THE perils and perks of being a TV reporter on the international stage were highlighted by ITN journalist and Kent University graduate Shiulie Ghosh.

The former student returned to the campus at Canterbury where she had gained a law degree in 1989 to deliver an entertaining account on life on the frontline of news broadcasting.

Titled 'And finally...a life in television news’, she took an enthusiastic audience through the excitement and dangers of her work, from the inevitable 'never work with animals or children’ stories to the challenges of reporting from conflicts such as Kosovo.

She talked about how she had forged a particularly close relationship with the parents of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager murdered by a racist gang in London.

However, the most demanding and harrowing job, she confessed, was the aftermath of the tsunami. Yet there were still challenges ahead in her career, including reporting on a war, which she had never done – the birth of her child having prevented her from covering the invasion of Iraq.

Her presentation, which also included some hilarious out-takes, was part of the University’s open lecture series, which continues on Friday (May 6) with former Goodnestone resident and patron of the Canterbury Day Nursery, Joanna Lumley. It takes place in the Brabourne Lecture Theatre, Keynes College, at 6pm and admission is free.