Ellie Costello is a British journalist and television presenter whose career has developed from student broadcasting and BBC reporting into a regular role on GB News Breakfast. Her work spans investigations, national news, court reporting and live interviews, with assignments covering politics, royal occasions and major public events.
Before becoming familiar to breakfast viewers, Costello worked at the BBC World Service and on the Victoria Derbyshire programme. Her reporting explored concerns about workplace bullying in the beauty industry and the pressure faced by social-media influencers approached with offers of money for sex. She later joined GB News as a reporter for South-East England and moved into national correspondence and presenting.
By 2026, the channel’s programme pages and her professional representatives identified her as a breakfast anchor alongside Eamonn Holmes and Stephen Dixon. Her public life also includes event hosting and her 2025 marriage to Gerard Durkan, away from the studio.
Contents
Quick Bio
| Name | Ellie Costello |
|---|---|
| Profession | Journalist, news presenter and event host |
| Broadcaster | GB News |
| Known for | GB News Breakfast |
| Earlier BBC work | World Service and Victoria Derbyshire programme |
| Education | English literature at Southampton; journalism training at City, University of London |
| Student television | SUSU TV, now Surge TV |
| Spouse | Gerard Durkan |
| Wedding | April 12, 2025 |
Who Is Ellie Costello?
Costello is a trained broadcast journalist whose public profile combines news gathering with live presentation. She comes from Essex, according to TV Newsroom, and began her GB News reporting work in the South East.
Her broadcasting background predates the channel. The BBC World Service and Victoria Derbyshire programme were important stages in her career, giving her experience in both audio and television news before she became a regular breakfast host.
Education and Student Broadcasting
Costello studied English literature at Southampton before undertaking journalism training at City, University of London. Her student television experience is documented by the National Student Television Association, or NaSTA, which identifies her as a former member of SUSU TV, now known as Surge TV.
NaSTA’s profile records a third-place finish in its Best On-Screen Female category in 2016. Its later event announcement described her as an award-winning former student presenter when she returned to host the association’s 2023 awards evening at Ravensbourne University.
Those appearances connect her professional career to the student broadcasting community in which she first gained presenting experience. She later served as a judge in NaSTA’s on-screen talent category, helping assess emerging presenters after making the move into national news herself.
Beginning Her Professional Career at the BBC
Her speaker biography dates her arrival at the BBC to 2017. It describes work as a broadcast journalist and radio reporter on programmes including Outside Source, BBC Minute and The Newsroom.
She subsequently worked as a television reporter for the Victoria Derbyshire programme. That role produced some of the most distinctive early reporting in her public portfolio, particularly investigations into workplace practices and exploitation linked to social media.
Her management biography says she received BBC Rising Star recognition in 2020. It also describes her investigations as attracting millions of views.
Her Victoria Derbyshire Investigations
Bullying in the Beauty Industry
In November 2019, Costello reported on allegations of bullying across the British beauty industry. Trade publication Professional Beauty covered the investigation, describing interviews with people in roles ranging from company leadership to department-store make-up counters.
The reported experiences included exclusion at work, concerns about treatment after maternity leave and the use of non-disclosure agreements. Some participants chose to conceal their identities while speaking about their experiences.
The British Beauty Council called for an independent body to investigate complaints. Costello’s work therefore reached beyond a single employee’s story, examining the structures through which people in the sector could raise concerns.
Influencers and Online Solicitation
Another investigation, published in January 2020, examined social-media influencers being approached with offers of money for sex. The report was credited to Costello for the Victoria Derbyshire programme.
Its contributors described unsolicited approaches and the financial pressures that could make influencers vulnerable. Subsequent coverage named former Love Island contestants among those interviewed. The story addressed an aspect of online visibility that differed sharply from the lifestyle images influencers ordinarily publish.
Together, these investigations show an early focus on the working conditions and pressures behind industries often presented through glamorous public imagery.
Joining GB News
Costello joined GB News in 2021 as its South-East England reporter. Her speaker biography traces the subsequent progression through national correspondence and news anchoring to a breakfast anchor role from 2025.
The move gave her assignments across a wide range of national stories. Her professional biography lists coverage of the murder of MP Sir David Amess, Just Stop Oil protests and major court proceedings.
She also covered royal occasions, including Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the coronation of King Charles III. Her election reporting has included both the United Kingdom and United States, while a later Rome assignment covered the death of Pope Francis and the conclave.
Ellie Costello on GB News Breakfast
A December 2024 schedule announcement placed Costello on weekday breakfast alongside Eamonn Holmes, replacing Isabel Webster. The programme developed under the names Breakfast with Eamonn and Ellie and Breakfast with Stephen and Ellie, reflecting her pairings with Holmes and Stephen Dixon.
The broadcaster’s own 2026 programme pages confirm both arrangements. A January listing for the Holmes pairing describes a 6am start, while a May listing names Dixon alongside Costello.
Her management profile describes live political interviews as a central part of the job. Alongside interviewing, the role brings her earlier reporting experience into a regular studio setting, where national events and daily developments shape the programme.
For more profiles of British journalists, read Biozy’s articles on Sarah Campbell and Nick Eardley.
Other Television and Documentary Work
Costello also co-hosted Saturday Morning Live. Peter Andre joined her for a December 2023 run.
Her court-reporting portfolio includes the Boris Becker, Wayne Couzens and Kevin Spacey trials, as well as the Wagatha Christie case.
According to her management, she narrated substantial sections of the third episode of Disney’s Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story. That documentary contribution adds another format to a career already spanning radio, field reports and studio discussion.
Event Hosting and Public Appearances
Costello also works as an event host. Her speaker representatives list engagements including the City of London Wealth Management Summit and the Lighthouse Construction Awards.
Her connection to student broadcasting has continued alongside those commercial events. Hosting NaSTA’s fiftieth-anniversary awards in 2023 brought her back to a community that had recognised her own on-screen work several years earlier.
Marriage to Gerard Durkan
Costello married Gerard Durkan at Chelsea Old Town Hall on April 12, 2025. PA’s contemporary report described the couple leaving the ceremony to confetti thrown by friends and relatives.
She had announced their engagement in November 2023. The wedding report gave her age as 31 at the time, but an age reported on one occasion does not establish a precise birthday. No unverified date of birth or personal net-worth estimate is necessary to describe her career.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ellie Costello still present GB News Breakfast?
Yes. Her current representatives identify her as a breakfast host, supported by GB News programme listings from 2026.
Did Ellie Costello work for the BBC?
Yes. She worked at the BBC World Service and on the Victoria Derbyshire programme before joining GB News.
Who is Ellie Costello’s husband?
She married Gerard Durkan in April 2025.
What did Ellie Costello study?
She studied English literature at Southampton and trained in broadcast journalism at City, University of London.
What is Ellie Costello’s net worth?
A dependable personal net-worth figure has not been publicly established.
Sources
- Becca Barr Management biography
- Professional speaker biography
- NaSTA on-screen talent profile
- NaSTA 2023 awards announcement
- TV Newsroom profile
- Professional Beauty investigation coverage
- BBC reporting credits indexed on Muck Rack
- GB News schedule changes
- Breakfast with Eamonn and Ellie, January2026
- Breakfast with Stephen and Ellie, May2026
- Saturday Morning Live announcement
- PA wedding report in The Standard
