22-06-2025
After reading 'murders and fitba' on STV Shereen Nanjiani never strayed from Scotland
AH, Shereen. Ye ken who we mean. The People's Shereen. Household name an' a' that. Household first name indeed.
Shereen Nanjiani used to read the 'murders and fitba'' news on Scotland Today at teatime. Then she went on to present current affairs radio programmes for the BBC. Until last week, that is, when she announced that, after 19 years, she was leaving to 'explore new adventures' and, er, enjoy a nice lie-in.
Ach well, she certainly deserves it. Worked hard but it paid off, as she came to be 'much loved', as every newspaper profile acknowledges, on account of everyone finding her warm, nice and trustworthy.
One imagines that's what everyone thought on 4 October 1961 when she was born in Elderslie, in the sunshine state of Renfrewshire. She cut her broadcasting teeth on Hospital Radio Paisley in the late 1970s, reading local news cuttings gathered during the week.
After graduating from Glesga Yoonie, where she studied philosophy – makes you think, doesn't it? – she became a trainee journalist with STV in 1983, at the age of 22.
However, hardly had she got her Biro out of her pocket than she was asked to present the evening bulletin after the regular presenter, Sheena McDonald, called in sick.
'I was aghast and immediately said I couldn't possibly do it,' she told The Herald in 2017. 'This was the main news programme, the big one, with a million viewers.'
However, her boss told her reassuringly: 'Don't worry, if you f*** it up you won't be doing it again.'
She didn't flip it up. In fact, she was a natural. And she loved it. Live TV: what a buzz! 'It really was a baptism of fire,' she recalled. 'I still hadn't had any training when I started doing the job for real – but I surprised myself how much I enjoyed it.'
(Image: Yui Mok)
MAKING THE NEWS
SOON, she was appointed joint anchor of the main evening programme, and that was her for the next 20 years, reading all the news fit to blurt, as happy families gathered sociably in front of the television.
She was Scotland's first Asian-heritage newsreader and, at first, was not chuffed at the channel's press releases majoring on that.
'I remember thinking, 'Oh, is that what you're seeing?' I was quite upset about it. I … wondered whether that was why I got the job. I thought it reeked of tokenism.
'I actually believe I did get the job on my own merits, but I thought it was a bit cynical of them to present me in that way. I spent much of my career railing against it, not wanting that tag to follow me around. And, of course, I was only half-Asian.'
However, her feelings on the issue changed when she realised she'd become a role model for a whole generation of Asian Scots.
'So many young Asian people were coming up to me and saying, 'You've no idea what a difference it made seeing your face on TV.''
Of course, she suffered from imposter syndrome. Every genuine professional does. Anyone who doesn't suffer from imposter syndrome is an imposter.
Shereen went on to present many programmes for STV, including religious affairs series Eikon, documentary series Secret Scotland, and a number of live debates and election programmes. She also hosted many of The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year awards.
At STV, she covered Lockerbie, Dunblane and the new Scottish Parliament. She also reported from Romanian orphanages after the fall of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, from South Africa after the election of Nelson Mandela, and from Pakistan after the 9/11 terror attacks.
However, after 20 years of presenting in the studio, she told The Herald, 'it was beginning to feel like Groundhog Day and I just wasn't enjoying it so much'.
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GAGA FOR RADIO
IN 2006, along with colleagues Jane Lewis and Sarah Heaney, she accepted voluntary redundancy from STV She was looking forward to other exciting projects away from live television, she said.
This turned out to be live radio, and it was on the BBC, hitherto her rivals. Nanjiani helmed, as they say, Radio Scotland's Friday lunchtime programme, Scotland Live.
She then went on to present Shereen, a live news and current affairs programme broadcast every Sunday morning with a 'lively panel' of commentators, a guest in the headlines, and reviews of the latest TV and streaming releases.
Last weekend, having by now earned the double-edged adjective 'legendary' (it hints of both achievement and, er, maturity), she announced she was stepping away from the mic. For noo. She said she'd loved being part of BBC Radio Scotland, where she'd made so many good friends.
'They made me laugh and they made me think' – see, that old philosophy degree was not a total waste of time, after all – 'and it's always been a joy to come to work in the morning.'
However, she felt now was the time to 'get my weekends back again, have a lie in, and explore new adventures'.
BBC Radio Scotland commissioning editor Heather Kane Darling said it had been a pleasure to work with Shereen over the last 19 years, adding: 'I know our teams will miss working with her, and we thank her for her professionalism and dedication during her time with us.'
Outwith her professional career, Shereen has undertaken several voluntary sector roles, including Ambassador for St Vincent's Hospice, Children's Hearing panel member, Tron Theatre board member and chair, and National Theatre of Scotland board member.
COPPING LAUGHS
SHE once appeared as herself in a memorable episode of BBC police spoof comedy Scot Squad, in which she tried – and failed – to present a harassed Officer Karen with a certificate declaring her one of Scotland's community heroes.
The first comment under the relevant YouTube clip reads: 'SHEREEN!!!! LEGEND!!!'
My understanding is that the number of exclamation marks indicates the strength of emphasis.
In 2019, Shereen was invited to join the British Empire, receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace from Charles, Prince and later King of England and the Other Bits.
Asked by The Herald's Marianne Taylor if she'd ever been tempted to move to London, following in the footsteps of other Scots like Selina Scott, Kirsty Wark and Lorraine Kelly, she replied: 'I've always been very comfortable in Scotland. I suppose I was always comfortable with the Scottish people, too … I like my life here. Maybe I could and should have spread my wings, but I have no regrets.'
That's the spirit. Truly a woman with her talking head screwed on.
