Simon Thomas (presenter) 2:1 BA Hons degree in history. Having applied for the job three times, Thomas began presenting the children's programme "Blue Peter" on 8 January 1999 replacing the sacked presenter Richard Bacon. Previously he had worked as a runner at Children's BBC and the radio station LBC. During his tenure at "Blue Peter", he ran in the London Marathon twice and two Great North Runs, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc, completed over 40 solo sky dives with the Royal Air Force, presented a medal at the Commonwealth Games, ran in the 60 metres sprint at the Norwich Union Indoor Athletics
Gary Gillespie (presenter) and commentator on "RPM", UTV's motorsport magazine, and in 1999 he returned to the evening news programme as a sports reporter and presenter for "UTV Live" and "Sport on Sunday". Gary Gillespie (presenter) Gary Gillespie is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist. Until recently he was a sports presenter and reporter for UTV Live. He is not related to the Liverpool soccer player of the same name. Gillespie began his journalism career at The News Letter. He joined Ulster Television in the 1970s, as a reporter and presenter on the evening news magazine at the time, "Reports". He continued