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{{short description|British journalist, currently Sky News Political Editor}}
{{use British English|date=February 2019}}
{{use British English|date=February 2019}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
'''Beth Rigby''' (born 6 January 1958) is a British journalist. She has worked for [[Sky News]] since 2016 and became their [[Political Editor]] on 12th April 2019.<ref name=freddy>{{cite news|first1=Freddy|last1=Mayhew|title=Beth Rigby named next Sky News political editor|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/beth-rigby-named-next-sky-news-political-editor/|date=4 February 2019|newspaper=[[Press Gazette]]}}</ref> Rigby has previously worked as a newspaper journalist for the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and ''[[The Times]]''.<ref name=roy>{{cite news|first1=Roy|last1=Greenslade|accessdate=2019-02-05|title=FT's Beth Rigby is appointed media editor of the Times|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/jul/22/fts-beth-rigby-is-appointed-media-editor-of-the-times|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 July 2015}}</ref>
| name = Beth Rigby
| image = Elizabeth Rigby December 2014 (cropped).jpg
| alt = Rigby in 2014
| caption = Rigby in 2014
| birth_name = Elizabeth Frances Rigby
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth-date and age|19 February 1976}}<ref name=WW>{{cite web |title=Rigby, Elizabeth Frances, (born 19 Feb. 1976), Political Editor, Sky News, since 2019 {{!}} WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO |url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-293262 |website=www.ukwhoswho.com |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U293262}}</ref>
| birth_place = Colchester, Essex, England
| education = [[Beaconsfield High School]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[University of London]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])}}
| occupation = Journalist
| years_active = 2000–present
| employer = [[Sky News]] (2016–present)
| title = [[Political Editor]]
| television =
| partner = Angelo Acanfora<ref name="WW" />
}}

'''Elizabeth Frances Rigby''' (born 19 February 1976) is a British journalist. She has worked for [[Sky News]] since 2016, and was appointed [[Political Editor]] in 2019. Rigby has previously worked as a newspaper journalist for the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and ''[[The Times]]''. Rigby presents a talk show on Thursday nights on Sky News called ''Beth Rigby Interviews'', which launched in March 2022.

Rigby is a co-host of the weekly politics [[podcast]], ''Electoral Dysfunction'', alongside [[Ruth Davidson]] and [[Harriet Harman]]. [[Jess Phillips]] was previously a co-host, but stepped down in July 2024.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Rigby was born in [[Essex]]. She attended [[Beaconsfield High School]], a girls' [[grammar school]] in [[Buckinghamshire]], before studying social and political science at the [[University of Cambridge]], where her father also studied.<ref name=martin>{{cite news|first1=Martin|last1=Phillips|accessdate=2019-02-05|title=Beth Rigby: Who is Sky TV's political reporter and why is she tipped for the top?|url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1080757/beth-rigby-sky-news-deputy-political-editor|date=31 January 2019|newspaper=Daily Express}}</ref> She went on to gain a [[masters degree]] in [[Latin American studies]] from the [[University of London]].<ref name=martin/><ref name=roy/>
Rigby was born in Colchester, Essex. She grew up in Buckinghamshire, and attended [[Beaconsfield High School]], a girls' grammar school. Her father was a businessman and her mother was a headteacher.<ref name=RTS/> Rigby graduated with a [[British undergraduate degree classification|first]] in social and political science from [[Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge]].<ref name=RTS>{{cite web|url=https://rts.org.uk/article/skys-beth-rigby-woman-shaking-westminster|website=Royal Television Society|date=May 2019|access-date=2 September 2019|title=Sky's Beth Rigby: The woman shaking up Westminster}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2000-01/weekly/5846/29.htm|website=University of Cambridge|access-date=2 September 2019|title=Congregation of the Regent House on 12 May 2001}}</ref> She went on to gain a master's degree in economics and development studies from the [[Institute of Latin American Studies]] at the [[University of London]].<ref name=RTS/>


