Carolyn Quinn (born 22 July 1961 in Camberwell,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

) is a British journalist best known for her work on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

as a political correspondent and for presenting the ''

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 ...

'' programme and '' PM''.

Early life

Quinn attended St Joseph's RC Primary School in Crayford, Dartford Grammar School for Girls and the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

where she obtained a degree in French. She trained as a teacher, gaining a PGCE at the

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...

in London before becoming a French teacher at a London comprehensive school, but gave this up to be a ward

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central L ...

. She joined Riverside Radio at the hospital.

Career

She freelanced before joining the ''

Irish Post ''The Irish Post'' is a national newspaper for the Irish community in Great Britain. It is published every Wednesday and is sold in shops in Britain and Ireland. History The first print edition of ''The Irish Post'' was published on Friday, ...

'' and was then selected for a BBC Local Radio trainee scheme. After training and two years at

BBC Radio Solent BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...

from 1987–9, she joined BBC's political and parliamentary team at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

in 1989 and became a political correspondent in 1994. For 2011–2012 she was elected Chairman of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

Press Gallery {{Short description, Parliamentary reporters The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of ...

, the first female holder of the post.

BBC Radio 4

Quinn was a presenter of '' PM'' from 2001 and the ''

'' programme from 2004 to 2008, co-presenting her last programme with

James Naughtie Alexander James Naughtie FRSE (surname pronounced ; born 9 August 1951) is a British radio and news presenter for the BBC. Between 1994 and 2015, he was one of the main presenters of Radio 4's the '' Today programme''. In his 21-plus years ...

on Wednesday 26 March 2008. As the programme closed, she invoked

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's comments upon leaving office as British Prime Minister, wishing well to "friend and foe alike" and referring to a "rollercoaster", indicating that her departure from the programme may have been less than entirely amicable. She presents '' PM'' on Saturdays, and covers the weekday edition when

Eddie Mair Eddie Mair (born 12 November 1965) is a Scottish broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He presented his show on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last one, on 18 August 2022, after which he retired from broad ...

is away. She has also presented '' Pick of the Week'' several times and in January 2007 presented an edition of ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...

''. Quinn became the regular presenter of Radio Four's '' The Westminster Hour'' from January 2007 following

Andrew Rawnsley Andrew Nicholas James Rawnsley (born 5 January 1962) is a British political journalist and broadcaster. A columnist and chief political commentator for ''The Observer'', he has written two books on New Labour. Early life Rawnsley was born in Le ...

's departure in September 2006.

Personal life

Carolyn Quinn married Nigel Morris, Political Editor of the ''i'' newspaper, and former political correspondent of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'', in

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

in June 2003. She received an honorary doctorate from the

in 2013.

References

External links

*
BBC Profile

BBC Biography

''The Observer'' January 2007

Audio clips

Interviewing Lord Andrew Philips in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Carolyn 1961 births Alumni of the University of Kent BBC newsreaders and journalists British political journalists Living people British people of Irish descent People from Camberwell People from Dartford Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education People educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls BBC Radio 4 presenters