Sophie jumps in

jUMPING off cliffs at Flamborough Head, deep-sea diving off the coast at Scarborough and doing 360-degree turns in an aerobatic display jet are all in the line of duty for Sophie Hull. As a co-presenter of BBC1's Inside Out, Sophie has done all of these things in the name of journalism. The brave brunette from Australia is rapidly earning reputation as an action girl on the weekly regional current affairs slot. She has come a long way from her early days in TV journalism, single-handedly covering a bureau in remotest Australia.

"I feel very lucky because working on documentaries and features is always what I wanted to do," says Sophie when we meet up for a coffee in York. She had worked her way up to a job on a news channel in Sydney when her fighter pilot husband Christian was offered an exchange with the RAF in England, which is what brought her to North Yorkshire and a new home in Harrogate.

Dressed in casual trousers and shirt, opened to reveal a tight low-cut T-shirt, she is as striking in real life as she appears on screen. Her dark looks could be from the Mediterranean or South America. If we are talking film-star comparisons she'd be a formidable hybrid: Penelope Cruz meets Salma Hayek. But I wouldn't dream of saying that to her face, because she seems the modest sort.

Indeed, a passion for journalism rather than a bid for stardom drew her into television.

"It wasn't about being famous," she says. "I just thought this would be a fun industry to work in. I did some work experience when I was a student and I really enjoyed it. For me, it's all about doing a job which stretches you and which you really enjoy."

She has been given that opportunity in Inside Out, which is breaking new ground in TV. The programme is a product of Greg Dyke's promise to do more for regional broadcasting. It is pioneering in being the first regional current affairs programme to win a prime-time slot on BBC1. Not only that, it has the money, time and resources to make a quality programme. This allows local presenters such as Sophie to travel far and wide in pursuit of a story.

In this series, she has been to Cape Cod to report on the growing health concerns over a giant radar dish similar to the one at Fylingdales in North Yorkshire. And she has travelled to Germany to find out more about the history of the U-boats which were sunk off the North Yorkshire coast during the First World War.

During the filming of the U-boat story, Sophie threw herself into the deep by talking part in a dive around the wrecks. That wasn't the first time - and won't be the last - that she has enjoyed an adrenaline rush while covering a story.

In an item on extreme sports, Sophie went paragliding across the Yorkshire Dales and threw herself off the cliffs near Bridlington. Granted, she was attached to an instructor, but there was still only a few pieces of nylon and a handful of strings stopping her from ditching into the cold North Sea.

In another story, she joined champion aerobatics pilot Tom Cassells of Boroughbridge as he attempted to defend his title. After going for a 360-degree spin with Tom, a top stunt pilot, she told viewers: "It was like going for a ride in a tumbledryer."

Inside Out finishes this month and the team is already working on the next series planned for the new year. Sophie is expecting a few more adventures to come her way. "We had a meeting about the next series and people were already asking if there were any more extreme sports which they could make me do," says Sophie.

She describes herself as an 'outdoorsy' person who loves running, skiing and walking. While she misses aspects of her homeland, there is much about Britain which she loves.

"I really love the pubs, and the Dales and even the weather." Sorry, I ask, did I hear that right? She laughs and explains herself: "I do like the British weather. The sun is different here from Australia - I love the way it filters through the trees in summer. And I love going for a run on an icy morning."

She says Britain feels very familiar. "Like most Australians, I was brought up with a lot of English influences. I read Enid Blyton and watched All Creatures Great And Small."

How long she stays in Britain much depends on her husband's career, she says, but she imagines North Yorkshire will be home for the foreseeable future.

Like many service wives, she was on tenterhooks during the Iraq war because it was touch and go whether her husband's squadron would be sent to the Gulf. It wasn't in the end, but her husband's job dictates that he still has to spend spells overseas.

At times like these, Sophie relies on the friends she has made in the RAF. "The last time he went away I went camping with a few other wives in the Dales," she says.

With a husband as a fighter pilot, has Sophie had the chance to have the ultimate thrill-seeking experience?

"No - but I'd love to go up with him," she says. "Perhaps that's the story I need to do next."

Sophie will unravel the mystery of an old railway disaster in next week's Inside Out on Monday, BBC1 at 7.30pm.

Updated: 08:58 Tuesday, October 07, 2003