Broadcaster fondly remembers Bradford student days
A news and sports broadcaster who has retired after more than 40 years says his time as a student at the University of Bradford stood him in good stead throughout his career.
Nick Powell, who studied BA Modern Languages, German and Russian at the University of Bradford between 1977 and 1981, has retired following a 43-year career in television and radio broadcasting, which started in 1982 at Bradford-based Pennine Radio.
Nick reports on a football match during the 1990s
A 10-year spell as a news and sports presenter on Yorkshire Television, including its flagship Calendar news programme, followed from 1986. He then initially joined Sky News as a producer, later becoming a presenter, the channel’s Sports Editor and presenting on Sky Sports News.
His final broadcast came on February 13, two days before his 66th birthday.
Nick said: “I was absolutely overwhelmed by the number of messages I had about my retirement. They were threefold – from viewers, people in the industry and colleagues at work.
Nick during his University of Bradford student days, broadcasting on RamAir Radio
“I have been incredibly lucky. I’m very conscious that thousands of people would give their right arm to do what I have got to do over the last 43 years. I have had an absolute ball.
“My job was constantly changing, even though I only had three employers. I worked on news and sport. My first full-time sports job was when I worked on the sports desk at Sky.”
During his four years as a student at the University of Bradford, Nick put his German language skills to good use, working as a freelance translator during three summers in Munich.
In the last 10 years, Nick also broadcast regularly in German for Sky Germany.
Nick said: “I chose Bradford because I wanted to do a Modern Languages course with translating and interpreting. I didn’t want to analyse literature. It stood me in good stead. I thought Bradford would be a good distance from home. I lived on the Wirral, I was a Merseyside boy.
Nick at Wimbledon’s Centre Court
“I absolutely loved Bradford. From the ninth floor at University, you could see out towards Ilkley Moor. I still have a soft spot for Bradford.”
His first broadcasting experience was on the University of Bradford’s RamAir Radio, including as one of three presenters on its ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ programme. Nick and co interviewed a broad range of people, from former Prime Minister Edward Heath to comedy double act Cannon and Ball.
Following his studies at Bradford, Nick completed a one-year course at the Cardiff School of Journalism, where he was one of 25 students which also included Anne ‘The Governess’ Hegerty from ITV1 quiz show ‘The Chase’.
Nick returned to Bradford for a four-year stint on Pennine Radio following a successful earlier three-week Easter placement at the station. He recalls cutting audio tape with a razor blade to put clips together for his news reports.
Nick says his career highlight was being on air to report on Sir Andy Murray winning the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 2013, to become the first British player in 77 years to win the accolade.
Nick Powell prepares for a broadcast on Sky Sports News
He shared Sky News broadcasting duties that day with colleague Jacquie Beltrao, with the pair taking it in turns to report on the sets of Murray’s men’s final and watching the action live on Centre Court.
Nick recalls the two hardest events he had to cover during his broadcasting career both took place at football stadiums. The first was the Bradford City fire which would eventually claim 56 lives at Valley Parade on May 11, 1985.
He said: “I reported on lots of Bradford City home games, but I was not at that game. I was on holiday that weekend. Five days on from the fire, the Bradford coroner gave us the names of the 53 people who had died at that stage. I had to read out the list of the 53 people who had died for a news bulletin on Pennine Radio.”
Nick Powell presenting on Sky Sports News
He first heard about the Hillsborough Stadium disaster, on 15 April 1989, where 97 fans died at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, on a radio which was playing in a Bradford newsagents. By that evening, he was presenting a special edition of Calendar on ITV. He then reported from the stadium two days on from the tragedy.
Nick says his retirement plans include travelling the world and improving his golfing game. He still regularly travels up to the Bradford district to see family and friends and follows the fortunes of Bradford City.
He added: “After Liverpool, Bradford City are my second team. I still keep an eye on them. Promotion from League 2 [which features Bradford City] is there for the taking.”
Nick added that Bradford is a good choice for City of Culture this year and that he has a huge soft spot for the district which has a number of ‘hidden gems’ for people to visit including Salts Mill and Bolling Hall.