Chester-born So Rahman was a familiar face on Granada Reports for more than 10 years but behind the TV mask he has known personal heartache as he told a fund-raising evening at the Grosvenor Museum.

Today So, who hails from Hoole, is a senior correspondent for Al Jazeera International based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

But while working for Granada (1995-2005) he had to cope with the loss of his mum Zubeeda from an asthmatic attack in 1993 and then support his devastated father Habib who later developed dementia and Alzheimer’s until his death in 1998.

Al Jazeera and former Granada Reports presenter So Rahman

The experience left him bereft but part of the healing process has involved raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society who benefited from ‘An Evening with So Rahman’ to the tune of hundreds of pounds at an event originally sparked by the fact that So’s portrait is currently hanging in The Grosvenor Museum.

Painted in 2002, So was one of 12 high profile British Asians to be immortalised in oils including Shobna Gulati who played Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street. And the work was previously displayed in London’s National Portrait Gallery.

So Rahman at Chester Grosvenor Museum where his portrait is currently hanging

Looking back, So remembers vividly when he first realised his father Habib, an immaculately turned-out former military man, had a problem.

“The real moment came when he had to go for a doctor’s appointment and I said that he should change as we were also going to a friend’s house for afternoon tea.

"He took an awfully long time and when I went to check up on him, he was just sitting on his bed staring at the clothes he had to change into. He didn’t know what to do. He looked at me and he asked me who I was. You never forget that moment.”

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So, who thanks friends and colleagues at Granada for helping him survive this period, including fellow Chester resident Lucy Meacock, feels the painting reflects his state of mind at the time. “The grief is palpable,” he told the audience.

So Rahman and Lucy Meacock when they worked together on Granada News.

Originally from south Asia, So’s family ended up in Chester after dad Habib, who had fought bravely for the Royal Indian Airforce during the Second World War, was offered the opportunity of a work permit in the UK. He came over in 1963 and worked at Hawker Siddley, now Airbus, before being joined in 1965 by his mum and sisters.

So was born in Chester in 1966.

“My mother would often say that was the best year of her life - I was born, England won the World Cup and Miss India became Miss World,” he joked.

The family then set up a clothing business and as a youngster So helped out on the outdoor market in Mold as well as the indoor market in Chester.

Next assignment in Philippines

An experienced broadcaster, So has worked in TV for 25 years with companies including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and CNN. These days he covers Asia Pacific for Al Jazeera and his next assignment is to cover this month’s presidential elections in the Philippines.

There have been hairy moments from sharing news of the 2010 floods in Pakistan when the roads on which his crew were travelling were literally collapsing around them and the time he and his team got ‘beaten up’ in Mumbai, India, but he insisted on clinging on to their short aluminium ladder – an act later described by his cameraman as ‘bonkers’.

Many of the audience members were So’s family, colleagues, former tutors and friends including his old neighbour Steve Downey, who played the role of guinea pig by agreeing to demonstrate to the audience how to put on So’s heavy flak jacket containing metal plates.

So Rahman enlists the help of his old neighbour Steve Downey in demonstrating the use of a Press flak jacket for use in conflict zones

So explained how his employers Al Jazeera, which has its headquarters in Qatar in the Middle East, came to prominence during the war in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks.

“Bush didn’t like our footage of civilians getting killed and wanted to destroy, we were told, our headquarters in Qatar and was dissuaded by Prime Minister Tony Blair,” he revealed.

The eyes of the world were also on Al Jazeera for broadcasting video tapes of Al Quaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

“They were made by OBL in Afghanistan or wherever he was and found their way to Islamabad through a complicated courier system hand-held, one man, woman, we don’t know,” So told those gathered. “These tapes would arrive at Al Jazeera’s headquarters at a bureau in Islamabad, anonymously. They were posted through the letter box. That’s how we got them.”

Memories of Chester growing up

So, a Muslim, still returns to Chester to visit friends and has warm memories from childhood.

“Chester was the perfect place to grow up in,” he said. And in answer to a question about his experience of racism, the broadcaster responded: “I never experienced racism at school and Kingsway (Kingsway High School) was brilliant like that.

"I never really experienced any hatred until September 11th happened. I remember walking down the high street in Chester and somebody spat in my face and told me to go back to where I’d come from and I was shocked by it because I just didn’t expect that.”

Related:

His most unusual interviewee? Miss Piggy – while working as researcher for BBC Pebble Mill presented by Alan Titchmarsh.

To donate to the Alzheimer's Society, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk/ and click on the donate button. Alternatively, cheques can be sent to Alzheimer’s Society, North West Area Office, The Lodge, Tannery Court, Tanners Lane, Warrington, WA2 7NA.

Follow So Rahman on Twitter: @so_rahman