Barbara Serra

About Barbara Serra

Awarded a Knighthood by the Italian Government for her work in international journalism and the first non-native English speaker to present a primetime news programme on British television, Barbara Serra is a multilingual Italian/British journalist, TV News Presenter and writer with 20 years ’experience working for major international news networks including Al Jazeera English, Sky News and the BBC.

Between 2006 and 2022 Barbara presented the main evening news programmes for Al Jazeera English from the channel’s European headquarters in London. Her experience anchoring live daily news programmes has given her a clear and deep understanding of current affairs and she has reported from across Europe, the Middle East and the USA. She is also a prominent journalist in her native Italy.

Barbara knows how to engage an audience, and having worked for broadcasters from different backgrounds (British, Italian and Arab/International), also knows how to adapt her presentation for a national or international public. She is a highly skilled interviewer, equally at ease in a live confrontation with a politician, as she is in having a friendly chat with people who may be camera-shy but have a great story to tell. She is passionate about Europe, both its cultural differences and as a political entity.

Barbara has made several documentaries, including the film ‘Fascism in the Family’ which explores how Italy’s Fascist past plays a part in the current rise of the Far Right. She also wrote an award-winning book about the cultural differences between northern and southern Europe. It was directed at an Italian audience and became the topic of a very successful TEDx Talk.

In the UK, Barbara pays particular attention to the rights and representation of EU citizens living in Great Britain post Brexit. She often adapts her live TV skills to host and moderate high profile conferences for clients such as KPMG, Baker Hughes, Technogym, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Poste Italiane and ENEL. She has also presented some of the industry’s most prestigious events, including the Royal Television Society’s TV Journalism awards in London.