John was born in 1956 and raised in Hertfordshire before moving to Hull to read American Studies in 1979. His first foray into journalism was at Worldwide Television News (now APTN), where, within a year, he had progressed from a temporary job in their London newsroom, via freelancing as a script writer, to editorial roles on various desks.
In 1986 he was sent to Lebanon on his first foreign assignment. Here, his life was changed forever when he was abducted, along with teacher Brian Keenan, by Islamic Fundamentalists and held hostage until August 1991. He endured 1,943 days of squalid captivity and had to deal with physical and mental torture, boredom, self-doubt and despair. The film Blind Flight was subsequently made based on their experiences.
He relived his experiences in Lebanon in the number one best-seller Some Other Rainbow, published by Bantam Press, which was co-authored by Jill Morrell, who had campaigned for the hostages’ release. The Independent described it as “wildly funny… humbling, draining, exhausting and ultimately exhilarating.”
John’s other books are Between Extremes, his and Brian Keenan’s account of their journey to Patagonia in 1998, which was another massive number one best-seller, and A Ghost Upon Your Path: An Irish Journey, published in 2002.
In 2004, John returned to Beirut to make Out of the Shadows for ITV: a personal and emotional journey documenting his quest to understand the Shia Muslims and confront the ghosts of his past. He has also presented the six-part ITV series It Ain’t Necessarily So (which found him travelling across the Middle East in search of archaeological evidence for key Bible stories) and Faultlines, which explored the roots of conflict.
For the BBC, John co-presented with Sandi Toksvig the TV series Island Race, and has also worked as a presenter on the World Service. He has co-written and broadcast John McCarthy’s Bible Journey (R4) and A Place Called Home (R4), and in 2007 he took over the chair of Excess Baggage, Radio 4s weekly live travel show. His two part documentary for the station, God of War, God of Peace aired in summer 2007 and in spring 2008, he presented The Child Preachers.
Recent television includes his major series for Al Jazeera International, which aired throughout 2007. God’s Business examined the financial realities of the world’s major religions and confronted some uncomfortable issues for both the institutions themselves and for their faithful. The Art of Faith aired in spring 2008 on Sky Arts. Made up of three hour long documentaries, it examined the architecture and art of the three Abrahamic faiths.
John’s incredible experiences ensure that he is in demand as an inspirational and motivational speaker. A recent appearance at the FDA Staff Forum in Dublin saw him described as “truly inspirational… incredible”.
He is Patron of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, and has been awarded an Honorary D.Litt from Hull and the CBE.
 |
||
 |
||
|
