Peter Overton

Peter John Overton, AM (born 5 April 1966)[1] is a British-born Australian television journalist and news presenter. He is currently the presenter for Nine News Sydney from Sunday to Thursday at 6 pm.

Peter Overton

AM
Overton in 2012
Born (1966-04-05) 5 April 1966
London, England[1]
NationalityAustralian
EducationNorth Sydney Boys High School
Macquarie University
Occupation(s)Journalist, television news presenter
Years active1991–present
EmployerNine Network
TelevisionNine News
Spouse
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2

Early life and family

Born in London, England,[1] Overton moved to Australia at age two after his parents returned home to the country. He grew up in Longueville, a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney. He went to Lane Cove Public School and North Sydney Boys High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics[1] from Macquarie University. He also played the tuba whilst at Lane Cove Public School.

His father, Dr. John Overton, was an associate professor of anaesthesia at the University of Sydney and worked at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.[2]

In the mid-1990s, Overton married his childhood sweetheart, but their marriage ended in divorce in 2000.

In mid 2001, Overton began dating then 10 News First presenter Jessica Rowe. Overton and Rowe married in 2004 and have two daughters.[1]

Career

Overton joined the Seven Network in Adelaide during the 1980s and 1990s as a sport reporter.

Overton joined the Nine Network soon after as a reporter for Nine News and later was appointed weekend sports presenter on Nine News in Sydney and fill-in presenter for Ken Sutcliffe. He also filed weekday news updates from the newsroom during Brian Henderson's tenure as presenter of Nine News in Sydney.

Overton occasionally presented weekend news bulletins, and substituted on National Nine Early News and Today news for Sharyn Ghidella and on Nightline for Jim Waley. He also co-hosted Nine's coverage of the Thredbo disaster with Tracy Grimshaw.[1]

He was a reporter for the current affairs program 60 Minutes for eight years and also held positions at 2UE, Sky News Australia and the Seven Network in Adelaide.[1][3]

In January 2009, Overton was appointed presenter of Nine News Sydney replacing Mark Ferguson following poor ratings.[4][5] Ratings did not improve in his first week, with Nine dropping to fourth behind then-leader Seven, the ABC and Ten.[6][7][8] However, after years of steady progress, Nine would later regain the ratings lead in the Sydney market.[9][10][11][12][13][14] He also presents the Sunday edition of Nine's Late News; the weeknight edition is presented from Perth by Michael Thomson.[15]

Overton had a cameo role as himself in the 2011 Australian horror film The Tunnel, in the sci-fi film Pacific Rim Uprising as well as himself in Fast X.[16][17]

Community roles

Overton is a patron of the MonSTaR Foundation, a charity raising money and awareness of motor neurone disease.[3] He is an ambassador for Special Olympics Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that supports children and adults with an intellectual disability.[18]

Overton is also a Wing Commander in the Royal Australian Air Force as a specialist reserve public affairs officer.

References
  1. "Peter Overton – 9news.com.au". 9news.com.au. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. Australian Story: The Good Doctor Australian Broadcasting Corporation April 2001]
  3. "Who We Are". MonStaR Foundation. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  4. McCowen, David (11 January 2009). "Ferguson ousted from top slot at Nine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  5. Walters, Conrad (12 January 2009). "Ferguson dumped as Nine scrambles for No. 1". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. "Dumped anchor Mark Ferguson 'loathes' replacement Peter Overton". News.com.au. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. "Peter Overton is bad news for Channel Nine's ratings". News.com.au. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. "Overton has to lift Nine ratings". News.com.au. 12 April 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. "Peter Overton's ratings finally paying off for Nine". News.com.au. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. Byrnes, Holly (3 December 2009). "Seven's Chris Bath lags behind Nine's Peter Overton in latest TV news ratings". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. Dale, David (25 October 2015). "It's Nine versus Seven in battle for supremacy of TV's nightly news". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  12. Nine News Sydney takes ratings crown from Seven, Media Spy, 22 October 2011
  13. Manning, James (6 April 2016). "Nine Sydney newsreader Peter Overton celebrates two milestones". Media Week. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  14. "Nine News dominates weekly ratings, sitting at the top in its 21st week". The Sunday Telegraph. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  15. Knox, David (22 May 2020). "Today Show drops local Perth news inserts". TV Tonight. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  16. Peter Overton Filmography (IMDB)
  17. "Fictional News Bulletins In Films & TV". Media Spy. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  18. "Our supporters". Special Olympics Australia. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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