Tony Dewhurst

Press Editor

I joined The Grand Theatre in 2011 after a very happy decade as the sports feature writer on the Lancashire Evening Post newspaper, Preston.

I grew up in my hometown, Preston, and my ambition, from when I was a twelve, was to be a sports reporter.

It took me until I was 26 to take the plunge into the world of journalism.

I gave my job up at the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, enrolled at night school and completed my A levels in a year.

The following month I was accepted on Lancashire’s University’s Journalism Degree course, eventually landing my first job with Chester News Service.

There, I covered crown court, the trials of tribulations of Chester FC and anything from a cat up a tree to a crazed chimpanzee on the loose at the zoo.

It was a rapid learning curve, writing for the local and national press.

From there I moved to my first newspaper, The Stoke Evening Sentinel, where I was given the job of reporting on Port Vale.

In between, I was seconded to UK News.

After three years I returned to Lancashire, accepting the post of Burnley Football club reporter on the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, working with managers Jimmy Mullen, Adrian Heath and Chris Waddle.

In 1998 I made the short hop to Preston, covering Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League for four years.

I now work as a freelance reporter covering news, sport and features.

I love my varied work with the Grand, and working with events manager Matt Evans helping generate press for the exciting and diverse acts that come to the theatre.

I have also helped develop the Grand’s popular spoken word events and it is a real honour to have interviewed so many of our special guests, including Noddy Holder from Slade, Jonathan Agnew from BBC Test Match Special, naturalist Bill Oddie and presenter Nicholas Parsons.