==Career==
==Career==
Rigby joined the ''[[Financial Times]]'' as a graduate trainee in 1998 and remained there until 2015, working successively as a retail correspondent, [[hedge fund]] correspondent and consumer industries editor before becoming chief political correspondent in 2010 and deputy political editor in January 2013.<ref name=roy/> She joined ''[[The Times]]'' in 2015 as media editor before moving to [[Sky News]] in 2016, initially as senior political correspondent before being promoted in July 2018 to deputy political editor.<ref name=roy/><ref>{{cite news|first1=Freddy |last1=Mayhew|accessdate=2019-02-05|title=Telegraph's Kate McCann joins Sky News politics team as Sky's Beth Rigby promoted to deputy political editor|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/telegraphs-kate-mccann-joins-sky-news-politics-team-as-skys-beth-rigby-promoted-to-deputy-political-editor/|date=31 July 2018|newspaper=Press Gazette}}</ref> In February 2019 she was appointed Political Editor and took up the post on 12th April 2019, replacing [[Faisal Islam]] when he joins [[BBC News]] as economics editor.<ref name=freddy/>
After graduation Rigby spent a period of time teaching English in Portugal,<ref name="Butter"/> before joining the ''[[Financial Times]]'' as a graduate trainee in 1998.<ref name="grazia2020">{{cite web |last1=Aspinall |first1=Georgia |title=Meet Beth Rigby: The Woman Holding Power To Account |url=https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/beth-rigby-interview/ |website=Grazia |access-date=21 June 2020 |date=21 June 2020}}</ref> Her roles at the newspaper included [[hedge fund]] correspondent, retail correspondent and consumer industries editor, before she became chief political correspondent in 2010 and deputy political editor in January 2013. She joined ''[[The Times]]'' in 2015 as media editor before moving to [[Sky News]] in 2016, initially as senior political correspondent, before being promoted in July 2018 to deputy political editor.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Roy|last1=Greenslade|access-date=2019-02-05|title=FT's Beth Rigby is appointed media editor of the Times|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/jul/22/fts-beth-rigby-is-appointed-media-editor-of-the-times|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Freddy |last1=Mayhew|access-date=2019-02-05|title=Telegraph's Kate McCann joins Sky News politics team as Sky's Beth Rigby promoted to deputy political editor|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/telegraphs-kate-mccann-joins-sky-news-politics-team-as-skys-beth-rigby-promoted-to-deputy-political-editor/|date=31 July 2018|newspaper=Press Gazette}}</ref> In February 2019 she was appointed political editor and took up the post on 12 April 2019, replacing [[Faisal Islam]], who had joined [[BBC News]] as economics editor.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Freddy|last1=Mayhew|title=Beth Rigby named next Sky News political editor|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/beth-rigby-named-next-sky-news-political-editor/|date=4 February 2019|work=[[Press Gazette]]|access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref>

According to the ''[[i (newspaper)|i]]'', Rigby is known for "her trademark dark [[Bob cut|bob]] and red lipstick, her distinctive diction and [...] her persistent questioning of senior politicians".<ref name="Interview series">{{cite news |last1=Burrell |first1=Ian |title='Smashed by Beth': Sky News's Beth Rigby opens her interview series with Boris in the hotseat |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/media/sky-news-beth-rigby-interview-series-boris-johnson-podcast-1509582 |access-date=11 March 2022 |work=i |date=10 March 2022}}</ref>

