Susanna Reid returns to Epigram 35 years on

By Julia Mullins, Second Year, Philosophy and Politics

Susanna Reid is a longstanding presenter of ITV’s Good Morning Britain—their award-winning breakfast show—the culmination of an impressive career working for programs like BBC Breakfast and BBC News 24. Susanna’s interview with Boris Johnson was shortlisted for a BAFTA in 2023 and she won Network Presenter of the Year in 2024, which she is nominated for again this year.  

In 1990, Susanna Reid was studying Philosophy and Politics at the University of Bristol and in her second year—responding to a desperate advert—became the Editor of Epigram. The paper was established just two years earlier making Susanna one of the first editors. In those days Epigram printed weekly and they were—or rather Susanna was—‘obsessed’ with membership of the National Union of Students. 'No normal student is obsessed with the NUS’, Susanna laughs, admitting it was her biggest mistake as Editor of Epigram. 

35 years later Susanna is back on campus and—more importantly—back at Epigram for the final event of Epigram's Women in Media 2025. In a stunning Epigram red suit no less. After a ‘nostalgia tour’ of her old haunts, she’s sat down to chat with our current Editor-in-Chief Annie McNamee to tell us what she’s been up to since her Epigram days. 

Susanna spoke of the importance of ‘grabbing your opportunities.’ She said ‘if it hadn’t been for Epigram, I simply wouldn’t be the presenter of Good Morning Britain.’ She impressed the value of making mistakes; ‘you don’t need to be brilliant to start with, you need to be willing to learn. You need to accept you are going to screw up’ and told us to ‘please don’t worry about failing.’ She told us that ‘it’s okay to take a break’, which is the same advice she gives her children. 

Susanna’s command of the audience was unsurprising considering her career. The audience was engaged, laughing on cue at the tales of her five years working beside Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. She politely described working with Piers asfour a.m ‘lively, particularly the morning he walked off... but you can only do that once’ later adding that it ‘may surprise you to know but Piers and I are friends.’ 

So, what does a day, or more accurately morning, look like at Good Morning Britain? 

She tells us that she’s ‘got [her] routine down to a fine art’ likening the early mornings to ‘airport time’; alarm set for 3:40. She reckons the only ‘sane’ people awake are those headed for a flight, but I think she’s forgetting this is prime time for students dragging themselves home from a club. By four a.m. she’s on her way to Television Centre and brushing up on the morning’s headlines. Then it’s shower, wardrobe, hair and makeup, ready for the five-a.m. editorial meeting. By six a.m. come hell or high water they go live to the nation.

Susanna admits that it is a high-pressure environment, but that is why ‘[she] absolutely love[s] it.’ This fast pace drew Susanna to broadcast, saying that it ‘felt so instinctively right for me.’ 

While at the BBC Susanna came second in the 2013 season of Strictly Come Dancing and explained that the ‘magic glitter dust’ brought her to the attention of ITV. So, Susanna left the BBC to launch Good Morning Britain. 

Leaving the nation’s favourite child, the BBC, in favour of the comparatively glamorous ITV made her ripe picking for the tabloids. Paparrazi were camped outside her home and Good Morning Britain found themselves in headlines ‘pretty much every single day’ in their early days. The Sun declared that Good Morning Britain would be cancelled by Christmas. The article—printed on page three—is now framed on her wall. She proudly told us that Good Morning Britain celebrates 11 years on air this month while the page three model, is no more. 

Susanna was composed for the whole two-hour talk, but like the politicians she interviews she carefully avoided one question. When asked by a member of the audience what the biggest mistake of her career was she said, ‘that is not the worst, I’ve done things I won’t mention.’ No ammunition for a headline sadly, but good to know she wouldn’t underestimate the room full of eager student journalists.

After the talk, we crowded around as Susanna pulled vintage issues of Epigram from her Louis Vuitton suitcase. Excitedly flipping through pages to see what had been added or cut over the years—no SciTech section back then. I admitted to Susanna that I had been the one to scrap ‘Between the Sheets’ and promised her it would be back in its rightful place. I didn’t know quite how far back it went. 

‘Women in Media 2025: Everything you need to know’

Having Susanna back in our own lecture hall was a reminder of Epigram’s legacy and an inspiration for how far our paper might take us too. She told us, ‘I wish I could go back and do it all again.’ 

Featured image: Epigram / Harriett Sanderson