Sky News' Andrew Pierce shares Swindon adoption tales
- trushali Kotecha
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Senior Reporter
14th April
A TV presenter and morning show pundit has spoken of his Swindon childhood memories and decades-long search for his birth mother.
Andrew Pierce has made a name for himself as a Daily Mail journalist who frequently appears as a Good Morning Britain pundit and presenter of The Reaction on GB News.
After being adopted from a Cheltenham orphanage by kind foster parents in 1964, he spent many happy years at their home in Frobisher Drive.
He said: “Our house was a semi-detached built in the 1950s. I thought it was a palace, it was wonderful, cows walked past the house, and it had a big garden at the back.
“It was a great estate, there was a real sense of community and pride, everyone knew everyone, and I had the same neighbours for decades.
“I used to go to The Bulldog pub and skive off school, I worked at Bob’s Greengrocers on Maitland Road and went to a street party for the Silver Jubilee.
“When I got a job at Sainsbury’s, people were surprised that I was from Walcot, they told me it was a cesspit and a crime zone but I never thought that, I liked it and was sorry to go.”
The 64-year-old’s bestselling autobiography Finding Margaret, which delves into his past and tells the emotional tale of how Andrew tracked down his birth mother, is now out in paperback.
Andrew’s career started at the Gloucestershire Echo and then the Birmingham Mail (where, unbeknownst to him, his birth mother was living nearby).
He’s now a familiar name in the tabloid press, grilling and befriending politicians at the highest levels of British society.
His first published pieces were Swindon Town match reports for the school magazine at St Joseph’s Catholic College.
To get a taste of news reporting, he did a week’s work experience at the Adver but received no response from the editorial team when he later applied for a job,
He said: “I wanted to be a sports reporter because my hero was Don Rogers.
“I cried when we won the League Cup, I was eight, I saw the open bus tour, the atmosphere was incredible, there was so much excitement, it seemed like all of Swindon was there.
“Danny Williams was also a hero to us all. I remember sitting at the Stratton end with Dad watching Swindon beat Orient three-nil, and our treat was having a Bovril and a Wagon Wheel.”
Plans to attend a more recent Swindon Town game had to be scrapped when news of a senior Tory’s sacking broke, but Mr Pierce did manage to pop down for a reunion with St Joseph’s sixth form classmates in Old Town.
Andrew added: “If ever I was a Swindon boy again, I’d buy a house there, it’s lovely.
“Mum was in the Walcot house for 59 years. Someone who bought the book was amazed to discover that her daughter now lived there – I think Mum would be thrilled that it was echoing to the sound of children again.
“I haven’t been back to Walcot since her funeral, but I still visit Swindon five times a year – and always buy the paper! – as there are still family and friends I keep in touch with.”
With a social media username like ToryBoyPierce, his political leanings are well-known, but in his old neighbourhood, voting for the Conservatives was scandalous.
He added: “My first general election was in 1979. I was the first person in my family to vote Tory, I liked the pledge of having secret ballots before strikes.
“My family were horrified. It was a working-class council estate where supporting the Tories was inconceivable.
“I got to know Margaret Thatcher in her twilight years. I attended her birthday parties and went to dinner with her at The Ritz, it was magical.
“Back then, I would have never thought that was even possible, if you’d told me I would have said you were mad.
“I’ve been very privileged to have met some amazing people. People say ‘that Walcot boy did good’ but a lot of people from there did.”
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