Geoff is a thalidomide survivor, born in 1962. He joined the BBC in 1989 and spent 22 years working for the corporation as a subeditor, producer and senior producer, project manager, trainer and latterly as Age & Disability Correspondent for BBC News.
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Goldster Purpose, Passion, Grit
Geoff is a thalidomide survivor, born in 1962. He has severely shortened arms, malformed hands, a missing right eye and severely impaired vision in the left eye; in fact he was registered blind aged three.
His parents brought him up to be determined and insisted that if he wanted to get on in life he should make the most of the opportunities offered by the education system. The local authority insisted that he attend special schools (boarding schools) for disabled children which meant leaving the family home aged five.
Geoff graduated with first class honours in modern languages from Loughborough in 1988. He had decided on a career in journalism, inspired by the late Sir Harry Evans who had campaigned relentlessly for those damaged by thalidomide.
He joined the BBC in 1989 and spent 22 years working for the corporation as a subeditor, producer and senior producer, project manager, trainer and latterly as Age & Disability Correspondent for BBC News. He traveled the world and witnessed first hand the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. He was so profoundly affected by the experience that he returned there to lead a media development project from 1999 to 2001.
Geoff left the BBC to set up his own consultancy company in 2011, advising UK and EU organisations on equality issues. He retired in April 2020 but is still actively involved with various charities as well as podcasting, writing and public speaking.
He lives with his American wife, Dawn, their dog and five cats in north-west London.
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