Ashley John-Baptiste is a BBC reporter and presenter who has a remarkable story of how he navigated a troubling childhood in the care system, to study at one of the world’s best universities – to now flourishing as a broadcaster.
Ashley John-Baptiste has become an ambassador for Banya Fostering and will be sharing his story at the forthcoming Foster Care Fortnight to positively influence children and young people who still live in foster care.
Many will remember Ashley as the member of boy band ‘The Risk’ who famously quit ITV’s ‘X Factor’ during the live finals. However, there is more to Ashley than meets the eye…
Ashley overcame tremendous adversity to win a place studying History at The University of Cambridge. He graduated with a 2.1.
Ashley grew up in South London, where he was born to a black father and a white mother and before the age of four, was taken into care. He grew up being shunted between foster families and a children’s home and moved primary school three times. A bright student, he attended a comprehensive school which had three times the number of children from deprived backgrounds than the national average.
There, he battled to win a place at Cambridge. Whilst at university, Ashley acted as a mentor to other students who grew up in care.
Ashley now tells his compelling, inspiring and sometimes humorous story of his childhood and emphasises in the importance of following your dreams and never giving up.
Ashley has enormous enthusiasm and passion to use his story as a tool to motivate and propel others to face their challenges with a sense of optimism and triumph.
Ashley is a Senior Reporter for BBC News. He was a reporter in Russia for the FIFA 2018 World Cup and has covered national stories, including the Grenfell Tower fire and the impact of covid19 on vulnerable communities. He was nominated for the Young Talent of the Year award at the 2018 RTS Television Journalism Awards.
Ashley also presents films for BBC1’s The One Show and co-hosts the BBC1 show For Love Or Money, alongside Kym Marsh.
Foster Care Fortnight
Foster Care Fortnight, in which Ashley is involved is the UK’s biggest foster care awareness-raising campaign and is organised by the fostering charity; The Fostering Network. The campaign showcases the commitment and dedication of foster carers and highlights the need for more foster carers. There are many ways to get involved from campaigning to donations and fund raising events.
