I'm Jo Hayward

I was born in Northern Ireland where my Dad’s family were farmers. Where I grew up was determined by the toss of a coin. Dad – a veterinary surgeon – had job offers in the American mid-west and Dudley in the Black Country. Dudley won and so began a lifelong love of the Midlands.

Journalist & Host

I wanted to be a newspaper reporter from a very early age which suited a girl constantly told off for being nosy and talking too much. Some work at the wonderful Wolverhampton Express and Star confirmed my choice but a cheeky application for a secretarial job in the Sports Department at the BBC World Service diverted the path to broadcasting.

I was 18 and working in the most exhilarating environment – forty language services shared space in Bush House, a beautiful art deco building on the Strand in central London. I learned so much from the sports journalists who broadcast around the world around the clock.

University took me to Leicester and my first links with BBC Radio Leicester- a cracking local station which welcomed me in at 19 and never really let me go.

TV came calling with a reporting job at East Midlands Today in Nottingham and then a dip into Network producing for the News Channel.

Eventually cuts across the corporation eradicated my job and I was made redundant. A re-evaluation of life meant family time with my husband and two little sons. I also freelanced as a media trainer helping prepare clients including Network Rail, Severn Trent and Eon for the rigours of media scrutiny.