Unlike her professional life, respected British journalist Chi Chi Izundu keeps her personal life lowkey, including details of her parents and family life.
Chi Chi Izundu is a well-known British journalist who works as a correspondent for BBC News. She covers stories across television, radio, and online, often focusing on big investigations and important social issues.
She got her start in journalism quite young, beginning as a columnist for Girl About Town magazine when she was just 17.
From there, she moved on to roles at BBC London, where she worked as a researcher and then a producer on different shows.
She went on to study broadcast journalism at City University, spent time at Virgin Radio, did some freelance work for Sky News and ITN, and later returned to the BBC.
Over the years, Izundu has reported for Radio 1Xtra, presented entertainment news on Newsbeat, and contributed to the Victoria Derbyshire programme before settling into her current position as a national correspondent.
Her work has included strong pieces on topics like mental health among students, sexual abuse in the fashion world, and the allegations against Tim Westwood, which earned her a British Journalism Award.
She has also been nominated for other honours, such as from the Royal Television Society, and she has interviewed notable people, including for the BBC’s 100 Women series.
While her professional life is like an open book, her personal life, including her parents, remains out of the public eye.
That said, what is clear from things she has said and posted over time is that she has a close and affectionate relationship with her mum and dad.
In a 2016 interview on a writer’s blog, she talked about growing up and mentioned her mother and father in a warm way while describing how she began writing diaries as a child.
She recalled overhearing conversations between her parents and her friends, which fed into her early interest in observing people and writing about what she saw.
Likewise, Izundu also mentioned her diaries being critical of her mother at times; however, in a light-hearted, self-aware manner, noting that she was just a difficult kid and that she loves her mother very much.
She spoke about how her parents got excited when her sister showed early writing talent. This speaks volumes about how her family encourages creativity.
Izundu shares glimpses of her parents on social media. In late 2022, she took them out for dinner to mark their 45th wedding anniversary and described them as far too cute together.
Then, in 2023, she celebrated her mother’s birthday with pictures of her mum doing a fun photo shoot in a dress the grandchildren had given her, joking that her dad, who took the photos, could use some practice behind the camera.
Beyond these occasional touches, there are no detailed public accounts where she has gone deep into her parents’ backgrounds.
She tends to keep that side private, focusing instead on the stories she reports and the people she interviews.
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