British TV presenter, singer and actor Ayshea Brough will be honoured at the 2024 Asian Media Awards.
The awards are now in their 12th year and celebrate achievements in a range of categories in journalism, TV, radio, stage, online and creative media.
The ceremony is supported by the University of Salford and will return to Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Friday October 25.
Ayshea Brough will be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Media Award at the ceremony.
Ayshea’s career has spanned more than six decades during which time she has appeared in a host of TV, film and stage roles. As a TV host, Ayshea helped to launch the some of the biggest pop and rock acts of the seventies. It made her a household name.
Ayshea made her film debut as an uncredited extra in the film Tom Thumb in 1958.
She would attend a theatrical and ballet school as a child in London and got her first record deal on a Granada pop show named ‘Discotheque’.
She would also sign her first recording contract with Philips Fontana and her first single ‘Eeny Meeny’ was released in 1965.
As a singer she made many appearances and could be seen on numerous television promotional shows such as ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’.
In 1969, Granada TV cast her to present and star in her own pop show, initially called ‘Lift Off’, but renamed to ‘Lift Off With Ayshea’ on a fourth series in 1972. The series which would rival Top of the Pops, began in November 1969 and would run for five years and 144 episodes until December 1974.
The programme had a significant influence on the pop music industry, debuting acts that often went on to later success, most notably David Bowie. It also featured the likes of Wizzard, The Bay City Rollers, The Sweet, Black Sabbath, Slade and 10cc.
As an actress, she appeared in an episode of Jason King in 1971 and also enjoyed a recurring role on Gerry Anderson’s UFO series (1969 – 1971). She also made brief appearances in the films Gotcha (1985), where she is playing a club singer and the Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes action movie Demolition Man (1993).
Ayshea said: “I guess I was not a typical English rose but at the time it never crossed my mind.
“I know I had grown up in a privileged home and had been very lucky at a very young age but I think your determination will always win through no matter what you do.”
This year’s Asian Media Awards return to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Friday October 25.
Previous recipients of an Asian Media Award include Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Waris Hussein, Art Malik, Mehdi Hasan, Nina Wadia, Anita Rani, Shobna Gulati, Faisal Islam, Kulvinder Ghir, Adil Ray, Lisa Aziz, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Tina Daheley & Mihir Bose.
The University of Salford are Premier Partners to the Asian Media Awards.
Partners to the awards include ITV, EssenceMediacom, Reach PLC, Women In Journalism & Lancashire Mind.
The awards are also supported by Manchester Metropolitan University, AMT Lawyers, DKR Accountants, Opus Broadband, Janan, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Fritz AV, Payal Events & Cleartwo.
