| Personal Information Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ronke Phillips |
| Maiden Name | Not Known |
| Age / How old / Birthday / Date of Birth / DOB | No confirmed information is available on the year she was born. |
| Wedding & Marriage / Single / Husband / Spouse / Partner | Was married but her husband passed away in 2020. |
| Children / No. of Kids | One daughter |
| Ethnicity / Origin / Heritage / Race | Black. She is a Yoruba (West African ethnic group) woman. |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| What is Ronke Phillips doing now? | Ronke is now a Senior Correspondent at ITV London News. |
Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- Ronke Phillips is an award-winning journalist, based in the UK. She is currently a senior correspondent at ITV London.
- Ronke rose to prominence after uncovering the story of the “Torso in the Thames” child. She won many awards for this story, including an Amnesty International Award.
Personal Life : Marriage and Children
- Kevin Pakenham, the Founding Chairman of Longford Trust and the youngest son of the former Labour cabinet minister, was Ronke’s husband. In July 2020, Kevin passed away after a brief illness. He was 72 years old. Ronke was Kevin’s third wife and the two had married only two years (September 22, 2018 in London) before his death. Through Kevin, Ronke had one stepson.
- A charity auction in 2016 had first brought Kevin into contact with Ronke. When he presented her with a painting she liked, by over bidding on it, he won her over!
Career, Income, Salary and Net Worth :
- Ever since she was a kid, Ronke had always written…English was her favourite subject at school. She worked on school and university publications before volunteering at a local daily newspaper. Then, she pursued a postgraduate certification in radio journalism and worked in radio for several years before being approached by a television production company.
- As of today, Ronke has been working as a journalist for more than 25 years. She has worked in a variety of fields such as radio, television, and print media. She has been both a presenter and a reporter for both national and regional TV both in the UK and abroad.
- Ronke started her broadcasting career at local BBC Radio stations such as BBC Radio London, Nottingham, Leicester, and Derby. She worked there as a Radio Reporter and Host.
- Finally, she had a breakthrough into TV broadcasting through the ITN’s News Trainee Scheme at Central TV in Nottingham.
- Since 1999, Ronke has been a correspondent for London Tonight at ITV. She has worked on several special investigations such as the coverage of the release of ‘M25 three,’ the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the murder of 8-year-old Ivorian girl Victoria Climbie, etc.
- Besides investigative journalism, Phillips is also an established conference facilitator and event host. She also does freelance writing and has written articles for magazines and newspapers such as The Independent, The Voice, Daily Mail, and Pride Magazine.
- In the course of her career, Ronke has also worked for BBC features such as BBC Day Time etc.
- In 2002, she won a Royal Television Society (RTS) Award for covering the verdicts of the trial of Damilola Taylor.
Story of Ritual Killings of Children :
- Ronke won an Amnesty Media Award in 2012 for unearthing the tragic details behind the story of the “Torso in the Thames” and revealing that this was a result of ritual killings which seemed to have taken place in London.
- She won another Amnesty Media Award, covering the ritual killing of Kristy Bamu, another child. Ronke is said to have taken a personal risk when investigating these stories.
- The “Torso in the Thames” story made Ronke obsessed for several reasons. The dead body belonged to a Nigerian just like Ronke, and he was just a defenseless child. The crime was especially despicable, and Phillips wanted to make sure it would not be forgotten.
- The story of Kristy Bamu’s murder was also of a defenseless child. Kristy Bamu was murdered by his own family members because they thought the devil had possessed him.
- Ronke recalls that covering these stories was emotionally difficult since they had to do with the murder of children, who both suffered incredibly brutal and violent deaths.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- Ronke is of Nigerian (Yoruba) heritage. She was nominated for the Diversity in Media Journalist in 2018.
- For Ronke, journalism is more about investigating the human angle behind news headlines than covering day-to-day agendas. Her motivation for work is to give a voice to people who are unable to speak up for themselves.
- Ronke recounts the discovery of the identity of a little boy Adam, whose headless and limbless torso was discovered in the river Thames, as the finest event of her journalistic career. She lingered on that information for more than two years before ultimately deciding to proceed with it.
- Phillips considers her tenacity to be one of her best qualities as a journalist. She mentions the ability to absorb knowledge and an obsession with the latest affairs is critical for upcoming journalists.
- She supports several charities and is a patron of the Ebony Horse Club. Some of her favourite charities are the Vitiligo Society, the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, and the Deaf Society.
- Things Fall Apart by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is one of Ronke’s favourite books. The book ignited her love for reading when her dad gave it to her during her childhood. Her daughter also embraced it as her favorite book.
Health Update :
- Ronke Phillips Illness / Sick : She has no major illness or sickness to date and seems to be in good health.
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Very true!! how old is Ronke?
I love the work Charlene White has done so well for her self well-done girl!
And what about Ronke, who this article is about?