Fiona Bruce's Question Time controversies that have seen her resign from high profile roles and publicly apologise

Newsreader and broadcaster Fiona Bruce is, at this point, one of the most recognisable faces on our television screens. Viewers will usually find her sat behind the desk of BBC News, holding politicians to account on Question Time, or finding hidden gems on Antiques Roadshow.

The 60-year-old, who was born in Malaysia to an English mother and Scottish father, began her career at a management consultant firm after leaving university — but thought the experience was ‘dull’ so searched elsewhere for a career.

After that she worked at a number of advertising agencies, including Boase Massimi Pollitt, where she met her future husband Nigel Sharrocks. She then went on to meet Tim Gardam – at that time the editor of the BBC's Panorama – at a wedding and in 1989 he gave her a job as a researcher on the programme.

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In the years that followed Bruce gradually rose up the ranks at the BBC, first as a reporter on Breakfast News and later for Newsnight and eventually BBC News. Notably Bruce was the first female presenter of the BBC Ten O’Clock News. Between 2007 and 2019 she presented the BBC’s Six O’Clock News.

In January 2019 she succeeded long-time host David Dimbleby on the BBC's debate programme Question Time as the first full-time female host. Her tenure as host was almost immediately embroiled in controversy and in May 2020 she stated that “the show was “without doubt the hardest job I've ever done".

Over the years the presenter has been embroiled in a number of controversies on the show. Last year, during an episode when journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown claimed that Stanley Johnson, the father of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, had broken his wife's nose, Bruce interrupted to comment that Johnson's friends had said that the incident occurred, but was a "one-off”.

Following the episode, Labour MP Kate Osborne, and chief executive of domestic violence charity Women's Aid, Farah Nazeer, among others, criticised the comment, saying that it downplayed domestic violence. The BBC defended Bruce by saying that as the host she had a duty to present an avenue of reply by accused parties and it was not her personal comment.

Bruce apologised for her comments after the incident and said that she was "required to legally contextualise" the statement, and that her comments were not reflective of her own opinions. She subsequently resigned as an ambassador for the domestic violence charity Refuge, a role she had been in for over 25 years. You can read more about the incident here.

Following an October 2023 edition of the show from Wolverhampton, Bruce apologised to an audience member for identifying him as "the black guy" on air.

Bruce’s husband Nigel Sharrocks is non-executive chairman of Digital Cinema Media. They married in July 1994 in Islington, London. The couple have two children, a son called Sam born in January 1998 and a daughter called Mia born in November 2001, and live in Belsize Park, London, and also have a second home in Sydenham, Oxfordshire.

Sam works as an assistant producer for the BBC. Prior to his producer role he was a researcher for the broadcaster. He is also a skilled director and photographer and, according to his website, has worked in "scripted drama and factual TV, as well as corporate and event videography and photography." According to her LinkedIn Mia has worked for production company Ginger Owl Productions in the past. The company's website states that they "are a full-service live events production company". They specialise in artist liaison management, event management and production management. As of January 2024 Mia is still at university studying economics. For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.