Jonny Dymond | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan David Dymond 15 February 1970 |
| Education | St Paul's School, London |
| Alma mater | Durham University London School of Economics |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, correspondent, radio presenter |
| Employer | BBC News |
| Known for | BBC Royal Correspondent (2017—present) Presenter, The World at One and Broadcasting House (BBC Radio 4) BBC Washington Correspondent (2010—2017) BBC Europe Correspondent (2005—2010) BBC Middle East Correspondent (2001—2005) BBC Washington reporter (2000—2001) |
Jonathan David "Jonny" Dymond[1] (born 15 February 1970 in Merton, London[2]) is a British journalist.[3] He is currently a Royal Correspondent for BBC News, having previously been the BBC's Washington Correspondent, Europe Correspondent (based in Brussels), and Middle East Correspondent (based in Istanbul).[4]
Dymond is also a presenter for BBC Radio 4 news programmes including The World at One and Broadcasting House, and the BBC World Service's The World This Week and World Questions.[5]
From 1983—1987, Dymond was educated at St Paul's School,[6] an independent school for boys, in the London district of Barnes. From 1988—1991, he studied Politics at Durham University, and in 1993 completed an MSc in Public Administration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics.[3]
Dymond joined the BBC in 1994 as a researcher and later became a producer on Newsnight.[3] Following this he worked as a reporter, first covering British politics for the BBC World Service and BBC World Service Television, then in 2000 moving to Washington, D.C.[3] He covered 9/11 from DC, then went to Istanbul to cover Turkey and the Middle East between 2001 and 2005.[7]
After some years as a foreign correspondent in Brussels, Dymond became a royal correspondent in 2017. Interviewed for the November 2019 edition of Town and Country, Dymond was critical of Prince Andrew for agreeing to be interviewed by Emily Maitlis about the controversy over his friendship with the American billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting it was a 'fantasy' that Prince Andrew could have reversed public opinion in one 40 minute interview.[8] He told the same magazine that Prince Harry was rude to members of the press during a royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific Islands in 2018, but declined to go into details about what Prince Harry had said to them.[8]
On July 29, 2023 and September 30, 2023, Dymond co-hosted the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. From 2023 onwards, he has often solo hosted The World At One and The World This Weekend on BBC Radio 4.
In 2008 Dymond was fined £230 for possession of cannabis, after a search at an airport in Vilnius found two grams of the drug among his clothes. Dymond admitted to purchasing cannabis at a nightclub, but claimed he packed it into his suitcase inadvertently.[9]