presenter on Sky’s Ocean TV programme Ocean Rescue. She returned to presenting the weather on BBC Look East on 5 January 2016 following maternity leave.

 

25 Aug 2021

Natalie Pinkham

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(46 votes, average: 4.52 out of 5)

 

Natalie Pinkham was born in Buckinghamshire to barrister mother Joy, and property developer John, Natalie Pinkham and her older DJ brother Sam, who presents the early morning show for Virgin Radio, were raised at the family home in Northants. Natalie Pinkham was educated at Queenswood School, an independent boarding school with fellow presenter and friend Georgie Thompson; and then as a day girl at Rugby School, before studying politics at the University of Nottingham. A capable 800m runner, she gave up the event to study at university.

After graduation, she joined Endemol as a researcher on BBC Two’s Ready Steady Cook, and then as an assistant producer on International King of Sports. She then worked for IMG/TWI as an assistant producer on Superstars.

Moving in front of the camera, she hosted the Isle of Man TT races for Men and Motors, reported from the Tennis Masters Cup in the United States for Sky Sports and fronted Chelsea F.C.’s Blues News. Pinkham co-hosted ITV4’s World Cuppa with Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell and BBC Radio Five Live’s Steve Bunce during the 2006 FIFA World Cup; whilst also presenting an internet World Cup show for Nobok Sports site. In recent years Natalie Pinkham has also hosted the International Rugby Awards with Joel Stransky in 2004; the SALSA fashion show in 2004 with Craig Doyle; GOAL’s Aura of Asia fundraising event with Liz Bonnin in 2005 and Extreme Sports Channel’s coverage of the Euro Beach Soccer League and the Beach Soccer World Cup Draw with Eric Cantona in 2006. Along with ITV Fixers ‘The Big Fix’, The Salon Prive dinner and the Boodles Tennis Invitational, all in 2010.

Natalie Pinkham has also been a poker presenter, becoming the face of The Poker Channel for two years – hosting the British Poker Open, the World Cup of Poker, The Scandinavian Poker Awards with Mads Mikkelsen in 2007 and a How to Play Poker DVD for Virgin Games. She also penned interviews with some of the world’s top pros and filmed the European Poker Tour for Challenge and Eurosport.

Scheduled to present Heart London’s Friday evening show from January 2008, on 7 January 2008 it was officially announced that she would be competing in ITV1’s Dancing on Ice, partnered with Russian Andrei Lipanov and being taught to skate by ice legends Torvill and Dean. Natalie Pinkham was reported to earn £35,000 for taking part but exited in Week 2 on 20 January 2008 after a skate-off with ex-Blue Peter presenter Tim Vincent and his partner Viktoria Borzenkova.

In 2009, Natalie Pinkham co-hosted The Goodwood Festival of Speed with Steve Rider and in 2009 and 2010 co-hosted The Goodwood Revival with Craig Doyle and Ben Fogle, respectively. In 2010, Pinkham guest presented Channel 5’s Live from Studio Five and continued to be a regular panelist on The Wright Stuff. She also hosted the World Series of Poker Europe for ESPN.

It was confirmed on 13 January 2011 that Natalie Pinkham was to join BBC Radio 5 Live’s Formula 1 commentary team as a pit lane reporter for the 2011 season – a role she took up beginning with the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.

In December 2011, it was announced she was working for Sky Sports covering the 2012 F1 season. Her main role for the 2012 season was pit reporting throughout the practice sessions, qualifying and the race alongside other commitments like interviews. For 2013, she replaced close friend Georgie Thompson as host of The F1 Show and over following years has become a key member of the Sky Sports F1 team.

In 2021, Natalie Pinkham became the first woman to commentate on a Formula One session on British television when she led Sky’s commentary of first practice at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, working alongside Karun Chandhok and Jenson Button.

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