Clive Myrie

Some Lesser Known Facts About Clive Myrie

• Clive Myrie was born and raised in a middle-class family. His family consisted of a Jamaican immigrant who came to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

• Among his 4 siblings, Clive was their first child born in the UK, but his two eldest brothers and older sister were born in Jamaica.

  

• After the divorce of his parents, his father returned to Jamaica after his retirement.

• Clive Myrie was a brilliant student since his childhood. In an interview, he once revealed that he was interested in journalism from a very early age and also used to host school and college sports and cultural events.

• In an interview, he mentioned that when he was a teenager, he used to read the whole Newspaper every morning.

• Clive’s first job was at the supermarket at the age of 15. He also did a job in a bakery.

• In an interview, he revealed his parents wanted him to be a lawyer, that’s why he did his degree in Law from Univerity of Sussex.

• In 1987, Myrie began his career at the BBC as a trainee local radio reporter through the Corporation’s graduate journalism program. His first assignment was with Radio Bristol in 1988, and after that, he got an offer from the BBC with Independent Radio News. He later reported for Points West and went on to work for BBC Television and Radio News.

• In 1996, Clive Myrie became a BBC foreign correspondent in countries such as Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Paris. He had started reporting from more than 90 countries.

• In 1998, Clive Myrie got married to his longtime girlfriend. The couple met at a book launch event in London. They married after six years of dating each other.

• During his career, he covered some major stories, such as the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton (1998) and wars in Kosovo (1998), Afghanistan (2001-2021), and Iraq (2003- 2011), the 2015 Nepal earthquake, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh (2016).

• During the Iraq war, due to the danger, Myrie also wrote a “goodbye” letter to his family in case of his death.

• In an interview, Myrie revealed that he admired Trevor McDonald ( Trinidadian-British Newsreader and Journalist) for his journalism career.

• In 2009, he was appointed as a presenter on the BBC News Channel.

  

• Apart from success in his journalism career, he had been honoured with many doctorate degrees in some of universities, such as in 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from Staffordshire University, in 2019, the University of Sussex awarded him a Doctor of the University degree, in 2022, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Social Science for his outstanding contribution to broadcasting, television and society from the University of Bolton, in 2023 received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts (HonDA) from Edge Hill University, and in 2024, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of the West of Scotland

• In 2021, Clive made his hosting debut with the BBC Two quiz show named Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind. In Mastermind (2021), he took over John Humphrys’s hosting and made a significant cultural moment as the first Black host in the show’s history.

• Myrie also covered the story of the Death of Queen Elizabeth II.

• In an interview, Clive once mentioned that he faced online racial abuse throughout his career, which also included death threats. In October 2019, Ian Hargreaves, a 66-year-old man from Leeds, was also jailed for 18 months at Leeds Crown Court for sending him online death threats. In his victim statement, Myrie said that he found the threats deeply troubling.

• In July 2023, Clive became pro-chancellor of the University of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

  

• Clive Myrie also hosted two travel series titled Clive Myrie’s Italian Road Trip (2023) and Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure (2024). In Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure (2024), his wife, parents, and sister also appear.

  

• In 2024, Clive Myrie became the Chancellor of the University of the Arts, London.

• Clive had presented several documentaries, including a BBC special on the life of former President Barack Obama.

• In 2023, Clive Myrie published two books titled Clive Myrie: The Biography and  Everything Is Everthing: A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope.

• In an interview, Myrie revealed that he enjoyed going to the cinema and loved jazz music a lot.

• In school, he learned to play the violin and the trumpet. In an interview, he mentioned that he used to play in the local youth orchestra.

• In an interview, he mentioned that he was an analogue man in a digital world and hated social media.

• Clive Myrie was an experienced after-dinner speaker, awards host, and conference facilitator.

• Myrie was a football lover and supported the Manchester City F.C. football team.

• In an interview, Clive Myrie mentioned that he and his wife love to travel a lot, so they decided not to have children because they felt they couldn’t provide proper care for them while traveling.