Former GMTV reporter wins Labour seat

Former GMTV reporter Gloria De Piero has won a Labour seat in Ashfield at the general election by a very small margin.

De Piero, who was a political correspondent at GMTV from 2003 to February 2010, defended the Nottinghamshire seat by just under 200 votes.

In February, she was selected by Labour from an all-women shortlist to stand in the Nottinghamshire seat after former defence secretary Geoff Hoon stood down.

Following voting yesterday, De Piero took 16,239 votes, or a 33.7% share, just 192 ahead of Liberal Democrat candidate Jason Zadrozny with 16,047. The Conservative candidate Garry Hickton came in third with 10,698 votes (22.2%).

Before joining GMTV, De Piero began her broadcasting career at the BBC, including stints on The Politics Show, On The Record and BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour.

The 37-year-old also latterly acted as a guest presenter on Five's magazine programme Live From Studio Five to cover for Kate Walsh and Melinda Messenger.