Gloria Hunniford
| Gloria Hunniford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 April 1940 Portadown, County Armagh, N.Ireland |
| Occupation | Television and radio presenter, singer |
| Spouse(s) | Don Keating (m. 1970–1992) Stephen Way (m. 1998–present) |
| Children | Caron Keating (deceased) Paul Keating Michael Keating |
Gloria Hunniford (born Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford on 10 April 1940 in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland) is a TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer. She is the mother of Caron Keating, who died of breast cancer in 2004.
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[edit] Biography
Hunniford was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland into a Protestant family, her father was a member of the Orange Order.[1] Named after actress Gloria Swanson, Hunniford was originally a singer. She was popular in her native Northern Ireland, worked in Canada and has made many records. She returned to Northern Ireland as a BBC production assistant in Belfast, and a local radio broadcaster. In the 1970s and 1980s she was the presenter of Good Evening Ulster and on network ITV Sunday Sunday and We Love TV.
Hunniford was the first woman to have her own daily radio show on BBC Radio 2, starting off with the lunchtime show before moving to the early afternoon slot in 1985 where she remained for 10 years. She also hosted Sounding Brass a music phone-in request programme with a live brass band, the idea devised by radio producer Owen Spencer-Thomas.[2]
Gloria hosted the Eurovision Song Contest Previews on BBC1 in 1988, 1992 and 1993.
As a television presenter and celebrity, Hunniford has appeared on numerous programmes including Gloria Live, Wogan, Holiday, Songs of Praise, That's Showbusiness, Kilroy and Sunday, Sunday and Open House with Gloria Hunniford. She has won many prestigious awards including TV Personality of the Year and Best Dressed Female, and has made a highly successful health and exercise video called Fit for Life. In 2005 she appeared on the BBC's pro-celebrity ballroom dancing show, Strictly Come Dancing, dancing with Darren Bennett.
Gloria was also in a music video for cover version of "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Muppets in the UK only.
Hunniford was one of the presenters of Heaven & Earth, the religion and ethics show on BBC One until it ended its 9-year run in September 2007.
Gloria is currently filming Cash in the Attic for BBC1 and Castle in the Country with John Craven for BBC2.
She also has a weekly debating slot on The Alan Titchmarsh Show and has been a regular since the start of the show in 2007.
Gloria also hosted The One Show, on BBC 1, alongside Gethin Jones, between 17 & 21 August, whilst regular presenters Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles, were on their 2 week holiday.
In August 2010 she appears as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three.[3]
[edit] Personal life
Later, while working for the BBC in Belfast, she met cameraman and later BBC current affairs producer Don Keating (1936–1997). The couple married in 1970 and had three children, but separated in 1985 and divorced in 1992. He died of heart disease in 1997, aged 61.[4]
She moved to Sevenoaks, Kent where she still lives, and where her daughter Caron died. This led to her setting up a cancer charity in her daughter's name.[5] Gloria married celebrity hairdresser Stephen Way in Tunbridge Wells, Kent,[6] in September 1998, and has a holiday home in Fowey, Cornwall.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Work was my way of coping with loss
- ^ [1] BBC London Homepage. URL accessed June 13, 2008.
- ^ 3@Three Presspack, ITV Press Centre, 26 July 2010
- ^ Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: Health :: Gloria Hunniford had no idea she was 'at risk of heart disease'
- ^ "The Caron Keating Foundation homepage". The Keating family. http://www.caronkeating.org. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
- ^ Marriages England and Wales 1984-2005
- ^ http://www.rte.ie/tv/theafternoonshow/story/1064161.html
[edit] External links
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