After studying at the University of York from 1977 to 1980, Newman worked at the Liverpool Echo.
Between 1981 and 1983, she lived in Italy and France to learn the languages, teaching English as a private tutor.
During this time, she spent a year at the College International de Cannes in France.
She also presented ITV's motoring magazine Pulling Power and Carlton TV's live weekly political debate It's Your Shout, broadcast from a variety of locations around the Carlton TV region, now known as ITV London.
Newman has also written a motoring column for Women’s Journal and contributed to the London Evening Standard.