Wikipedia

Ashley Blake

For the American author, seeAshley Herring Blake.

Ashley Blake(born 1969 inLozells,Birmingham,England[1]) is a British television presenter and newsreader. A well-known personality in theEnglish Midlands,he worked mostly for the BBC, where his credits include reporting and presenting onMidlands Today,the region's edition ofInside Out,and briefly on the TV seriesWatchdog.In September 2009 he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment after being convicted of wounding without intent. He was released on 8 June 2010, after serving nine months of his sentence, as part of the home curfew system for early release. He is now a Sky News reporter.

Ashley Blake
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Lozells,Birmingham,England
NationalityBritish (ofSurinamesedescent)
Occupations
OrganizationSky News
Children1
AwardsHonorary doctorate,Staffordshire University
Websitewww.ashleyblake.tv

Early life

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Blake grew up in the Lozells area of Birmingham in a single-parent household. He is mixed-race, and is the youngest of six children.[2]

Personal life

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Blake has one son Calam, together with his former partner Sharon Blatchford.[3][4][5]

After his mother died of cancer in 2000, he raised money for a cancer support charity.[6]

Career

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Blake has had a career "from driving and renting out cars and trucks to working with young offenders in the care of social services in Birmingham."[7]After spending almost three years as a flight attendant forBritannia Airways,[8]followed by a postgraduate degree in journalism, Blake started working inLiverpoolforL!VE TV,before moving to its sister station in Birmingham (UK).

In 2001, he moved to London where he worked as a reporter onWatchdogas well as bothBBC London Newsand ITV'sLondon Tonight.Blake produced various holiday reports and then worked on London Weekend Television'sDream Ticketprogramme.[9]He had a short period of service as a presenter on National TV forBBC Breakfast,before he returned to his home city to become a presenter and reporter on the BBC'sMidlands Today.[10]During his time at Midlands Today, Blake worked as a regular reporter, while also presenting the Friday Evening Late News Bulletin and the weekly edition ofInside Outfor the region. Blake also regularly filled in forNick Owenas presenter of the main edition of Midlands Today, and had occasionally presented theBBC Breakfasteditions in addition to presenting the Midlands regional segments of the BBC's annualChildren in Needtelethon withShefali OzaandSarah Falkland.Blake presented his last edition ofMidlands Todayon 23 January 2009, before being suspended following an incident at theNew Oscottrestaurant, The Place 2 B, which he co-owned with his partner, Jessica Hayes, from 2003 until February 2009.[11] This incident eventually resulted in him being sacked by the BBC.

In 2007, he was awarded anhonorary doctoratebyStaffordshire Universityfor his contributions to television journalism.[12]

On 20 September 2016 Ashley returned to the TV screen as a presenter on the (Midlands) regional edition of 'Inside Out', with a report on Croome Park andCapability Brown's garden design.[13]

On 26 September 2016 Blake featured in a local newspaper report, in which he declared his conviction was 'spent' and the BBC explained he had been employed 'As a freelancer, he is entitled to pitch ideas and offer his services as a presenter or reporter, and we felt this segment within Inside Out was a good fit for him on this occasion.'[14]

Blake has also appeared in various TV shows and films includingNativity!(2009) andThe Snarling(2018).[15]

Criminal convictions

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On 26 January 2009, Blake was charged following an incident at his former restaurant[16]in the early hours of 25 January in which a 17-year-old was wounded.[17]He did not present any BBC programmes for the duration of the legal proceedings.[18]

He appeared beforeSutton ColdfieldMagistrates' Courtcharged with possessing an offensive weapon, wounding with intent and affray. Blake appeared with a second man, Steven Sproule, aged 38, of Booths Farm Road,Great Barr.Sproule was charged with assault and affray. MagistratesbailedBlake and Sproule to appear atBirmingham Crown Courton 27 April.[19]On 27 April, both men denied the charges brought against them and were granted unconditional bail pending trial.[20]

The trial began at BirminghamCrown Courton 27 July 2009.[21]Blake's co-defendant, Sproule, pleaded guilty toassault occasioning actual bodily harm.Blake denied the charges, and also pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by throwing the alleged weapon – a 3-foot (1 m) long patio umbrella pole – into a nearby garden centre.[22]The court was told that Blake hit the teenager in the face with the pole.[23]The jury retired on 31 July 2009 before giving their verdict on 3 August 2009. Blake was found guilty of unlawful wounding andperverting the course of justice,but was cleared of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He wasremandedon bail. On 2 September 2009, he was sentenced to two years in prison.[24]In November 2009, his appeal against the sentence was rejected by theCourt of Appeal[3]He was released underhome curfewin June 2010 after serving nine months of his sentence,[3]at first inHMP Birminghamand laterHMP Stafford.[25]

