Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Rachel Brown-Finnis receive honorary fellowships from University of Lancashire

Burnley-born former England women’s footballer Rachel Brown-Finnis, and television journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy, received Honorary Fellowships from the university in a special ceremony.

Retired goalkeeper Rachel (45), who is now a broadcaster and pundit, was 15 when she made her debut between the posts for Liverpool. Following five years at university in America, she returned home and spent 11 years playing for Everton, where she realised a dream by lifting the Women’s FA Cup in 2010.

Fifty-five year-old Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who has been a major part of Channel 4 News for nearly three decades, grew up in the Ribble Valley village of West Bradford, while his father worked as a radiologist in Blackburn and Burnley hospitals.

Krishnan’s long and distinguished career has seen him cover some of the world’s largest conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.

In his early career he presented the iconic BBC children’s programme Newsround, and he was a launch presenter on the BBC’s News 24 Channel before he joined Channel 4 News in 1998. He has appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and was awarded a Royal Television Society Fellowship earlier this year.

Krishnan, who was acknowledged for his significant contribution to journalism and broadcasting, said: “It’s lovely to be recognised by an academic institution and it’s great to come and celebrate with a bunch of young people who have obviously worked incredibly hard.

“The biggest advice I can give the graduates is to be very resilient, it’s a lot different nowadays to when my generation was leaving university but don’t give up too soon, hang on in there and you will find your place.”

Rachel, meanwhile, represented her country at four European Championships and two Women’s World Cups, making a total of 82 appearances. She was also part of the Team GB squad for the London 2012 Olympics.

After retiring a decade ago, Rachel transitioned into the media and is now a leading pundit and co-commentator across the men’s and women's game, for BBC and TNT Sport. Her expertise has seen her cover the Women's 2019 and 2023 World Cups and the Lionesses' successes at Euro 2022 and Euro 2025.

Rachel, who was recognised for the significant contribution she has made to football and sports broadcasting, commented: “It’s unbelievably humbling, this is a tremendous honour, and I am very grateful. This Fellowship feels like a celebration of possibility, of what can happen when passion meets perseverance.

“The advice I’d offer to any of the graduates is for them to beat their own drum, make their own pathway. They have been sparked at some point and have found something they absolutely love doing, that they’re passionate about and try to create a pathway where that can become a career because that is something they’ll get up for every single day, they will want to strive to be better and they’ll work harder.”