From Nina Warhurst’s acting roles to Charlie Stayt’s stint as a roofer

The stars of BBC Breakfast have all made their names in the world of journalism. But did you know that some of them had very different career aspirations before becoming broadcasters?

From Nina Warhurst’s acting career to Charlie Stayt’s stint as a roofer, find out which jobs the presenters worked before joining BBC Breakfast.

© @NinaWarhurst/X

Nina Warhurst

Long before she landed her presenting role at BBC Breakfast, Nina made her small-screen debut in the Christmas special of Casualty in 1997. The journalist shared a throwback photo from her time on the show back in 2022 in celebration of the BBC’s 100th birthday. “Happy Birthday BBC. Howling at finding my first appearance with Auntie,” she penned. “Casualty…a spiky teen in polyester, keeping boys a secret, causing parents endless headaches (v method for me in 1997 luvvies).”

After her Casualty gig, Nina made one-episode appearances in Heartbeat, Butterfly Collectors and The Cops in the late Nineties.

While she didn’t pursue a career in acting, Nina later returned to TV screens in Moscow, beginning her broadcasting career on Russia Today. After stints at Channel M Breakfast, East Midlands Today and BBC North West Tonight, Nina eventually joined BBC Breakfast in 2018.

© Mark Thomas/Shutterstock

Carol Kirkwood

While Carol Kirkwood is now one of the nation’s most famous weather presenters, she left the BBC to work in recruitment for a brief period. She also worked as Associate Director for a head-hunting organisation and as a training consultant for a management consultancy in Cheshire before landing her first presenting job on a local cable channel and eventually joining BBC News as a weather presenter in 1998.

© James Stack/BBC

Charlie Stayt

For over a decade, Charlie has been waking up the nation with the latest headlines on BBC Breakfast. But did you know that he spent years working completely different jobs before changing careers?

Charlie previously told the BBC that while he was a “late starter as a journalist“, his years spent working as a roofer, a roadie and a barman were “not entirely wasted”.

The broadcaster began his career in commercial radio in his hometown Gloucester, before working for Capital Radio and eventually moving to TV. He worked for ITV and Five News before joining BBC Breakfast in 2006.

© David Fisher/Shutterstock

Mike Bushell

While he’s made his name in sports journalism, Mike had aspirations of becoming an actor when he was young. After joining the National Youth Theatre, the broadcaster went on to study theatre and television at university. While studying, he began working at a local newspaper, marking his start in journalism.

Following stints at the Derby Evening Telegraph and the Windsor and Slough Observer, Mike landed his first broadcasting job as a trainee reporter for BBC Radio Solent. He later worked for BBC South Today before joining the BBC News channel, and eventually BBC Breakfast.

© Shutterstock

Steph McGovern

While she’s no longer a regular face of BBC Breakfast, Steph made her name as the show’s business presenter. But before forging a career in broadcast journalism, the Middlesbrough-born star was an engineering apprentice.

When she was 18 years old, Steph did an engineering apprenticeship at the tool company Black & Decker in Spennymoor, County Durham. For her work there, she was awarded the Young Engineers Clubs’ ‘Young Engineer for Britain’.

After studying science communication and policy at university, Steph kick-started her journalism career with a work experience gig on the BBC programme, Tomorrow’s World. From there, she became a BBC reporter before eventually joining BBC Breakfast and later hosted her own Channel 4 show, Steph’s Packed Lunch.