Karin Giannone

Who is Karin Giannone?

Karin Giannone is a South African-born British television newsreader working in the United Kingdom. She returned from maternity leave on 6 February 2010 and is the London-based main presenter of the weekend daytime coverage on BBC World News.

Giannone's family moved from Johannesburg to the United Kingdom when she was aged two. She was raised in Edinburgh, Sussex and Kent. She studied modern languages at Cambridge University, where she graduated with a first class honours degree; she speaks French, German and Italian.

She was the editor of Cambridge University’s "Varsity" student newspaper in 1994-5, which led to work experience at Anglia Television. She joined the regional ITV station on graduation in Norwich as a news trainee in 1997, producing, reporting and presenting for regional news bulletins. In 1999 her language and broadcasting skills helped her land a role as a reporter and presenter for Channel 4’s Football Italia series, where she covered the Italian Soccer scene for a season, flying between the UK and Italy every week.