Brody Swain

ELLEN Manning, from Rugby, has been a regular on the Brody Bunch over the last few years. This is when I invite guests from Coventry and Warwickshire to join me on BBC CWR to discuss the day’s big news stories.

It was great to invite journalist and PR consultant Ellen to appear on my show recently and chat about her fascinating life.

Ellen has been a journalist since she left university in 2003. She started in local news before eventually spending six years at the Press Association, first as a Midlands reporter before working in London as chief reporter.

She covered some pretty big stories during this time, from the London Olympics to Will and Kate’s wedding, as well as going to Afghanistan a few times with British troops.

Ellen decided to move into the uncertain world of the freelancer in 2016, writing about everything from food to business, as well as still writing news.

Food writing is a real passion for Ellen, and her award winning blog ‘Eat with Ellen’ is more of a hobby than anything else, but covers her food adventures locally, as well as further afield.

Ellen loves shouting about what we have right on our doorstep and believes we are so unrecognised for our great producers, restaurants and bars, and it’s time we shouted about what we’ve got.

That’s why she joined the team organising the Foodie Awards, which launched last month, and will recognise food and drink businesses across the area, culminating in a big event next year. When Ellen turns off the computer, one of the things she enjoys with her husband and two dogs is tootling off in their little campervan and finding new places to visit in Warwickshire.

She’s very much looking forward to those days returning when life gets back to some kind of normal.

It’s fair to say that Ellen has her finger on the Coventry and Warwickshire pulse and that is why I’m delighted she will be joining me on BBC CWR every Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm, to give you a few ideas on what to enjoy safely across the patch.