Sarah Smith is the BBC's North American Editor, bringing over 30 years of experience as a reporter and presenter at the BBC and Channel 4. She has led North American coverage for both networks and was the BBC’s first Scotland Editor.
Sarah began her career at BBC Scotland as a graduate trainee after university. She spent a year in BBC Northern Ireland, gaining insight into the political violence in West Belfast. In 1991, she moved to London to work with BBC Youth Programmes as an assistant producer on shows like Rough Guide and Reportage. After two years, she transitioned to news and current affairs, contributing to Newsnight and Public Eye programmes.
In 1996, Sarah left the BBC to report for 5 News for two years before joining Channel 4 News as Scotland Correspondent, where she also presented. In 2005, she became the first anchor of More4 nightly news at its launch. Appointed Channel 4 Washington Correspondent in 2007, her coverage included President Obama’s election and the Haiti earthquake, later becoming Business Correspondent in 2011.
Before Scotland’s independence referendum, Sarah returned to the BBC to co-present BBC Two’s Scottish current affairs programme, Scotland 2014. In 2015, she was appointed the BBC’s Scotland Editor, tasked with covering Scottish news for a UK audience. In 2017, she took over presenting Sunday Politics from Andrew Neil.
In November 2021, Sarah returned to Washington, D.C., as the BBC's North America Editor. Throughout her career, she has reported on significant global events, including the Fukushima disaster and the Madrid bombings, contributing to Channel 4's International Emmy win.