8 minute read
The View: Ginny Buckley
Life in the fast lane!
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Ginny Buckley is a TV and radio presenter, writer, actress and broadcaster. She has had a very exciting career both in the UK and Australia and has been a presenter on BBC1’s Escape to the Country since 2015. With a love of travel, cars and property, she describes her work as a "dream come true". She talks to Lynda Clark about how it all began, her first home and gives some excellent advice for first time buyers
It’s a Friday afternoon and the end of a long week, but when I talk to Ginny she is brimming over with enthusiasm and passion. To say that her story is exciting is an understatement and I am very keen to hear all about it.
Ginny was born in Rochdale in the north of England and has always considered herself a Lancashire lass. Her mother was a teacher and her father a builder who shared a passion for renovating houses, meaning the family moved home regularly. “We were a very close family and my sister, who now lives in Sydney, Australia, and I had a very happy childhood. My father loved football and cars and in particular VW camper vans; we were always going to VW rallies. I enjoyed school and especially English. I had an English teacher called Mrs Bentley who was very supportive and she knew I was keen to be a journalist. She had a friend who worked for BBC Radio Manchester who she spoke to, and as a result they asked if I would like to do some interviews for them. I was only about 11 but it was a fantastic experience and I ended up on the BBC children’s programme MultiColoured Swap Shop!”
She had planned to go to university and take a degree in media, but before that Ginny wanted to take some time out and travel. “I wanted to go to America but my parents said it wasn’t safe for a girl of 18, so I ended up going to Australia. I went to the Gold Coast and arrived with £400, no credit card and no mobile phone, but I was so excited about the prospect of being there it never fazed me. I went on to Sydney and had a series of temporary jobs and then joined the local radio station as a junior reporter in the newsroom covering all kinds of stories. It was perfect and I decided to stay and never actually went to university in the end. Working in the newsroom was a big learning curve and it was a great way to learn – I was very keen and always volunteered to cover any story. I then saw an advert in an Australian newspaper for a children’s presenter on TV and decided to apply for it – I was overjoyed when I got the job!”
Ginny returned to the UK for a holiday and during her time here she got a call from the BBC saying they were looking for a presenter for a Saturday morning children’s show called The 8.15 from Manchester and the game show segment, The Wetter the Better. She stayed with Granada television and worked as a local news reporter for Granada Tonight, and also presented on Granada Breeze, a lifestyle channel operated by Granada Television and British Sky Broadcasting. Like her father, Ginny is passionate about cars and bikes, and during her time with Granada she presented car shows alongside Richard Hammond who
went on to make his name on Top Gear. She also became Motoring Editor for the News of the World and was the first woman to get that position, which was quite something, especially then.
“My three great loves are travel, property and cars. I always loved the show Holiday on BBC and I wrote to the producer and told them how much I would love to be a presenter on the show. I got an interview and ended up presenting it. I also fronted a spin-off called Holiday 10 Best which was aired on Sunday evenings on BBC1. It was a fantastic job and I spent several years crossing the globe and having some amazing experiences.”
Following this, Ginny moved to London and worked for Sky News, but she found she missed the variety of being a freelance and decided to go her own way. She started presenting other flagship shows such as the BBC's Crimewatch and Watchdog, along with ITV’s prime time current affairs programme Tonight.
Then in 2014 she joined the presenting team of Escape to the Country for BBC1 and is now filming her eighth series. “I absolutely adore the show and I have discovered so many wonderful places in the UK that I now love. My son and I always go to Cornwall every year and I love Shropshire and Herefordshire too. The programme has an incredible following and the viewing figures are phenomenal. It’s available to watch in 53 different countries and is on Netflix too – even my sister in Australia can watch it!”
Ginny rented when she was living in Australia but when she came back to the UK in her mid-20s she bought her first home, which was an end-of-terrace house in Rochdale, her hometown. “It was a complete wreck and had to be gutted, but luckily my father helped with the renovations, which was great. I then bought a barn, which still had the cows living in it when I viewed it, but again we pretty much re-built it and completely modernised the interior. Next up was a two bedroom garden apartment in Primrose Hill, London, so I moved around quite a lot. The house I live in now was not really my favourite but it suited me and my son and we loved the village. I decided to put my stamp on it and had a kitchen/diner extension and I’m currently giving the bathrooms a ‘boutique hotel’ feel. We have been here for eight years, which is the longest time I have ever stayed in a house. I have grown to love it and I can be in central London in half an hour so we have the best of both worlds – I have made my own Escape to the Country!”
With so much experience in the housing market, Ginny has some excellent advice for first time buyers. “If you walk into a potential home and you really like it then don’t show your feelings too much. Be very mindful of the signals you give off and don’t show your hand too soon. It’s a much better idea to be non-committal even if you go outside and scream with delight! Do your homework and research – look at what other houses on the street are going for and don’t be afraid to walk away. Around a quarter of properties fall through, so don’t be disheartened – there will always be another house. As a first time buyer, you will have no chain so you have the trump card! Also, make a budget and stick to it and don’t overstretch yourself as it will cause no end of problems in the long run.”
How Ginny manages to fit so much into her life is quite astounding. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Manchester United Foundation, where she works to engage and empower young people, with a particular focus on STEM and sport. They run programmes for young people, some from challenging backgrounds, on everything from healthy eating to employability, and Ginny has recently been involved with the launch of a book and football giveaway which aims to promote conversations around mental health in children and young people.
She is also a great enthusiast of electric cars and runs Electrifying.com, a website which was launched in March 2020 after she assembled a team of electric and alternatively fuelled vehicle experts with years of experience in the automotive sector. The website helps often baffled consumers seek jargon-free advice about the switch to electric cars. She also works with the Department of Transport as an adviser helping to ensure consumers have all the information they need to help them make the switch.
Finishing our chat, I am totally empowered by Ginny and her love of life, her gusto and sheer hard work – I am looking forward to watching her next episode of Escape to Country and I even might be tempted to buy an electric car!
