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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Clive Myrie's life off-screen and writing goodbye letter to family on deadly assignment

Clive Myrie has been fronting the BBC News coverage from Ukraine - with his brave coverage being praised as "journalism at it's very best".

For the last couple of weeks, the newsreader has been reporting live from Kyiv along with BBC News' international correspondent Lyse Doucet during the invasion of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Clive has spoken to viewers while air raid sirens blare out, been forced to shelter underground amid missile fire and appeared to shed a tear while reporting on the bloodshed.

Viewers have been urging Clive to leave Kyiv for some time over fears for his safety, but he bravely stayed in the Ukrainian capital until it became too dangerous and has now escaped.

The veteran broadcaster is no stranger to danger on the job, which can be a worry for Clive's family and friends, during more than three decades at the BBC.

Clive Myrie has grown staggeringly in popularity over the last couple of weeks (Getty Images)

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The 57-year-old was born in Bolton to Jamaican parents, Lynne and Norris, who came to Britain in the 1960s, following his uncle Cecil who moved to be a munitions driver in the Royal Air Force during the war.

Mum Lynne worked as a seamstress with high-profile fashion designer Mary Quant, while his father was a factory worker who made car batteries for British Leyland.

Clive went to Hayward Grammar School and then studied Law at the University of Sussex, but chose to join the BBC in 1987 as a trainee local radio reporter on the graduate journalism programme.

"We didn’t fly 6,000 miles to this freezing cold country for you to do that," is how Clive has described his parents' initial reaction, but they are now incredibly proud of his career.

He added: "I suspect they would have wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. But my parents have basically resigned themselves to the fact I am not a doctor or a lawyer, that I am, in fact, a journalist and they’ve got used to the idea."

After working for BBC Local Radio as a reporter he became a BBC foreign correspondent in 1996 and has since reported from 80 different countries.

During his illustrious career, Clive has been the BBC correspondent for Tokyo, LA, Asia, Paris, and Europe before being appointed as a BBC News presenter in April 2009.

Clive has been with the BBC for more than 30 years (PA)
The BBC News presenter has been across the globe for his job (Mark Thomas/REX/Shutterstock)

He has reported from Kathmandu after the 2015 earthquake and Bangladesh during the Rohingya refugee crisis, but one of his most dangerous assignments was in Iraq.

During the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, Clive was an embedded correspondent with 40 Commando Royal Marines.

The assignment was so life-threatening that the journalist had to write a "goodbye" letter to his family in case he was killed on the job.

"I’ve been in some dangerous situations, but I don’t think I ever thought about the danger," he told The Big Issue last month.

"I just thought, I want to be in a warzone and experience and tell the story of conflict in a particular place.

"It’s interesting talking to soldiers, and to those who do go into battle. You never ever think, really consciously, that you’re going to be the one who gets shot or blown up or killed. Something has to present itself to you that makes it clear that you could be the one.

"So for instance, when I was embedded with the Royal Marines going into Iraq in 2003, we all had to write goodbye letters to our families, a sort of last will and testament I suppose. Just in case we didn’t come back. That process, saying goodbye in letter form, does remind you that you might not get back."

One of those loved ones is Clive's wife, Catherine Myrie, who works as an upholsterer and furniture restore.

The newsreader has explained how they met at a launch for a book about Swiss Cheese in 1992 - and for him it was "love at first sight".

They got married six years after meeting at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Covent Garden and now live together in north London.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about the timing of his wedding, Clive explained: "I’d just been made the BBC’s LA correspondent, so after returning to the UK for our big day, we flew back to the States before honeymooning on Venezuela’s Maracaibo coast."

Due to the nature of Clive's work, they are used to being separated for long periods of time while he flies off across the world.

Clive's mum has admitted she understandably gets concerned when her son is reporting in war zones.

Lynne told The Sunday Times : "When Clive first appeared on television it was exciting for all of us. We wouldn’t miss a programme. He’s on so much now that, to be honest, it has worn off.

"I am proud of what he has achieved but I found it a big worry when he was reporting on wars around the world."

As well as presenting the BBC News bulletins at 1pm, 6pm and 10pm, Clive is now fronting Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind.

Clive was announced as the new host of Mastermind last year (PA)

In March last year, it was announced that Clive would be taking over from the departing John Humphrys as host of BBC Two quiz show.

After being confirmed as the fifth host, Clive said: "What a privilege it is to take on this new role.

"Mastermind with Magnus Magnusson formed the backdrop to my youth and now to be at the helm is a dream come true. I'm excited and can't wait to get stuck in."

Clive also became the first black host of the show, but he admitted the significance of his appointment in that respect is not something he has given much thought to.

He told The Mirror: "It's a question a lot of people want to focus on. I tried from the very beginning not to allow race and colour to dictate my journalism and dictate my career. If other people want to read into that I’m black and that I’m doing this then that’s fine.

"But I don’t wake up thinking, ‘I’m black and I’ve got to be on TV now, this is a big deal’. That’s not something that crosses my mind."

However, Clive has said there is a lighter side to his personality and some of his pals laughed when they heard he was going to be the new face of Mastermind.

"They think it’s hilarious. My close friends think it’s crazy because they know me as a bit of a joker," he continued.

Clive appeared to shed a tear while reporting live from Kyiv (BBC)

"It’s interesting because they know there is a serious side to my personality, the side that comes out on the news, but at the same time they know there’s my lighter, slightly madcap side, and to be able to project a bit more of a three-dimensional idea of who I am is nice."

Clive has been working tirelessly to bring news reports on the ground in Kyiv and has spoken with many refugees fleeing the war.

Last week, Myrie and his colleague Doucet swiftly put on flak jackets when were interrupted by an air raid siren during a live broadcast from a rooftop opposite St Michael's Cathedral.

The team were then forced to take cover in an underground shelter after missiles were fired so nearby that their building started to shake.

He later told the PA news agency: "You've got to be aware that you are in the middle of a warzone, a live warzone, and anything could happen.

"None of us are stupid enough to stay out there reporting while bullets are raining down, that would be madness and frankly no story is worth that, but the advice was we could still keep broadcasting as long as we took the minimal protection of putting on safety gear.

"So that's what we did and it meant we could continue telling the story, getting that across to our viewers so that they understand what is going on."

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