2011 Academy Fellow: Sir Trevor McDonald OBE

Sir Trevor McDonald, renowned Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist, was honoured to receive a prestigious BAFTA Fellowship at The British Academy Television Awards 2011.

McDonald is one of the most respected broadcasters of his generation, best known for his prolific newscasting work on ITN. He’s anchored every ITN News programme, from News at One to the flagship, BAFTA-winning News at Ten.

Along the way he’s secured interviews with many of the world’s highest-profile figures, including Nelsen Mandela and Bill Clinton.

“No journalist and presenter is better loved and respected by the audience than Sir Trevor McDonald,” said John Willis, BAFTA’s TV Committee chair.

“His authority and humanity has shone through all his work. He’s a very worthy recipient of the Fellowship because, for many years, he has been simply the best.”

He received the Fellowship at The British Academy Television Awards 2011, held on 22 May at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Born and educated in Trinidad in the West Indies, he started his career as a radio reporter, news presenter and sports journalist. He was sent on his first major assignment to London in 1962, resulting in a move to the UK.

His first role in Britain was as a producer in the BBC Overseas Regional Service. He went on to produce current affairs programmes for the BBC World Service and helped launch key shows such as The World Today, which are still part of the schedule.

In the early 1980s, McDonald won one of the most important television interviews of the era. He was the only British television correspondent to interview Nelson Mandela following his release from prison, and later became the only British journalist to interview former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

In the years since he’s gone on to interview Libyan President Colonel Gaddafi, former PLO leader Yasser Arafat, US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Colin Powell. These interviews captured the headlines and made the news a much-watch event.

From 1999 to December 2007, McDonald presented ITV’s flagship current affairs programme Tonight. He interviewed US president George Bush twice, plus other leading political figures including Tony Blair, Condoleezza Rice and Hilary Clinton.

In 2005, Sir Trevor became the first sole presenter of News at Ten. By then he had received more awards than any other newscaster in Britain. These included BAFTA’s Richard Dimbleby Award in 1998 for the year’s most important personal contribution on the screen in factual television. McDonald also recently topped a poll as the most authoritative and trustworthy news presenter.

Awarded every year by the Academy, the BAFTA Fellowship is the highest accolade given to an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or TV.

Previous Fellows include Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier and Judi Dench.

For more inspiring stories from the world of film, games and TV explore our BAFTA Award Stories section.