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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Christian Abbott

Who is BBC Breakfast's Ben Boulos? Host's proud heritage and change from real name

Ben Boulos has always been a popular BBC Breakfast presenter, and he was brought back behind the desk earlier in 2022 thanks to fan support.

Following months of absence from the show, back in January he wrote on Instagram that “unprecedented, overwhelming public demand" led him to presenting BBC World News.

He shared a snap of himself looking dapper in a navy blue suit, captioning the post: "It’s been a while… but due to huge, unprecedented, overwhelming public demand* I’ll be back in the chair tomorrow (Friday) on @bbcnews channel/@bbctwo from 0900GMT & BBC World News from 1000GMT.

"Can’t wait! See you then!

"(*creative licence may have been used in this description)," he jokingly added.

Here is everything we know about the BBC Breakfast host.

Who is Ben Boulos?

Ben Boulos previously worked at Quibi before its collapse (Instagram)

Ben is a news presenter on BBC World News, BBC One and the BBC News channel.

He is best known for his regular appearances on BBC Breakfast, though he previously hosted the Around The World show on the ill-fated and short-lived streaming platform Quibi.

The 38-year-old graduated from Cambridge University with a Master of Arts in Law in 2005.

It is currently unknown if Ben has a partner or not, as he doesn’t share any insights into his relationship status on social media.

Ben is from a mixed family heritage, as his father, Tim, is English and his mother, Theresa, is of Sudanese-Egyptian decent.

It was this heritage that inspired him to make a major change.

Did Ben Boulos change his name?

Ben Boulos' previous surname was Bland (Instagram)

Last year, Ben made the decision to change his surname to Boulos in order to better reflect his family heritage.

He was previously known as Ben Bland, but in February 2021 he made the change.

Ben wanted his name to match his Jewish heritage as his ancestors changed their surname from Boulos to the most British word they thought matched it after fleeing Russian and Lithuania.

The name they chose was Bland.

After the name change, Ben said he received nothing but an “overwhelming and overwhelmingly positive” reaction to the news.

Ben Boulos’ Pride link

Ben regularly supports Pride with his friends (Instagram)

The presenter regularly shares insights into his life on social media, with him recently showing off his time at London Pride.

He wrote: “Belatedly… very belatedly… but Happy #LondonPride everyone.”

The presenter often shows his support for the LGBTQ+ community via his Instagram account.

In 2021 he attended the Pride at the Palace in the West End of London.

At the event, which features many prominent LGBTQ+ artists and activists, he wrote on social media: "Happy Pride Month everyone!

"What better way to celebrate than with #PrideAtThePalace - a colourful, fab, uplifting show featuring actual Heather Small!"

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