Sky Sports News presenter Hannah Wilkes to present NCTJ Awards for Excellence
Sky Sports News presenter and NCTJ alumna Hannah Wilkes will present this year’s NCTJ Awards for Excellence, taking place on Tuesday, 24 March at the Brighton Dome.
Her involvement comes as the NCTJ announces it has reached its target of 25 per cent female representation on its accredited sports journalism courses.
The annual awards, sponsored by Reuters, celebrate the achievements of some of the most promising student, trainee and apprentice journalists from across the UK.
Hannah Wilkes is a presenter on Sky Sports News, where she currently hosts Sky Sports Breakfast and plays a key role in the channel’s daily coverage. She also presents Sky’s coverage of the NFL and fronts coverage of The Hundred for Sky Sports Cricket, bringing insight, energy and authority to some of the biggest events in the sporting calendar.
Hannah began her career at Sky as a runner, working her way up to become an assistant producer before moving into on-screen roles as a reporter and presenter. Along the way she has covered everything from netball to nineball pool, fronted the children’s sports show Game Changers, and helped tell the stories of women in sport through projects including Rise With Us, The Check In, and the award-winning Her Huddle.
Alongside her television work, Hannah has also built a strong presence in radio, presenting talkSPORT’s coverage of the 2021 Lions Tour and hosting Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT 2.
While building her career in broadcasting, Hannah also completed the NCTJ Certificate in Professional Sports Journalism, balancing the demands of professional work with her training.
Today she is recognised as one of the leading voices in sports broadcasting, known for her versatility, professionalism and commitment to ensuring that both sport, and sports journalism, are places where everyone can belong.
Hannah said: “I’m delighted to have been invited to host the NCTJ Awards for Excellence. Never have journalistic standards and integrity been so important, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the incredibly talented individuals who represent the future of our industry.”
The NCTJ set a target for women to make up at least 25 per cent of students on NCTJ-accredited sports journalism courses. At the time, only seven per cent of students registering for those courses were women.
The figure rose to 14 per cent in 2022/23 and to 20 per cent in 2023/24, before reaching the 25 per cent target in the current academic year.
Joanne Forbes, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “Reaching our target of 25 per cent female representation on sports journalism courses is an important milestone and I’d like to thank our accredited sports courses and industry partners for the work they have done to help achieve it. But this has never just been about hitting a number. It’s about creating a sports journalism industry where women are welcomed, supported and treated as equals in what has traditionally been a male-dominated environment.
“Our ambition now is to build on this progress and move towards equal representation in sports journalism training, and ultimately in newsrooms.”
