Gemma Cairney

Gemma Cairney is a multi-award winning broadcaster, writer, producer and general polymath. She currently presents The Surgery on BBC Radio 1. As the network’s only speech-based show, it focuses on tackling the everyday issues of young people and creating positive social action. She has racked up a breadth of experience across the BBC networks including Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and, most recently, the BBC World Service, and covers Glastonbury each year on BBC1 and BBC2. Gemma is known for her irreverent approach, insatiable appetite for telling stories and sparkling imagination. Outside the BBC she owns her own production company called Boom Shakalaka Productions, where she oversees different audio, visual and arts content. She has edited and written for various publications, including The Pool, Elle, Red, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, the Guardian and The Debrief. She is ‘Artist In Residence’ at The Southbank Centre and is on the committee for Women Of The World Festival. Outside work she loves to DJ garage classics at parties and lives by the sea, where she can be found wild swimming in a tidal pool.