Julian and Gillian to leave UTV

It’s the end of an era here at UTV as our continuity announcers Julian Simmons and Gillian Porter are leaving the station after almost 30 years.

They've been fixtures on our TV screens for decades.

But now UTV bids a fond farewell to Julian Simmons and Gillian Porter.

At first Julian combined continuity and news reading with shifts for Air Canada at Heathrow.

Programmes he fronted included Julian on the Road, Come Fly with Julian and Rewind.

And it was his comic introductions to Coronation Street and Emmerdale which will hold a special place in viewers' hearts. 

Gillian joined UTV in 1993 as a continuity announcer, news reader, and weather presenter.

In 1998 she was the host of the first series of UTV Life, a brand new magazine programme which aired on a Sunday evening.

More recently was the regular news reader on UTV Live Tonight.

When ITV bought UTV in 2016, both Julian and Gillian became off screen announcers.

Now they say they're both looking forward to exciting new chapters in their lives.