Jon Snow: Who is the Channel 4 journalist’s wife Precious Lunga and when did they have their first baby?

ITN’s longest serving journalist and news presenter, Jon Snow, has welcomed a baby boy.

Snow and his wife, Precious Lunga, announced the news on 9 March and told how they had suffered several miscarriages in their attempts to have a child.

The couple welcomed the child after 11 years of marriage. So, what age is Snow and what did he say about the birth? This is what you need to know.

Who is Jon Snow?

Jon Snow - born Jonathan George Snow in 1947 - is the son of the former Bishop of Whitby and was raised in Sussex, England.

He attended school at Ardley College, where his father was also headmaster and in recent years shared how he was abused by a member of staff at the school when he was six years old.

Snow then attended St Edward’s School in Oxford, and when he was 18, he spent a year as a VSO volunteer teaching in Uganda.

Upon returning from Uganda, he read Law at Liverpool University but did not complete his studies as he was expelled for his part in a 1970 anti-apartheid socialist student protest, which he later described as “a watershed moment.”

In his 20s, he was the director of the New Horizon Youth Centre, a day centre for homeless young people in central London, which he remains close to today.

By the late 70s, he was employed by broadcaster ITN, where he has remained ever since.

He worked as the Washington correspondent from 1983 to 1986 and as the diplomatic editor from 1986 to 1989, before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989.

ITN produces the daily news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 in the UK. Snow is employed directly by ITN, not one of their channels.

He is now the longest running ITN presenter ever, serving as the correspondent in the aftermath of the Vietnam war and in Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East in the 1980s.

The 73-year-old is well-known for his brightly coloured ties and socks and his controversial opinions regarding politics.

What are his political views?

Snow has shared a number of his views over the years, which his employers state are not held by Channel 4.

In 2009, Snow stated it was “unacceptable” that the British media did not report on Prince Harry’s decision to fight in Afghanistan. He received complaints and criticism for his comments.

It was reported in 2017 that Snow was heard shouting “F**k the Tories” at Glastonbury Festival. He received backlash for his conduct and Channel 4 released a statement in which it said he had been reminded of his duty to impartiality.

In March 2019, Ofcom received 2,644 complaints when Snow said he had "never seen so many white people in one place", whilst reporting at a pro-Brexit protest.

The complaints were considered unnecessary and were not scripted as part of the Channel 4 report, but Ofcom did not uphold the complaints.

Has he been married previously?

Snow has not been married before but was in a 35-year relationship with human rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, 64, with whom he has two daughters.

He married Precious Lunga in 2010 and the couple welcomed their first child, a son, on 2 March 2021.

Who is his wife, Precious Lunga?

Lunga is a 46-year-old Zimbabwean epidemiologist and entrepreneur.

At the age of 17, she left Zimbabwe to study neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh. She then achieved a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2003.

She was a founding member for EUROPRISE, a consortium of HIV vaccine and microbicide researchers working in industry and public institutions.

Lunga also worked with UNAIDS Geneva, participating in anti-HIV microbicide trials for the UK Medical Research Council.

The scientist has hosted a TEDx talk and has panelled the Woman of the World Festival.

In 2016, she founded the medical app, Afya Pap,which offers personalised health education and coaching on chronic diseases - and in 2018 she won the AppsAfrica Award.

In 2019 Lunga was listed in New Africans 100 most influential Africans.

She has not been married previously and does not have any other children.

What did Snow and Lunga say about the birth?

In a statement released on 9 March, a week after the birth, Snow confirmed he welcomed a baby boy with his wife.

He said: "In our desire to seal our now 11 years of marriage with a baby, my wife suffered numerous medical setbacks and miscarriages.

"Consequently, we will always be deeply grateful to our surrogate, who carried our embryo to term.

"Amid these challenging times, we feel doubly blessed to be able to celebrate our good fortune."