Jonathan Charles: Biography

Jonathan Charles enjoys the nomadic life of a foreign correspondent.

For the past 17 years, he has lived abroad in New York, Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt.

During his time as a BBC television and radio correspondent, he has covered some of the biggest events of the past two decades, including the wars in the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Chechnya, the Beslan school siege, the integration of the European Union, and a host of other stories.

Jonathan says he loves travelling because you are always meeting new people and seeing new things.

It is a stimulating existence, and the key is never to lose your ability to be surprised by the world.

A journalist's job is to communicate that surprise and the diversity of the planet to a wider audience.

After years of covering the news, Jonathan is now taking up the challenge of making longer documentary programmes such as Crossing Continents, Crossing Europe.

He is looking forward to examining issues in more depth and explaining them to listeners.