Amanda Jane Platell (born 12 November 1957)
[ is an Australian ]journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. Between 1999 and 2001 she was the press secretary to William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, the then leader of the British Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. She is currently based in the UK.
Personal life
Platell was born in Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. Her father was a journalist working for ''The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' newspaper and her mother was a secretary. Platell graduated with an Honours Degree in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
,[ her first job was in 1978 when she joined the '' Perth Daily News.'']
She has lamented that for medical reasons she has been unable to have children.
Early British career
After a backpacking
Backpacking may refer to:
* Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel
* Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness
* Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...
tour of the world with her then fiancé John Chenery, she arrived in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1985.[ Aiming to earn enough money to return home she worked as a freelancer for publications including '']The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' and the ''Sunday Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
.''[
After being part of the start-up team of '']Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
,''[ she then joined ]Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster.
Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...
's short-lived ''London Daily News
The ''London Daily News'' was a short-lived London newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell. It was published from 24 February to 23 July 1987.
History
The ''London Daily News'' was intended to be a "24-hour" paper challenging the local dominance of t ...
,''[ before returning under ''Today'' editor David Montgomery in 1987 as deputy editor.][ In 1993 she was appointed managing editor of the Mirror Group, and then moved in the same year to '']The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
,'' initially as marketing director and then managing director.[
In 1996 she joined the '']Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' as acting editor, where she was the superior of Labour party's later director of communications, Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...
. In 1998 she was appointed acting editor of the ''Sunday Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
,'' a position she was sacked from by Rosie Boycott
Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and Feminism, feminist.
Early life
The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born in Saint Helier, ...
following the publication of details of Peter Mandelson's gay relationship with his Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian partner.[
In 1999, Platell published a novel ''Scandal'', about women in the newspaper industry. "Two editors, one paper, may the best woman win" was how the cover summarised the plot.
It was from 1999 to 2001 that Platell moved into politics to become the ]Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's head of media, during which she supported William Hague, advising him to just "be yourself" as it was at these times he was his strongest. In her role, Platell made an important contribution to Hague's reversion from a modernising agenda to a 'core vote' strategy pursued during the 1999 European Elections, in which the Conservatives gained the most votes, as well as the 2001 General Election campaign. Hague, however, only managed to make a net gain of 1 seat in 2001, forcing his resignation shortly after the General Election.
Later media career
Since 2002, Platell has contributed as a freelancer to the ''Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
''.[
On 21 November 2011, at the ]Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...
into the culture, practice and ethics of the British press, Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...
accused Platell of a "hatchet job" on his recent fatherhood following an article she wrote for the ''Daily Mail''.
She has written articles calling for greater restrictions on Internet pornography
Internet pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the internet, primarily via websites, FTP servers peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The availability of widespread public access to the World Wide Web in late 1990s ...
.[Daily Mail defends anti-porn crusade at Google's Big Tent](_blank)
, ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'', 24 May 2012
Platell regularly reviewed the Sunday newspapers on ''The Andrew Marr Show
''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021.
The programme replaced the long-running '' Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when D ...
''.
In 2020 the ''Daily Mail'' paid damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
of £25,000 to the Cambridge academic Professor Priyamvada Gopal
Priyamvada Gopal (born 1968) is an Indian-born academic, writer and public intellectual who is Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Her primary teaching and research interests are in coloni ...
and agreed to pay her legal costs after Platell libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
lously claimed, citing fake tweets, that she was "attempting to incite an aggressive and potentially violent race war
An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...
". Daily Mail and MailOnline apologise and pay £25,000 in damages to University of Cambridge professor over false racism allegations in Amanda Platell column
Press release by Carter-Ruck Solicitors, 13 November 2020.
Television
*''Unspin: Amanda Platell's Secret Video Diary'' – Channel 4 (2001)
*''Morgan & Platell'' – Channel 4 (2004–2005)
*''Prime Ministers Spouses'' – Channel 4 (2005)
*'' Crisis Command: Could You Run The Country?'' – BBC Two (2004)
*''Bee in Your Bonnet'' – BBC Two (2004)
*''How Euro Are You?'' – BBC Two (2005)
*''Richard & Judy
''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
'' – Channel 4 (2001–07), regular commentator
*''The Daily Politics
''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas a ...
'' – BBC Two
*''Question Time
A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
'' – BBC One (1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014), panellist
*'' The Apprentice: You're Fired!'' – BBC Two (2008, 2009, 2010), guest panellist
*''The Andrew Marr Show
''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021.
The programme replaced the long-running '' Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when D ...
'' – BBC One (2005–), regular newspaper reviewer
*''The Alan Titchmarsh Show
''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...
'' – ITV (2007–), occasional discussion contributor
*'' This Morning'' – ITV (2009–), occasional newspaper reviewer
*''Dan Wootton Tonight'' – GB News
GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ra ...
(2021–), weekly panellist
References
External links
"Amanda Platell: Nobody's fool"
profile at BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platell, Amanda
1957 births
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Australian journalists
British journalists
British newspaper editors
British public relations people
Living people
People from Perth, Western Australia
University of Western Australia alumni
Newspaper leader writers