Rory Cellan-Jones
British journalist and former BBC technology correspondent.
Rory Cellan-Jones is a British journalist and author who served as the BBC News technology correspondent for over a decade. He is known for his coverage of the internet's cultural impact and for publicly disclosing his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2019.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Nicholas Rory Cellan-Jones
- Born
- 17 January 1958
- Education
- Dulwich College
- Alma mater
- Jesus College, Cambridge
- Occupation
- Journalist, author
- Spouse
- Diane Coyle
- Children
- 2
- Father
- James Cellan Jones
Facts from the source article.
Early life and education
Cellan-Jones was born in London in 1958 to James Cellan Jones, a BBC TV and film director, and Sylvia Rich, a BBC secretary. He was born out of wedlock and did not meet his father or his Cellan Jones half-siblings until adulthood. His half-brother Simon Cellan Jones is a film director. His mother raised him as a single parent; she had changed her surname by deed poll to Cellan-Jones shortly before his birth. He attended Dulwich College from 1967 to 1976 and earned a BA in Modern and Medieval Languages from Jesus College, Cambridge in 1981.
Career
Cellan-Jones began his BBC career as a researcher on the Leeds edition of Look North. After three years in the London television newsroom, he gained his first on-screen role at BBC Wales. He later returned to London as business and economics correspondent, appearing on The Money Programme from 1990 to 1992. He wrote the book Dot.bomb after the dot com crash of 2000 and covered Black Wednesday, the BCCI scandal, and Marks and Spencer's competition troubles. From January 2007 until leaving the BBC in 2021, he served as the corporation's technology correspondent, tasked with expanding coverage of new media, telecoms, and the internet's cultural impact. In May 2019, after presenting the first BBC broadcast over a 5G network, he announced via Twitter that he had been diagnosed with early Parkinson's disease. He announced his departure from the BBC in August 2021, leaving in October after 40 years. Since March 2023 he has contributed to the podcast Movers and Shakers, which discusses life with Parkinson's; the podcast was named UK Podcast of the Year by the UK Broadcasting Press Guild in March 2024. As of 2023, he also provides professional media training a few days per month.
Personal life
Rory Cellan-Jones lives in West Ealing, London, with his wife, the economist and author Diane Coyle, and their two adult children. In December 2022, they adopted Sophie, a nervous rescue dog from Romania, and shared her gradual adjustment online using the hashtag #sophiefromromania. He published a book about her, Sophie from Romania: A Year of Love and Hope with a Rescue Dog, in October 2024. He was made an OBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours for his journalism.
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