Gloria Hunniford
| Gloria Hunniford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 April 1940 Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Television and radio presenter, singer |
| Spouse | Don Keating (m. 1970–1992) (divorced) Stephen Way (m. 1998) |
| Children | Caron Keating (deceased) Paul Keating Michael Keating |
Gloria Hunniford (born Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford on 10 April 1940)[citation needed] is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Hunniford was born in Portadown, County Armagh, 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 had 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]
As a television presenter and celebrity, Hunniford has appeared on numerous programmes including Gloria Live, Wogan, Holiday, Songs of Praise, That's Showbusiness, Kilroy, Open House with Gloria Hunniford and Sunday, Sunday. She has won awards including TV Personality of the Year and Best Dressed Female, and has made a 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.
In August 2010, she appeared as a panellist on ITV's new show 3@Three.[3]
In December 2010, Hunniford appeared in Rip Off Britain, a consumer complaints programme on BBC Television along with Angela Rippon and Jennie Bond.[4]
[edit] Personal life
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 a daughter and two sons; the couple separated in 1985 and divorced in 1992. He died of heart disease aged 61.[5]
She moved to Sevenoaks, Kent, where she still lives, and where her daughter Caron Keating (1962-2004) died of breast cancer. This led to her setting up a cancer charity in her daughter's name.[6]Hunniford claims that a white feather fell at her feet during the funeral of her daughter, when there was no evidence of where it came from in the surroundings. She claims to often find white feathers in unusual places such as studios etc which she believes are a message card from her daughter, informing her that she is in a good place.[7]
Hunniford married celebrity hairdresser Stephen Way in Tunbridge Wells, Kent,[8] in September 1998.
On The Alan Titchmarsh Show on 6 May 2011, Hunniford revealed her support for David Cameron's Conservative-led coalition government, describing herself as "a bit of a David Cameron fan", although she criticised the government's decision to continue giving aid to Pakistan when it was making cuts in the UK.
[edit] In popular culture
In the 1990's BBC comedy series The Thin Blue Line Constable Frank Gladstone had an ongoing infatuation with Hunniford.[citation needed]
In the final episode of the first series of the BBC Comedy One Foot In The Grave The main protagonist Victor Meldrew wakes up to find her on Breakfast Television. He then unsuccessfully attempts to get her off the screen by using insect repellant.[citation needed]
[edit] Controversy
In 2011 it was revealed that Hunniford endorsed a controversial "over 50s savings plan". Such plans often see vulnerable old people sold savings plans designed to leave a lump sum to their heirs when they die, but which see most people paying in far more to the plan than is received. [9]
[edit] References
- ^ Work was my way of coping with loss
- ^ BBC London Homepage URL accessed June 13, 2008.
- ^ 3@Three Presspack, ITV Press Centre, 26 July 2010
- ^ "Angela Rippon Rip Off Britain" 14 November 2010, TV Choice Magazine
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'Caron sends me has a messages from Heaven': Gloria Hunniford on how she copes four years after the death of her daughter". Daily Mail. 18 September 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1057623/Caron-sends-messages-Heaven-Gloria-Hunniford-copes-years-death-daughter.html. Retrieved 3 March, 2011.
- ^ Marriages England and Wales 1984-2005
- ^ Daily Telegraph "Warning on celebrity endorsed over 50s savings plans
[edit] External links
|
|||||
