Steph McGovern

Biography

Award-winning business journalist and broadcaster Steph McGovern co-hosts the The Rest Is Money with Robert Peston, where they explore the economic issues that affect our everyday lives, interview key figures in business and policy, and analyse the big financial stories. A frequent host and contestant on Have I Got News For You, Steph is also a regular guest on a wide range of TV and radio panel shows. As a presenter, she has fronted series from Shop Well for Less to Crimewatch, as well as her own Channel 4 live lunchtime show, Steph's Packed Lunch.

Working in financial journalism for over twenty years, with eight years on BBC Breakfast, Steph travelled all over the UK covering economic news and broadcasting live from over five hundred businesses. Whether speaking to factory workers or FTSE 100 CEOs, Steph’s mission was to uncover and explain the real economy. She continued that work on her Channel 4 show, with regular features such as her Small Business Market and Job Clinic.

Away from news, Steph launched her own CBBC show looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs, Pocket Money Pitch. On BBC Two’s Made in Great Britain she joined 21st century makers exploring the skills and industries that built the nation. As a guest, she's appeared on shows from Countdown to House of Games to The Last Leg. She co-hosted five series of Shop Well For Less, and four series of the consumer rights institution Watchdog. She also joined Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to present the BBC One health show Easy Ways to Live Well, and guided amateur art dealers in The Big Deal.

Before becoming an on-air correspondent, Steph was the lead producer of financial news for the BBC, working with then Business Editor Robert Peston at the forefront of the award-winning coverage of the credit crunch and banking crisis. She soon began broadcasting herself, and delivered the business news on 5Live, Radio 4 and on the Chris Evans show on Radio 2 before gaining a fulltime role on BBC Breakfast.

Originally from Middlesbrough, Steph started as an apprentice engineer at Black & Decker where, aged nineteen, she won the title of Young Engineer for Britain before studying at University College London. She retains a passion for manufacturing and skills. Outside broadcasting, Steph has a number of her own business interests, and is involved in community and education projects. She is a mentor for young people in her native Teesside and runs workshops with schoolchildren around the North East. Steph is also a patron of the charity Rubies, supporting disadvantaged children, and is a former champion Irish dancer.