Pam Rhodes (born 22 September 1950) is an English television, radio presenter and author, known for presenting

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's long-running religious series ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

'' since the early 1980s.

Early life

Rhodes was born in

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...

. She grew up in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

and attended Gosport County Grammar School. Her first job in television was in 1969 as programme secretary for

Thames TV Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broad ...

's ''Today'' which was hosted by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

, going on to become programme organiser for the ITV network documentary series '' This Week''.

Career

She began her career in news journalism as the presenter of

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

’s daily evening news programme for seven years in addition to presenting network holiday and travel programmes, her own daily interview series on Lifestyle Television, Radio 2, Premier Radio and other long-term programmes for London Weekend, Thames and BFBS Television. She is an after dinner speaker and conference host and has compered televised recordings in venues such as the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

and the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London, is now often asked to compere large orchestral or musical events at symphony halls and theatres around the country. In January 2015 she presented the " Songs of Dre's" feature on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

's " Dermot O'Leary Show". Rhodes also established herself as a mainstream author, with five novels: ''With Hearts and Hymns and Voices'' (

Lion Hudson Lion Hudson is UK's largest publisher of children's Christian books. It is based in Oxford, UK. It had its origins as Lion Publishing (founded in 1971) and Hudson International (founded in 1977) which merged to become Lion Hudson PLC in 2003. ...

); ''The Trespassers'', ''Whispers'', ''Ties That Bind'' and ''Letting Go'' (all for Hodder and Stoughton Publishers); ''Coming Through'' (Macmillan Publishing); ''Colours for the Soul'', ''As Time Goes By'' and ''Love Bites'' (all quotation books for Lion Hudson) and ''Hear My Song'' (

SPCK Publishing The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is t ...

). In 2020, Bell received the Thomas Cranmer Award for Worship from

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, "for her outstanding work in hosting ''Songs of Praise'' on the BBC for over 30 years."

Personal life

Rhodes and her husband, Richard Crow, own and run Biggleswade Cat Lodge, a boarding cattery in

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, which also boards and re-homes

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

cats. She is a vice-president of the

Church Army The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion. History The Church Army was founded in E ...

; patron of Livability and Methodist Homes for the Aged (the MHA Group); and an ambassador for Keech Hospice Care based in Great Bramingham Lane,

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

. She was made an honorary member of the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

in 2009 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts for her contribution to news journalism and charity work by the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

in 2010.

References

External links

Official websiteBBC Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Pam 1950 births Living people English television presenters English Christians English religious writers English non-fiction writers English women novelists People from Gillingham, Kent Women religious writers Church Army people English women non-fiction writers