Tom Bryant

From being groomed by Huw Edwards, to the heartbreaking final moments of Paul O’Grady’s life, there is no journalist as skilled as Tom Bryant in gently coaxing the most extraordinary details from their interviewees. Take Tom’s blistering sit-down with the 17-year-old who was paid £35,000 by Edwards, whose relationship with the newsreader sparked the beginning of his downfall. The young man had initially told the BBC that the allegations were “rubbish”. But over the course of 12 months as Tom doggedly gained his trust, that story slowly but surely changed…until he was ready to finally reveal the truth about their relationship. The series of revelations - including how the young person felt groomed, and had lied to project Edwards - was public interest journalism at its finest. Tom’s singular ability to put his subjects at ease was none more apparent in his interview with Paul O’Grady’s widow. Again, only Tom was trusted to tell his story about the last hours of Paul’s life…and the truly tender scenes as he lay dying brought a tear to the eye. No subject, no matter how deeply personal, was also off the table as part of Tom’s vitally important Men in Mind series.

As part of a ground-breaking Mirror podcast, the interviews had one simple premise: to encourage men to open up. And thanks to Tom’s deft skills as an interviewer, they did just that. The final interview of the series saw BBC presenter Gethin Jones reveal for the first time his struggles with depression in the aftermath of his high-profile split with soprano Katherine Jenkins. It’s little wonder that the series was hailed by the mental health charity Mind as “such powerful journalism”, saying how it shone a "crucial spotlight on men's mental health".