Donal MacIntyre Biography
Donal MacIntyre is an Irish investigative journalist who specializes in undercover operations, investigations, and television exposés. He has also worked as a television news and documentary presenter on various UK channels.
How old is Donal MacIntyre? – Age
He is 57 years old as of 25 January 2023. He was born in 1966 in Dublin, Ireland.
Donal MacIntyre Family – Education
MacIntyre is a twin and the youngest of five children. His siblings; Darragh MacIntyre, Deirdre MacIntyre, and Tadhg MacIntyre. He received his education in Dublin and London, and he earned a Master’s degree in Communication Policy from City University in London.
Is Donal MacIntyre still Married? – Husband
She is married to Ameera De La Rosa. The couple has three children; Allegra MacIntyre, Hunter MacIntyre, and Tiger-Lily MacIntyre.
Donal MacIntyre Unsolved
MacIntyre has also worked for CBS Reality, where he presented the documentary series Donal MacIntyre: Unsolved, which examines unsolved criminal cases such as abductions and murders.
Donal MacIntyre Dancing on Ice
MacIntyre appeared in the fourth season of the television show Dancing on Ice in 2009. He and his pro-skating partner Florentine Houdiniere finished second.
Donal MacIntyre The Jump
In 2014, MacIntyre appeared in the first season of Channel 4’s reality show The Jump. Originally signed as a reserve in case other participants were injured, he took over for the injured Melinda Messenger on the fifth night (30 January 2014). He finished second in the series to Joe McElderry, who was also a reserve contestant at the start.
Donal MacIntyre Attacks
In June 2009, he and his wife, Ameera de la Rosa (who was suffering from a brain tumor at the time), were attacked and beaten at the Cloud 9 wine bar in Hampton Court in what is believed to be a revenge attack, linked to the 1999 documentary’s prosecution of Jason Marriner and other Chelsea hooligans.
Donal MacIntyre Murder Files
The first series of MacIntyre Investigates for the BBC sparked outrage when it was accused of falsifying video evidence and blackmailing the Elite modeling agency during its exposé. The BBC was sued for defamation, but settled out of court and issued a statement admitting that MacIntyre had misrepresented the agency in his program but standing by him.
He came under more open criticism from internal sources near the end of his second series of MacIntyre Investigates for the BBC. The three programs were estimated to have cost up to £2.5 million, while an episode of Panorama typically cost between £100,000 and £150,000.
In exchange, BBC One’s then-controller Lorraine Heggessey expected MacIntyre Investigates to deliver the ratings, which other investigative journalists believed undermined the show’s editorial integrity. In 2007, MacIntyre decided to make a documentary in order to “do a Michael Moore for gangsters” by penetrating a world of super-rich villains who live a life of luxury with no legitimate means of support.
The resulting film, A Very British Gangster, was based on the life of Manchester-based gangster and hitman Dominic Noonan, whose brother Desmond Noonan was stabbed to death while filming. The first series of MacIntyre Investigates for the BBC sparked outrage when it was accused of falsifying video evidence and blackmailing the Elite modeling agency during its exposé. The BBC was sued for defamation, but the case was settled out of court and a statement was issued admitting that MacIntyre had misrepresented the agency in his program but standing by him.
Near the end of his second series of MacIntyre Investigates for the BBC, he received more open criticism from internal sources. The three programs were estimated to have cost up to £2.5 million, while a typical episode of Panorama cost between £100,000 and £150,000.
Donal MacIntyre Career
After earning his degree, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Dublin, first for The Irish Press and then for the Sunday Tribune, covering news, sports, and finance. His first investigative reporting project involved the Law Society looking into claims of restrictive practices. The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Express, and the New Statesman later published similar investigative pieces he had written.
In 1993, MacIntyre started his television career at the BBC working on the On-The-Line investigative sports program. His experience with canoeing made him the obvious choice to look into the incident and the safety culture that had permitted it in the wake of the Lyme Regis canoeing tragedy that resulted in the drowning of four schoolchildren. To reveal the absence of employment standards in the sector, he posed as an Adventure Sports Instructor.
MacIntyre has been hosting a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live since 6 April 2008. In 2010, MacIntyre served as a temporary co-host of London Tonight on ITV1, leaving the position after six months. In addition to contributing to Sunday World, he holds the positions of visiting professor of criminology at Birmingham City University and panelist for the Crime Bites Podcast.