Robert Peston Biography
Robert Peston is a British media personality who serves as ITV News’ political editor and presents ITV’s Wednesday night politics show, Peston. He is the founder of the education charity, Speakers for Schools, and also serves as the vice president of Hospice UK. Additionally, Robert has authored four books: “How Do We Fix This Mess?” “Who Runs Britain?,” “Brown’s Britain,” and “WTF?” He has received more than 30 awards for his journalism, including Journalist of the Year and Scoop of the Year (twice) from the Royal Television Society.
Robert Peston Age
Peston is 64 years old as of 2024. He was born on April 25, 1960, in London, United Kingdom.
Robert Peston Height
He stands at a height of 1.88 m.
Robert Peston Nationality
He holds British nationality.
Robert Peston Education
Peston graduated from Highgate Wood Secondary School in London. He then attended Balliol College at Oxford, earning a second-class degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. He furthered his education at the Université libre de Bruxelles.
Robert Peston Parents
Robert is the son of Helen Conroy and Maurice Peston, an economist and Labour life peer. He was born into a Jewish family, and his father was given a peerage in 1987 for his work in economics. Being the son of a life peer means Robert can carry the title “The Honourable,” but he doesn’t use it. Robert’s father, Lord Peston, died in 2016 at 85. He was an acclaimed economist who held the founding chair of Economics at the School of Economics and Finance at Queen Mary College, University of London. The couple had known each other since childhood and married in 1958. Robert has two siblings, including his sister Juliet.
Robert Peston Wife/Partner
Robert was married to Siân Busby, a writer. The couple got married in 1998. Robert had known Siân since they were teenagers, but their relationship began after Robert’s sister Juliet was hospitalized following a car crash. At the time, Siân had already been married and divorced and had a son named Simon. However, Robert took on the role of a stepfather to Simon. The couple also had a son named Maximilian the year before they got married. Sadly, after 14 years of marriage, Siân passed away in September 2012 at the age of 51 after a five-year battle with lung cancer. She died in Robert’s arms. Not long after her death, Robert’s house was burgled and her jewelry was stolen, causing great pain to the already grieving widower.
In 2018, Robert began dating Charlotte Edwardes, a feature writer and interviewer for the Guardian’s Saturday magazine. He had met Edwardes at a Christmas party and they had briefly worked together in the past. He mentioned that his new partner was “not remotely interested in me as a widower or because of what I do for a living”. “She was the only person I came across around that period who knew almost nothing about the BBC stuff or Sian or anything,” he added. He also expressed feeling desperately guilty for falling in love with another woman years after his wife’s death.
Robert Peston ITV News
Peston is ITV News’ political editor and presenter of ITV’s Wednesday night politics show Peston. Founder of the education charity Speakers for Schools, and vice president of Hospice UK, he has written four books: How Do We Fix This Mess? Who Runs Britain?, Brown’s Britain and WTF? Robert has won more than 30 awards for his journalism, including Journalist of the Year and Scoop of the Year (twice) from the Royal Television Society.
Peston briefly worked as a stockbroker at Williams de Broë before transitioning to journalism in 1983, starting at the Investors Chronicle and joining The Independent newspaper in 1986. From 1989 to 1990, he served as Deputy City Editor at the short-lived Sunday Correspondent newspaper and then became City Editor of the Independent on Sunday in 1990.
Between 1991 and 2000, Peston worked for the Financial Times, holding various roles including Political Editor, Banking Editor, and head of an investigations unit. In 2000, he became the editorial director of the online financial analysis service Quest, owned by the financial firm Collins Stewart. Concurrently, he contributed to The Spectator and became a weekly columnist for The Daily Telegraph. In 2001, he moved to the Sunday Times, where he wrote a weekly business profile called Peston’s People, and began writing a weekly column for the New Statesman. In 2002, he joined The Sunday Telegraph as City editor and assistant editor, eventually becoming associate editor in 2005.
In late 2005, it was announced that Peston would succeed Jeff Randall as BBC Business Editor. He was responsible for business and City coverage on the corporation’s flagship TV and radio news programs, the BBC News Channel, its website, and on Radio 4’s Today. On 17 October 2013, Peston was appointed Economics Editor of BBC News, replacing Stephanie Flanders who was appointed as Chief Market Strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. He continued as Business Editor until his replacement Kamal Ahmed took over the post on 24 March 2014.
On 4 October 2015, it was announced that Peston would leave the BBC to join ITV News as their Political Editor, replacing Tom Bradby who became the main presenter of News at Ten. Peston made his last appearance on BBC News on 25 November 2015, and his first appearance on ITV’s News at Ten on 11 January 2016.
Robert Peston Illness
Robert was diagnosed with reactive arthritis soon after his wife died. He believes that his illness was his body’s way of telling him to slow down and take care of himself emotionally. He was hospitalized due to the condition, experiencing swollen joints and intense pain. He realized that keeping busy to cope with trauma and grief was a mistake and that it’s important to confront difficult emotions and make peace with them. The illness left him weak and forced him to take six weeks off from work. He also believes he experienced post-traumatic stress and was in shock for some time. It took him a while to get through it.
Robert Peston Salary
There were rumors that Peston’s salary as the Political Editor at ITV was £750,000; however, he denied it.
Robert Peston Net Worth
His net worth is under review.
