Steph McGovern on Deadline location!!

Submitted: 27th June 2025

Steph McGovern and Deadline

A treat indeed today. THIS week sees Northern TV presenter and now Northern author Steph McGovern on the BookTrail. Love to celebrate all authors but when they’re as lovely and funny as Steph and a fellow Northern lass with a smashing accent – it’s extra special.

Locations in Deadline

Deadline Steph McGovern

Locations in Deadline

This book all started with a question I used to ask my colleagues whenever we were on location for a live television news broadcast. The first time it cropped up was shortly after I heard the brilliant Harlan Coben, one of my fave crime writers, talk about getting the inspiration for his books by constantly asking ‘what if’. So that’s what I started doing. And I kept coming back to the same one; ‘What if this broadcast got hijacked?’

BBC breakfast (c) Steph McGovern

Locations in Deadline

My mates, who I was working with, would then discuss the different ways you could hijack a broadcast, as well as why someone might do it and what we’d all do if it happened. I would regularly write notes and was fascinated by everyone’s thoughts on it, because they were so varied. To begin with it was just a way to pass the time while we were waiting, often in a cold broadcast truck outside a factory, to go on air. But then my crime writing mates convinced me to have a crack at making it into a book. And five years later, here we are.

Locations in Deadline

Deadline is Northern at its core, not just in terms of where it is located geographically but also its humour and values too. It starts in Manchester where the lead character, journalist Rose Steedman lives with her partner and child. Rose is originally from the North East of England, but has moved to Manchester, or Didsbury to be precise, because that is where the national TV show she works on is based. It won’t surprise you to hear that Rose does share a lot of commonalities with me. A nod to this is in her name which comes from my middle name, Rose, and my mam’s maiden name, Steedman.

Manchester

Locations in Deadline

Although this book is fictional, there are some parts of it that are based on things that have happened to me in my life, like being mistaken for a prostitute at Grimsby fish market and having a stalker. Rose’s cameraman, Jonesy and his dog Murphy are also real. I worked with both of them for many years on BBC Breakfast. Jonesy is a North Wales boy, so he starts his journey in the book from there.

Locations in Deadline

In the first part of the novel Jonesy, Rose, engineer Sandy and driver Tom travel to Alfreton in Derbyshire. I picked this location because I did a few broadcasts there during my time as a BBC reporter and I always liked the vibe there; rural life juxtapositioned with industries of various sizes filled with lots of colourful characters. It was always a good backdrop for talking about the economy when I was covering big news events like the Budget.

Locations in Deadline

From there my characters go up to the North East, with a snack stop at Wetherby services. (Side note; I am writing this in the back of a car having just stopped at Wetherby services for a Greggs sausage roll.) Lots of people think television is glamourous and all the people on it eat healthily, but if you’re a reporter there’s no chance, not when you’re out on the road. Service stations are where you get your sustenance. Rose is away from home a lot so marker points like Wetherby are important to her. She likes the familiarity as well as the good snack options.

Locations in Deadline

Eventually we land in Teesside where the hijack happens. The reason for this location is simple; it’s where I grew up and I love the idea of having one of the world’s most valuable businesses located there. This is also not far from the truth. There is a money printing factory in the North East of England, which I have broadcast from in the past. I know how complex the security is and that’s why I decided to have the hijack happen there. So it had a locked room mystery feel to it.

Locations in Deadline

The broadcast truck at the factory in Teesside is connected through the airwaves to the programme newsroom in Manchester. I wanted to break the fourth wall and take readers behind the scenes so they could get a sense of how chaotic a TV gallery can be when there is breaking news happening. I have worked in front and behind of the camera for over 20 years now and there is no feeling like the thrill of working on a dramatic story that’s unfolding in real time.

Locations in Deadline

The second part of the book is set in a fictional North East town called Newton Banks. It is a town with a lot of problems, because of the high deprivation and serious lack of support and investment in the region. There are lots of places like this in the UK, where through no fault of the people who live there, there is extreme poverty. The reason I decided not to pick one of those places and instead make one up, is because I know what it is like to grow up in a place that is constantly being slagged off by the media. It doesn’t help anyone to do that and I didn’t want to do that in my book either.

Steph McGovern

Locations in Deadline

In complete contrast, this book also takes readers to Westminster and Mayfair in London. Power and wealth can help people hide bad stuff and I wanted to highlight that in my book. Plus I have spent a lot of time covering politics as a journalist and it always blows my mind how intimidating and inaccessible places like the Houses of Parliament and Number Ten are. I wanted readers to see it through the eyes of people who would never normally get to be there.

Deadline Steph McGovern

This novel is not just a creative adventure for me, it’s also a book which highlights the things I care about. As well as giving you a peek behind the scenes of telly, it’s a story that acknowledges and shines a light on the people who society often underestimates.

From one Northerner to another Steph – an honour to have you on TheBookTrail!!