Robert Rowlands
Robert Rowlands covers health stories for the Daily Star with a focus on how medical issues and lifestyle choices play out in everyday life. His coverage stands out for combining expert perspectives and research findings with human stories and plain-spoken explanations of risks, treatments and long‑term consequences.
Health risks and early warning signs
Rowlands regularly reports on conditions and symptoms that can be easy to overlook but have serious consequences if ignored. In pieces on sleep disorders linked with dementia and Parkinson’s, he explains how seemingly minor changes in sleep patterns can signal underlying neurodegenerative disease and why early recognition matters for long‑term outcomes. He writes on infections contracted in everyday social settings, such as a man who died after catching a streptococcal infection from kissing in a nightclub, spelling out how the pathogen spreads, who is most at risk and what warning signs demand medical attention. His work on contaminated drinking water breaks down what happens inside the body when common household supplies are compromised, outlining organ‑level risks and practical mitigation steps for readers. Across these stories he prioritises clear descriptions of mechanisms and symptoms, making complex conditions understandable without losing the seriousness of the risks.
Lifestyle, prevention and longevity
A significant strand of Rowlands’ reporting looks at how everyday habits shape long‑term health, with an emphasis on prevention rather than cure. In coverage of research showing that even a single minute of exercise per day can cut the risk of major diseases, he highlights the incremental benefits of brief, vigorous activity and offers examples of how readers can build them into their routines. He revisits the theme of lifestyle and ageing in articles on the habits of centenarians, relaying expert advice on 16 daily behaviours associated with living a long and happy life and stressing the cumulative impact of small, repeatable actions. His reporting on the health effects of contaminated water includes practical guidance on testing, filtration and behavioural changes to reduce exposure. These pieces consistently translate study findings and expert recommendations into concrete, manageable steps, positioning health as something people can actively shape through modest but sustained changes.
Medical interventions, treatments and difficult diagnoses
Rowlands also covers the more clinical end of health, tracing how modern interventions, drugs and procedures intersect with patient experience. In an exclusive interview with a cancer survivor who lost eight stone through weight‑loss injections before receiving a brutal diagnosis, he documents both the promise and peril of popular weight‑loss jabs, detailing the treatment journey through chemotherapy and surgery and the emotional impact of rapid change followed by serious illness. His reporting on online promotion of everyday food items includes calls from health groups for restrictions and bans, examining the tension between commercial messaging and public‑health guidance. By pairing individual case histories with commentary from clinicians and health organisations, he shows how policy debates and scientific developments are felt at the bedside and in households rather than only in journals or government statements.
Use of expert voices and research
Across his health beat, Rowlands relies heavily on expert sources and published research to anchor the advice and warnings he shares. Stories on exercise, sleep disorders and disease risks draw on studies in peer‑reviewed journals and quotes from specialists to explain why a particular behaviour matters physiologically and what evidence backs the guidance. Articles on infections, water contamination and online food promotion feature doctors, researchers and public‑health advocates, using their testimony to clarify the scale of the issue and the strength of current consensus. His consistent use of experts and data gives his work a clinical underpinning while still being accessible, making him a health reporter whose pieces can serve as entry points into complex medical topics for a general audience.
4 more health journalists.
Alex Storey
Alex Storey is a journalist at LBC whose work is driven by specific cases that test professional conduct and accountability in health and the public sector. He covers health as his main beat, focusing on the point where individual decisions by clinicians or officials meet public trust in institutions. His reporting is incident-first and case-led, using concrete episodes to show how rules, ethics and policy work in real life. Recent pieces include a disciplinary case where a nurse was struck off after linking a patient’s cancer to Covid jabs, and coverage of civil servants being “paid to play Grand Theft Auto” as “lived experience” training. Across these stories, he examines how professionals, regulators and officials explain their decisions, and what that reveals about trust, responsibility and the standards expected of people in positions of authority.
Alexandra Thompson
Alexandra Thompson is an assistant news editor focused on health who treats health claims as hypotheses to be tested rather than messages to be repeated. She works at New Scientist, combining editing with frontline reporting on ageing brains, cognitive health, chronic illness, contested treatments and infectious disease. Her beat centres on how neuroscience and psychology intersect with everyday health choices and on how scientific findings translate into real-world outcomes for people living with illness. She examines lifestyle advice, rehabilitation programmes and outbreak guidance against current evidence, clarifying risk without overstating it and giving space to controversy without sensationalising it. Alongside written news she appears in audio and video formats, bringing the same clear, news-driven approach to live discussions and helping shape the daily health agenda while keeping a tight focus on evidence and impact.
Alice Wilkinson
Alice Wilkinson investigates how everyday habits, products and routines shape sleep and long-term wellbeing, using test-driven health features to separate hype from real benefit. She holds a senior role on The Telegraph’s health features team, writing and shaping consumer-focused coverage that blends personal trial with clear expert evidence. Her core beat is sleep as a practical, solvable part of daily life, from detailed comparisons of magnesium supplements to service pieces on how sleeping position affects health over time. She treats supplements as a crowded, over-claimed market that demands careful testing and clear-eyed reporting. Alongside long-form features she writes weekly health desk dispatches on sleep, stress and concentration. Across her work she combines substantial self-testing, specialist insight and plain, unfussy prose to give readers measurable, realistic changes they can make.
Ally Head
Ally Head connects performance-focused fitness reporting with women’s health, sustainability and relationships, using her own endurance training and health history to stress-test trends against expert guidance. She is Senior Health, Sustainability and Relationships Editor at Marie Claire UK, where she shapes the health agenda across training, wellbeing and conscious living and writes and commissions news, topical features and SEO-led long-form pieces. A ten-time marathoner and Boston-qualifying runner, she focuses on structured, realistic training plans, strength and conditioning for women who run, and performance longevity. Her women’s health work centres on hormones, chronic conditions and fact versus fiction wellness claims. She also covers sustainability as conscious living and relationships, mental resilience and lifestyle features, favouring plain language, lived experience, specialist commentary and clear, repeatable routines. She has previously produced similar content for Women’s Health, Stylist, Glamour and Grazia.