Quick Facts
Biography
Mark Mardell (born 10 September 1957, in Hillingdon, Middlesex) is the presenter of The World This Weekend on BBC Radio 4. He previously served as the BBC's Europe editor and has provided coverage for each United Kingdom general election between 1992 and 2005, before he became the North America editor.
Life and career
Mardell was raised in Surrey and, like his near contemporary with the BBC's news division, Nicholas Witchell, attended Epsom College. He moved on to the University of Kent where he studied Politics.
He began his career reporting and reading the news for the commercial station Radio Tees. He then worked at Radio Aire in Leeds before moving to Independent Radio News in London, where he became industrial editor covering the miners' strike and then the Wapping print dispute.
Mardell first appeared on television on Channel 4's The Sharp End. He joined the BBC in 1989 as political correspondent for the BBC Six O'Clock News.
From 1992 to 2000, he worked as political editor for BBC Two's Newsnight programme. During this time he covered many political stories including the fall of John Major's government and the rise of Tony Blair and New Labour. He returned to the BBC's Six O'Clock News, before becoming chief political correspondent and moving to the BBC Ten O'Clock News in 2003. Two years later he became the BBC's first Europe editor, covering the impact of EU laws on people in and beyond the European Union, from illegal immigration in Poland to environmental change in Spain.
He regularly presented Broadcasting House and The World at One on BBC Radio 4 and presented a humorous review on This Week, BBC One's political chat show. Mardell left his post as Europe editor to replace Justin Webb as BBC North America editor when Webb became a presenter on Radio 4's Today programme. At the end of April 2014, it emerged that he was to leave his post in North America and become a presenter on BBC Radio 4 hosting The World This Weekend and the Friday edition of The World at One.
Mardell is married and has three children.