HOT on the heels of a trip to the Far East, Bury radio celebrity Victoria Derbyshire is returning to more familiar climes.

Victoria, who co-presents the BBC Radio Five Live Breakfast programme, has just returned home from an event-packed June covering the World Cup in Japan.

Now, the London-based presenter is packing her suitcase for an assignment on the doorstep of her home town, at Manchester's Commonwealth Games.

Former Bury Grammar girl Victoria, who lived in Greenmount and Holcombe Brook, has worked on national radio since 1998.

Despite travelling far and wide in her career, the 33-year-old is looking forward to coming home and catching up with old friends.

She said: "I can't wait. I know lots of people and will be staying with my mum, so it will be like being at home again.

"I haven't been out in the area for a long time and don't know it like I did, so it will be interesting."

After taking a degree in English, Victoria studied broadcast journalism and first took to the airwaves in the Midlands. She was soon presenting and producing her own show on BBC Radio Coventry.

The chance to work on national radio came when Victoria was asked to stand in on the Five Live morning show. She stayed, and continues to enjoy the chatty mixture of news and sport.

Victoria said: "The easy bit is working with people that I really like and having a genuine laugh and chat with them on air.

"The tough bit is getting up at 4.30am five days a week for a whole programme of news stories and potentially difficult interviews.

"It could be talking to someone who has lost a loved one, in which case you can't just open your mouth and say what comes out."

While there are obvious differences between news and sport, says Victoria, the two complement each other well.

"After September 11, we went to New York. It the biggest story any of us had ever covered and you could not compare it to anything else.

"Then there was the World Cup, which was unique and unpredictable with all that emotion. There were so many amazing stories.

"Both things were extraordinary, but in completely different ways."

A career highlight for Victoria last year was winning a Sony Bronze Broadcaster of the Year award.

And while Victoria has made a few forays into the world of television, presenting regional debate shows, radio remains her real love.

"It is much more natural and low key than television, without all the waiting around," she said.

"Although I will continue to see what happens with the television, it would never be at the expense of radio."

The breakfast show, which Victoria co-presents with Julian Worricker, is aired from Monday-Friday on 909 MW.