Hayley Hassall is an award-winning investigative journalist, television, and radio presenter. She has been presenting news and current affairs across the BBC and ITV for twenty years!
She currently reports for BBC Sport, BBC Breakfast and The One Show, after many years working as an undercover reporter for Panorama.
Hayley’s undercover work over a period of years resulted in major improvements to British health care and earned her a BAFTA, an International Prix Europa award and two Royal Television Society awards.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book award winning investigative journalist Hayley Hassall for your next event.
Hayley Hassall currently presents her own early morning weekend show on BBC 5Live, covering the big news stories from the week, and speaking to the people behind the headlines.
Hayley has been involved in some of the biggest news stories, such as being the first reporter to reveal the results of the 2015 UK General Election. She has also presented at live events including the Olympics, and Wimbledon. She presented a BBC documentary on the winter Olympics which saw her reporting in -15 degree snow storms on snow-capped mountains.
Hayley has also reported for The One Show and Songs of Praise, covering a vast range of topics from children in poverty, beauty pageants to illegal cosmetic surgeries. She event spent 10 days travelling along former President Trump’s boarder wall to investigate immigration in America.
She has recently been nominated for two Aria awards and a Prix Europa for her documentaries and podcasts. She has previously won a RTS award for best presenter and reporter after she went undercover in Britain’s maternity hospitals for Panorama: Undercover Midwife. She also won a BAFTA for her Panorama documentary Brain’s Homecare Scandal, which involved her going undercover for nine moths as a carer for the elderly and vulnerable around the UK. She also won a Sandford St Martin Award for her documentary on refugee children.
Her series of audio documentaries uncovering the Post Office Scandal lead to national news headlines and intimate interviews, including on where she took one wrongly convicted worker back to the prison cell for the first time since her release. She also made the ground-breaking documentary on Raynhard Sinaga, Britain’s most prolific rapist, which has since been made into a BBC2 documentary, Catching a Predator (2023).
Hayley also runs the BBCs first Mental Health clinic where, together with guest Doctors, she delves deep into a mental health issue and asks listeners to share their experiences and advice on things like depression, PTSD or loneliness.
CHILDREN’S AFFAIRS JOURNALIST
Since 2012, Hayley has been the anchor for BBC’s Newsround, leading the young people of the UK through world events such as royal weddings, elections, war, conflict, and a global pandemic. When Manchester Arena was bombed in 2017, she went to visit the children devastated by the attack.
She is passionate about bringing social affairs to a younger audience and has travelled to South America and beyond to report on the refugee crisis. She has made award winning documentaries following the stories of unaccompanied children who seek refuge in the UK. She has also been campaigning for free school meals for hungry children and in 2018 she got the Children’s commissioner to meet hungry children and get meals in the school holidays on the governments agenda.
When you watch her speaking fluently on screen, you would never guess that she suffered from a bad stammer from the age of four. It wasn’t until Hayley was 11 that she was offered help in the form of speech therapy, which taught her techniques to help deal with the problem.
With one in ten children in the UK suffering from stutters and problems with their communication, Hayley has become an ambassador for the children’s speech, language and communication charity, I Can (ican.org.uk), which offers expert resources so children can be diagnosed and given help at an early stage.
Hayley was fabulous.
Susie Wallis, Enterprise Coordinator, Maghull High School
She gave an amazing speech in front of 200 pupils, parents and visitors. She was well prepared and spoke about her own educational experiences and how they have helped her. She put a positive message into context for all the children who were delighted to see her. She stayed for the whole evening, giving out awards and speaking to the children and parents at the end of the evening. Mrs Hassall made a huge impact on our children and community and continues to be spoken about with fondness by everyone who came into contact with her.
Mrs Catherine Follett, Headmistress, Branwood Preparatory School
Hayley was an engaging and friendly MC who helped us facilitate a successful Inclusive Heritage Conference at Tate Modern.
Katie Owen, Senior Media Manager, Heritage Lottery Fund
Hayley hosted the I CAN Million Lost Voices Gala and gave a moving speech about her own experiences. Hayley was engaging, emotive and witty. Not to mention extremely glamorous.
Emma Selim, Senior Press and PR Officer at I CAN Charity