In December 2020 Rigby was criticised for breaching [[The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020|London's tier 2 COVID-19 restrictions]] by attending a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of Sky presenter [[Kay Burley]], and was taken off air until March 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kay Burley: Sky News presenter faces internal inquiry after breaking Covid rules |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/kay-burley-sky-news-covid-rules-b1767815.html |work=The Independent |last=Sly |first=Eleanor |access-date=8 December 2020 |date=8 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kay Burley: Sky News presenter apologises for Covid breach |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55227470 |website=BBC News |access-date=8 December 2020 |date=8 December 2020}}</ref> Rigby had offered to resign over the breach, later saying, "it was potentially damaging for the channel... it had upset my colleagues, and I felt absolutely wretched about that". [[John Ryley]], the head of Sky News, declined her offer to resign.<ref name="Partygate">{{cite news |last1=Billen |first1=Andrew |title=Beth Rigby on her 'partygate' scandal: I wish I hadn't gone — it was a mistake |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beth-rigby-on-her-partygate-scandal-i-wish-i-hadnt-gone-it-was-a-mistake-plmqfnfdb |access-date=9 March 2022 |work=The Times |date=8 March 2022}}</ref>

Following [[Laura Kuenssberg]]'s announcement of her departure as BBC News' political editor, Rigby was associated with the position.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sherwin |first1=Adam |title=Paul Brand to stay at ITV as new Tonight presenter after rejecting BBC Political Editor approach |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/paul-brand-itv-bbc-political-editor-1506505 |access-date=11 March 2022 |work=i |date=9 March 2022}}</ref> Rigby presents a talk show on Thursday nights on Sky News called ''Beth Rigby Interviews'',<ref name="Partygate"/> which launched in March 2022.<ref name="Interview series"/> During the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], Rigby hosted a televised town hall leaders’ event on 12 June 2024 with [[Keir Starmer]] and [[Rishi Sunak]], in which they took questions from an audience in Grimsby.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Be in the audience for our general election leaders event |url=https://news.sky.com/story/be-in-the-audience-for-our-general-election-leaders-event-13145102 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531135212/https://news.sky.com/story/be-in-the-audience-for-our-general-election-leaders-event-13145102 |archive-date=31 May 2024 |access-date=2 June 2024 |publisher=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
She has two children with her partner Angelo Acanfora.<ref name="WW" /><ref name="Butter">{{Cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/beth-rigby-says-laura-kuenssberg-is-like-a-racehorse-and-shes-more-like-a-pit-pony-she-is-willowy-and-tall-im-short-and-stocky-38069389.html |title=Beth Rigby says Laura Kuenssberg is like a racehorse – and she's more like a pit pony – 'she is willowy and tall, I'm short and stocky' |last=Butter |first=Susannah |date=4 May 2019 |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref> She lives in [[North London]].<ref name="Partygate"/>


Her mother died of lung cancer at the age of 62, and her brother Alex died of [[thymic carcinoma]] at the age of 42.<ref name=RTS/>
Rigby has also appeared as a guest on [[BBC television]] programmes ''[[Sunday Politics]]'', the ''[[Andrew Marr Show]]'' and ''[[Newsnight]]''.<ref name=roy/>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=6784921|name=Beth Rigby}}
*{{Twitter|BethRigby}}


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Latest revision as of 09:19, 29 December 2024

Beth Rigby
Rigby in 2014
Rigby in 2014
Born
Elizabeth Frances Rigby

19 February 1976 (1976-02-19) (age 48)[1]
Colchester, Essex, England
EducationBeaconsfield High School
Alma mater
OccupationJournalist
Years active2000–present
EmployerSky News (2016–present)
TitlePolitical Editor
PartnerAngelo Acanfora[1]

Elizabeth Frances Rigby (born 19 February 1976) is a British journalist. She has worked for Sky News since 2016, and was appointed Political Editor in 2019. Rigby has previously worked as a newspaper journalist for the Financial Times and The Times. Rigby presents a talk show on Thursday nights on Sky News called Beth Rigby Interviews, which launched in March 2022.

Rigby is a co-host of the weekly politics podcast, Electoral Dysfunction, alongside Ruth Davidson and Harriet Harman. Jess Phillips was previously a co-host, but stepped down in July 2024.

