About Lissa Cook

My eclectic career path actually began in Paris where I worked as special adviser for former President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, at his Paris-based think-tank, Notre Europe, after graduating from the prestigious College of Europe.

I returned to work for the Liberal Democrats becoming Senior Press & Broadcasting Officer with responsiblity for coordinating broadcast coverage during the 2001 General Election. It struck me that it was a lot easier asking the questions than being in the firing line!

Thanks to some talented producers and editors taking a leap of faith by giving me work experience (everything from answering the phones on the then Jimmy Young programme on Radio 2 to a documentary on drugs for Radio 1) I was lucky enough to land my dream job working as Senior Producer for BBC Radio 4’s flagship live news programmes - The World At One, PM, The World This Weekend and Broadcasting House - where I stayed for 5 exciting years covering the Iraq war, Hutton Enquiry and 7/7 bombings.

In 2007 my adventure sports writer husband Nik Cook and I left the big city for the good life moving back to my home county of Derbyshire, settling in the beautiful Peak District.

I worked on documentaries for the pioneering independent production company All Out Productions (Somethin' Else) in Manchester where I produced the investigative 5 live Report as well as documentaries for The World Service and Radio 1.

After more than a decade of adrenaline-fuelled, news-driven deadlines, I took a career break and had one of those light-bulb cliche moments. Sitting in the park with my god-daughter Tilly I realised there was a gap in the market for good quality, handmade childrenswear. (In case you're wondering, it's not quite such a left-field career change as my mother was a couture dressmaker in the 60s whose designs were featured in Vogue and my grandmother was a milliner, so I grew up sewing).

Peak Princess proved such a success and gained such widespread media coverage in (like Sunday Times Style, Country Living, Guardian Life & Style, Cosmo Brides and BBC Breakfast TV) that other small businesses started asking me for PR advice. I've now hung up my tape measure and set up lissacookPR.

I also write freelance for various magazines including Derbyshire Life and can from time to time be heard reading the news on her local station High Peak Radio.