Anna Caroline Ryder Richardson (born 29 January 1964) is a British
interior designer
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
and
television presenter
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...
. She is known for being a designer on the BBC shows ''
Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'' and the subject of ''Chaos at the Zoo'', which documents her ownership of
Manor House Wildlife Park
Manor House Wildlife Park is a zoo located in Pembrokeshire, Wales, just north of the village of St Florence. It was bought in 2008 by television presenter Anna Ryder Richardson and Colin MacDougall and is more recently known as Manor Wildlife P ...
in
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
. She also appeared on CBBC show "Hider in the House" alongside Cameron Biswas.
Personal life
Anna Ryder Richardson was born 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 1964. Her father was a
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n student, and her mother English. At six weeks of age, she was
adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
by Colin and Jill Ryder Richardson, and raised in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
with her adopted sister Sarah. Her adoptive father was a
wartime evacuee who survived the sinking of the
SS ''City of Benares'' by a
German U-Boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
; he spent his career as a
Lloyd's underwriter. She was introduced to her partner,
restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...
Colin MacDougall, by
Gregg Wallace
Gregg Allan Wallace (born 17 October 1964) is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur, media personality, writer and former greengrocer. He is known for co-presenting ''MasterChef'', ''Celebrity MasterChef'' and '' MasterChef: The Professionals'', ...
at his restaurant on New Year's Eve 2000, and they married at a private ceremony in the
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...
. Their first child, Bean, was born prematurely and died less than 60 minutes after birth.
[
]
Interior design
After an early career in modelling, she became a fitness instructor
Fitness may refer to:
* Physical fitness, a state of health and well-being of the body
* Fitness (biology), an individual's ability to propagate its genes
* Fitness (cereal), a brand of breakfast cereals and granola bars
* ''Fitness'' (magazine), ...
. She managed children's interior shop Squidgy Things, where she started designing and decorating children's bedrooms; this work launched her career as an interior designer. She describes her own style as evolving, but "referring
Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a '' name'' ...
the bolder colours". She cites Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Elaine Hoppen (born 28 July 1959) is a South African-born British interior designer, author, and proprietor of Kelly Hoppen Interiors.
From 2013 to 2015, she was a "Dragon" on BBC Two's ''Dragons' Den''.
Family
Kelly Hoppen was born o ...
among her influences.
Her breakthrough moment was on a design segment on ''GMTV
GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...
'' in 1996, after which Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Denzil Dubriel Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef and television presenter. He is known for his BBC cooking game shows ''Can't Cook, Won't Cook'' and ''Ready Steady Cook''.
Early life
Harriott was born in Paddingto ...
introduced her to the producers of short-lived documentary show ''Change That''.Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'' where she sprung to fame for her bold interior design choices. She worked on a number of smaller shows, including ''House Invaders'', ''Staying Put'' and ''Trading Spaces''. None of these had the same mainstream success as ''Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'', and in 2006, reconsidered the direction of her career.
In 2017, it was announced that she would return to interior design, appearing as a designer on Peter Andre
Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent.
Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...
's ''60 Minute Makeover
''60 Minute Makeover'' was a British daytime home interior design television programme broadcast on ITV, and later by Quest Red. In 2013, the show's name changed to reflect the change in presenter to Peter Andre.
Format
The challenge was to red ...
''.
Wildlife park
Ryder Richardson appeared in a string of reality TV shows to fund a lifetime ambition of owning a zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
. She appeared on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' (where she was the sixth person to leave). She said she was "unprepared" for these experiences and described her experiences as "unpleasant", but that she developed a good relationship with co-star
.
'', where they shared a £50,000 prize for their chosen charities.
In 2008, she purchased
for £1 million.
Her experiences at the zoo have been the subject of a number of television series, including ''Chaos at the Zoo'', ''Anna's Welsh Zoo'' and ''Wild Welsh Zoo''. She was charged for health and safety violations in 2012, after a mother and son were injured by a falling tree, but acquitted after her husband admitted that work fell under his remit.
In 2015, she set up a charity called 'The Nature Foundation' to transport neglected lionesses from an abandoned zoo in
. She successfully raised £25,000 to transport the animals, but the high-profile nature of the campaign ensured that locals provided adequate facilities for the lionesses in their native
. The funds instead went to breeding facilities for the endangered
. As of 2020, she still owns the park.