As a result of the conviction, Blake was dismissed by the BBC on 14 August following an internal review.[26]

Previous convictions

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As a result of the wounding trial, Blake's previouscriminal recordwas revealed. He had been convicted of theft on six occasions (twice in 1986, three times in 1987 and once in 1993) andhandling stolen goodsin 1988. In 1988, Blake was found guilty of altering documents following a traffic collision, resulting in him being disqualified from driving, a ban he broke in 1990.[27]In an interview with rival regional news programme, ITV'sCentral Tonighton the day of his sentencing, Blake revealed that the BBC were unaware of his previous convictions as they were allspent convictionswhen he joined the corporation.

Drink-driving

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After being released from prison, Blake kept out of the media limelight. In March 2011, he admitted a charge ofdrink drivingat Sutton Coldfield Magistrates' Court.[28]When stopped on hisBMWmotorbike on 10 January, the morning after a night out, he was found to be over the limit and was subsequently banned from driving for one year and ordered to pay £220 in fines and court fees.[28]

References

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  1. ^"What's happened to my streets?".BBC Birmingham.Retrieved5 August2009.
  2. ^"Birmingham Post – News – West Midlands News – Ashley Blake: I've lost everything – I'm ruined".birminghampost.net.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2009.
  3. ^abc"Ashley Blake released from prison: Victim's surprise at early release".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2012.Retrieved10 June2010.
  4. ^Messent, Maureen (3 September 2009)."Ashley Blake reveals his life story: Day One".BirminghamLive.Retrieved30 April2023.
  5. ^Live, Coventry (4 September 2009)."BBC Midlands Today presenter Ashley Blake goes full circle".CoventryLive.Retrieved30 April2023.
  6. ^"Summer Ball Brings in Money For Cancer Support".Macmillan.Retrieved4 August2009.
  7. ^"Inside Out – West Midlands: Presenter profile".BBC. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2008.Retrieved4 August2009.
  8. ^"Ashley Blake".BBC.Retrieved4 August2009.
  9. ^"Birmingham and Black Country Black Hall of Fame – TV entertainment",BBC Birmingham.
  10. ^"Ashley Blake biography and images".TV Newsroom. Archived fromthe originalon 29 November 2007.Retrieved4 August2009.
  11. ^"BBC's Ashley Blake quits New Oscott restaurant at centre of fracas charges".Birmingham Post.Retrieved4 August2009.
  12. ^"Ashley Blake".Staffordshire University. Archived fromthe originalon 16 June 2011.Retrieved4 August2009.
  13. ^"BBC One – Inside Out West Midlands, 19/09/2016".
  14. ^"Ashley Blake hits out at 'haters' after BBC return".25 September 2016.
  15. ^Raybould, Pablo (2018),The Snarling,Laurence Saunders, Chris Simmons, Ben Manning,retrieved14 August2018
  16. ^"BBC's Ashley Blake on wounding charge after restaurant incident".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2012.Retrieved5 August2009.
  17. ^"Ashley Blake quits New Oscott restaurant".Birmingham Post.Retrieved4 August2009.
  18. ^Britten, Nick (26 January 2009)."BBC presenter charged over pub fight".The Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2009.Retrieved5 August2009.
  19. ^"TV newsreader Ashley Blake appears in court on wounding rap".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 17 April 2009.Retrieved4 August2009.
  20. ^"BBC presenter Ashley Blake denies wounding teen".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 20 August 2009.Retrieved4 August2009.
  21. ^"Jury sworn in for trial of BBC presenter Ashley Blake".Birmingham Post.Retrieved4 August2009.
  22. ^"Witnesses say 'victim' tried to be a peacemaker".Birmingham Post.Retrieved4 August2009.
  23. ^"BBC presenter Ashley Blake hit teenager in face with pole, court told".Birmingham Post.Retrieved4 August2009.
  24. ^"TV presenter jailed for two years".BBC News. 2 September 2009.Retrieved30 August2009.
  25. ^"Ashley Blake: I began prison life in the Winson Green cell Fred West hanged himself in".Birmingham Mail.4 September 2011.Retrieved18 December2016.
  26. ^"BBC man sacked after conviction".BBC News. 13 August 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2009.Retrieved30 August2009.
  27. ^"Ashley Blake fears TV career is over after guilty verdict in wounding trial".Birmingham Post.Retrieved5 August2009.
  28. ^abMcCarthy, Nick (12 March 2011)."Ashley Blake in drink-driving charge".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2012.Retrieved19 March2011.
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