Paddy O'Connell

Guy Patrick O'Connell is an English television and radio presenter. He presents BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme and Newsnight. He is also an occasional presenter of the PM programme. O'Connell is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

O'Connell was born in Guildford, Surrey. He was educated at Gresham's School in Norfolk and the University of Aberdeen, where he studied political science.

O'Connell began his broadcasting career in 1989 on the BBC's local radio trainee scheme, leading to five years spent as a BBC local radio reporter in Devon, Essex and Cleveland. He then joined BBC Radio 5 Live at its launch in 1994, before moving to the United States to present BBC World Service's programme The World. He has also presented and reported for a range of other radio stations across the world, including in Australia and Canada.

In 1997 O'Connell became BBC News's North America Business Correspondent and Wall Street anchor, based in New York City. He appeared regularly on BBC World, BBC News 24 and BBC One news bulletins, reporting on and presenting business news. Alongside Richard Quest, he was the U.S.-based anchor for the BBC's programme World Business Report on BBC World and BBC News 24.

O'Connell was in New York City at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks, and was due to attend a meeting inside the World Trade Center on that day.

He stayed in New York for a further two years but left the United States and the BBC, in 2003. He then did a variety of freelance work, including for the BBC. He fronted news and entertainment shows on the corporation's youth-orientated digital channel BBC Three. He presented Celebdaq, a show based around a celebrity stock exchange, allowing O'Connell to mix his vast business knowledge with his interest in showbusiness. He also worked on Liquid News, replacing the late Christopher Price as its main presenter; presented the one-off Flashmob – The Opera; and was a main anchor on the BBC's offbeat evening news bulletin The 7 O'Clock News.

O'Connell was one of the main presenters on the daily BBC Two business news programme Working Lunch, and anchored the show every Friday and occasionally at other times, presenting alongside Adam Shaw or Nik Wood. He left the programme on 26 September 2008, ahead of its relaunch with new presenters. He also appeared on BBC Breakfast, presenting the programme's business news segments from the London Stock Exchange, filling in for regular business reporter Declan Curry.

He presented the weekday evening TV quiz show Battle of the Brains on BBC Two, before being replaced by Nicky Campbell.