Ahmed was born in Wandsworth, south London,[5] to Athar[6] and Lalita (née Chatterjee, born 1939, Lucknow)[7] Ahmed. Her mother is a TV presenter, actress, chef and writer on Indian cookery[8] who previously worked for the Hindi service of the BBC World Service in Bush House as well as All India Radio in India.[9] Samira attended Wimbledon High School, an independent day school for girls, and edited the school magazine.[10][11]
Ahmed read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, which made her an honorary fellow in 2019.[12] While an undergraduate she edited Isis and the Union magazines, both Oxford University student publications,[13] and won the Philip Geddes Journalism Prize for her work on student newspapers.[14] After graduation she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism at City University, London.[15] She recalls that Lucy Mathen, the first female Asian reporter on BBC television,[16] who worked on John Craven's Newsround, was an inspirational figure for her, as was broadcaster Shyama Perera,[15] who was working in Fleet Street at around the same time.[17]
Ahmed became a BBC news trainee in 1990. After two years on attachments, she began to work as a network radio reporter in 1992 on such programmes as Today. Fearful her short BBC contract would not be renewed after a mishap in a difficult situation,[18] Ahmed applied for, and was taken on, by BBC World for work as a presenter, which led to her becoming a reporter for Newsnight.[3][19] She was the BBC's Los Angeles correspondent during 1996–97 and filed reports on the O. J. Simpson civil trial.[3][20]
Ahmed briefly worked for Deutsche Welle in Berlin as an anchor and political correspondent, but then returned for a brief spell with BBC World and as a night shift presenter for BBC News 24 before taking maternity leave.[19]
Ahmed joined Channel 4 News in April 2000, and became a presenter in July 2002. In June 2011, she left Channel 4, and went freelance.[21]
From 2011 to 2013, she was a regular newspaper reviewer on Lorraine.[7] From June 2012 to November 2013, she presented the third and fourth series of Sunday Morning Live on BBC One.[13] In October 2012, Ahmed succeeded Ray Snoddy as presenter of Newswatch on the BBC News Channel.[25]
In June 2020, BBC Four aired Art of Persia, a three-part study presented by Ahmed of the history and culture of Iran.[28] A long‑time admirer of the Supermarionation works of Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, Ahmed voiced a character in the similarly produced Nebula-75. The character, Juliette Destiny, was also modelled to resemble the journalist.[29] She reprised the role for a second episode in 2021. [30]
In November 2021, Ahmed interviewed Paul McCartney and poet Paul Muldoon about their book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present at the Royal Festival Hall. On 3 April 2023, Ahmed revealed her discovery of the earliest complete concert recording of the Beatles performing live in the UK on a special edition of Front Row on Radio 4.[31] The tape was made by 15-year-old student John Bloomfield at Stowe Boarding School on 4 April 1963.[32][33] She subsequently broadcast extracts on Front Row from a second Stowe tape made the same night over dinner by the tuck shop master, after his daughters contacted her about their recording.[34]
Ahmed has been awarded honorary doctorates by City, University of London,[35] the University of East Anglia[36] Kingston University[37] and the University of Winchester.[38]
She is a trustee of the Centre for Women’s Justice.[39]
Equal pay tribunal
Ahmed filed legal proceedings against the BBC under the Equality Act 2010 in October 2019.[40] The London Central Employment Tribunal unanimously found in her favour on 10 January 2020.[41][42] On 24 February 2020, it was announced that a settlement had been reached with the BBC, but no figure for this was made public.[43]
Personal life
Ahmed lives in London and has a son and a daughter.[44]
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