Early life and education

[edit]

Rigby was born in Colchester, Essex. She grew up in Buckinghamshire, and attended Beaconsfield High School, a girls' grammar school. Her father was a businessman and her mother was a headteacher.[2] Rigby graduated with a first in social and political science from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.[2][3] She went on to gain a master's degree in economics and development studies from the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of London.[2]

Career

[edit]

After graduation Rigby spent a period of time teaching English in Portugal,[4] before joining the Financial Times as a graduate trainee in 1998.[5] Her roles at the newspaper included hedge fund correspondent, retail correspondent and consumer industries editor, before she became chief political correspondent in 2010 and deputy political editor in January 2013. She joined The Times in 2015 as media editor before moving to Sky News in 2016, initially as senior political correspondent, before being promoted in July 2018 to deputy political editor.[6][7] In February 2019 she was appointed political editor and took up the post on 12 April 2019, replacing Faisal Islam, who had joined BBC News as economics editor.[8]

According to the i, Rigby is known for "her trademark dark bob and red lipstick, her distinctive diction and [...] her persistent questioning of senior politicians".[9]

In December 2020 Rigby was criticised for breaching London's tier 2 COVID-19 restrictions by attending a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of Sky presenter Kay Burley, and was taken off air until March 2021.[10][11] Rigby had offered to resign over the breach, later saying, "it was potentially damaging for the channel... it had upset my colleagues, and I felt absolutely wretched about that". John Ryley, the head of Sky News, declined her offer to resign.[12]

Following Laura Kuenssberg's announcement of her departure as BBC News' political editor, Rigby was associated with the position.[13] Rigby presents a talk show on Thursday nights on Sky News called Beth Rigby Interviews,[12] which launched in March 2022.[9] During the 2024 general election, Rigby hosted a televised town hall leaders’ event on 12 June 2024 with Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, in which they took questions from an audience in Grimsby.[14]

Personal life

[edit]

She has two children with her partner Angelo Acanfora.[1][4] She lives in North London.[12]

Her mother died of lung cancer at the age of 62, and her brother Alex died of thymic carcinoma at the age of 42.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Rigby, Elizabeth Frances, (born 19 Feb. 1976), Political Editor, Sky News, since 2019 | WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO". www.ukwhoswho.com. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U293262.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sky's Beth Rigby: The woman shaking up Westminster". Royal Television Society. May 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Congregation of the Regent House on 12 May 2001". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b Butter, Susannah (4 May 2019). "Beth Rigby says Laura Kuenssberg is like a racehorse – and she's more like a pit pony – 'she is willowy and tall, I'm short and stocky'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ Aspinall, Georgia (21 June 2020). "Meet Beth Rigby: The Woman Holding Power To Account". Grazia. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ Greenslade, Roy (22 July 2015). "FT's Beth Rigby is appointed media editor of the Times". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  7. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (31 July 2018). "Telegraph's Kate McCann joins Sky News politics team as Sky's Beth Rigby promoted to deputy political editor". Press Gazette. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  8. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (4 February 2019). "Beth Rigby named next Sky News political editor". Press Gazette. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b Burrell, Ian (10 March 2022). "'Smashed by Beth': Sky News's Beth Rigby opens her interview series with Boris in the hotseat". i. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ^ Sly, Eleanor (8 December 2020). "Kay Burley: Sky News presenter faces internal inquiry after breaking Covid rules". The Independent. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Kay Burley: Sky News presenter apologises for Covid breach". BBC News. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Billen, Andrew (8 March 2022). "Beth Rigby on her 'partygate' scandal: I wish I hadn't gone — it was a mistake". The Times. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  13. ^ Sherwin, Adam (9 March 2022). "Paul Brand to stay at ITV as new Tonight presenter after rejecting BBC Political Editor approach". i. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Be in the audience for our general election leaders event". Sky News. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
[edit]
Media offices
Preceded by Political Editor of Sky News
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Beth_Rigby&oldid=1265936133"