Carruthers first joined BBC Northern Ireland in 1989 contributing to Good Morning Ulster and PM Ulster on BBC Radio Ulster. In addition to having presented BBC Newsline, he has also presented Spotlight and Let's Talk for television and Evening Extra on BBC Radio Ulster. In August 2009, Carruthers became part of the presenting team of Good Morning Ulster as part of a series of presenter changes at BBC Radio Ulster. He is now the presenter of The View and Sunday Politics Northern Ireland on BBC One Northern Ireland. He has twice been nominated for a Royal Television Society award for his work – in 2018 and previously in 2003. In 2005 he and his BBC Newsline co-presenter, Donna Traynor, lifted a prestigious IFTA for Best News Programme.
Personal life
Carruthers was born in Derry, grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry, studied at Coleraine Academical Institution and went on to study Political Science and Irish Politics at Queen's University Belfast. Carruthers has an interest in the theatre. He was one of the founders of Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988 and took part in drama groups at college and university, including a stage appearance in a Riverside Theatre, Coleraine production of Oliver! alongside James Nesbitt. He was Chairman of the Lyric Theatre Board until 2015 and was at the forefront of the campaign to rebuild the theatre on its south Belfast site for almost ten years. He was awarded an OBE for services to drama in Northern Ireland in the 2011 New Year Honours list. He is co-editor of Stepping Stones - The Arts in Ulster 1971-2001 which was published by Blackstaff Pressin 2001. In 2013 Alternative Ulsters – Conversations on Identity was published by Liberties Press, a series of interviews by Carruthers with leading writers, actors, journalists and politicians. The book was a success and was re-issued in paperback in December 2014. The following year Alternative Ulsters was shortlisted for the prestigious Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. In July 2019 Carruthers was awarded an honorary doctorate from Queen's University Belfast for distinction in broadcasting. He is married with three children and lives in south Belfast.
