Neil Nunes (born 12 December 1980) (pronounced ) is a British-Jamaican continuity announcer and newsreader on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom, and on the BBC World Service.
Early life Nunes was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and brought up in the parish of Manchester in the west-central part of the island.
Career While studying for a degree in biology at Northern Caribbean University, Nunes became involved with the university radio station as a presenter. He went on to work as a newsreader and reporter for radio networks in the Dutch Caribbean, while at the same time serving as a correspondent for the BBC Caribbean Service. He studied as a postgraduate at the London School of Journalism.
He began working as a freelance announcer on BBC Radio 4 in 2006. Initially, he suffered criticism from some listeners for his Caribbean accent, but was robustly defended by others on the programme Feedback. He is now a well-established announcer, and since November 2017 also reads the news.
Nunes joined the BBC World Service as a producer and presenter of current affairs programmes. He also reads world news bulletins on the World Service in addition to his Radio 4 continuity work. He also features as "Narrator" on Twirlywoos. His style of delivery and consistently misplaced emphases are parodied by Jon Culshaw on Dead Ringers.
References
External links Neil Nunes on Twitter David Smith, "Now on Radio 4, a change of programme ... a row about accents", The Observer, 26 March 2006.
Rachel Cooke, "I think of Radio 4 as a kind of club – but I don’t much like some of the other members", New Statesman, 10 April 2006. Barbara Ellington, "Neil Nunes, BBC Voice Made in Jamaica", The Jamaica Gleaner, 8 October 2015.
"Top tip from Neil Nunes? Aim for the impossible", BBC, 22 August 2024.