Patricia Ann Coldwell (14 May 1952 – 17 October 2002), known as Pattie Coldwell, was a British

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Patricia Ann Coldwell was born on 14 May 1952 in

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the daughter of Eunice (née Salter) and Gordon Ellison Coldwell, a policeman. She attended

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School ; "Founded on Rock" , established = , closed = , type = Grammar school;Academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = James Keulemans , r_head_label = Deputy He ...

for Girls before working as a secretary.

Career

Coldwell started her career in local television on

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

as a reporter and presenter in the 1970s. She progressed to nationally networked programmes, such as '' Nationwide'', ''

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'', and, 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' ...

, ''

You and Yours ''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News. History ''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...

''. In 1988, she made a documentary for

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, ''Remembering Terry'', which followed the final days and ultimate death of

Aids Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

sufferer Terry Madeley, winning an award from the

Terrence Higgins Trust Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...

. While presenting the consumer series ''Out Of Order'', Coldwell met her first husband, journalist Tony Kerner. She presented several DIY series, such as ''On The House'' , for the BBC, and ''Doing It Up'', for

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, which she presented with her husband. The series won a New York television award. In 1997, Coldwell hosted the interview show ''Espresso'', on Channel 5, and in 2001, she joined ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'' (originally ''Live Talk''), on

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. Her radio work included hosting

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's late-night discussion programmes ''Night Talk'' and ''After Hours''.

Personal life and death

While Coldwell was working for Granada Television in the 1970s, she met

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and broadcaster Michael Wood, then working at the BBC in Manchester. The pair went on to have a ten year relationship. Coldwell married presenter Tony Kerner in 1991 in Camden, London. In 1992, she had a daughter, Dannie, from the marriage. Six years later, the marriage ended in divorce. In 2002, she married fisherman Evan John, in Newbury,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, having met him on a family holiday on the

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Island of

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in 1998. Coldwell's death resulted from a brain tumour at the age of 50; she had had

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

previously, being first diagnosed in 1997 and then in 1998. Coldwell died on 17 October 2002 in hospital in Newbury, Berkshire.

General Register Office General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital record ...

; United Kingdom. ''England and Wales, Death Index, 1989-2021'' atabase on-line She continued to work until her death, and in her final months wrote about how she lived with

terminal cancer Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced ...

in her ''

Daily 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 ...

'' column. A week before her death, she wrote:

"I went to bed in a sulk and found myself riveted to a documentary about Thalidomide 40 years on. The drug was given to pregnant women to stop morning sickness. The tragic outcome was that several hundred children were born without arms and legs – and I think I've got problems ... Many have developed successful careers. . . One's a club entertainer who brought the house down when he boasted about getting to the front of the queue at Homebase on a Bank Holiday weekend with his mobility sticker. It's wonderful to see barriers broken down about disability through laughter. It brought me back to realising how lucky I am."

External links

Broadcaster Pattie Coldwell dies
BBC, 18 October 2002.
Pattie Coldwell: Courageous crusader
BBC, 18 October 2002.
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 19 October 2002, subscription required.
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 31 October 2002.
Pattie Coldwell obituary
''

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 ...

'', 19 October 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coldwell, Pattie 1952 births 2002 deaths British reporters and correspondents Deaths from brain cancer in England English television presenters People from Clitheroe People educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School