GCU graduate hits the headlines as UK Reporter of the Year

A GCU graduate has been named UK Reporter of the Year at the prestigious Independent Radio News awards. 

Connor Gillies, who reports and reads the news on Heart, Capital FM and Smooth Radio in Scotland, received the prize from Sky News presenter Kay Burley at a ceremony in London. 

A graduate of the BA Media and Communication (Broadcast Journalism), Connor joined parent group Global Radio in 2015 after stints with Radio Clyde, Kingdom FM, and Central FM, and also acts as the Scotland correspondent for London-based station LBC. 

Judges of the IRN/Sky News Awards praised him for his "incredible" work last year, which included securing video footage of a key Kensington Council meeting in the wake of the Grenfell fire, and a series of exclusives about child sex workers in Glasgow. 

Connor, a former station manager of Radio Caley, during his time at GCU, said: "I am beyond ecstatic to pick up UK Reporter of the Year." 

The judging panel wrote: "Connor is a talented and inquisitive journalist who demonstrates an impressive ability to deliver compelling radio content on a wide variety of stories.  

"He consistently delivers stories with gravitas and a sense of urgency on a broad spectrum of topics, as well as asking poignant and relevant questions to prominent politicians." 

The IRN/Sky News Awards were held at Sky Cinema in west London last week.