Sydney Ross Benson (29 September 1948 – 8 March 2005) was a Scottish

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 ...

and

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal li ...

known for his personal style. Educated at

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

School in Scotland, he worked for ''London Life'' magazine after leaving school before joining 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 ...

'' newspaper as the deputy diary editor at the age of 20. His uncle, the photographer

Harry Benson Harry James Benson CBE (born 2 December 1929) is a Scottish photographer. His photographs of celebrities have been published in magazines. He has published several books and won a number of prominent awards. Life and work Benson was born in G ...

, was an early mentor. In 1971, Benson moved to the ''

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 ...

'' newspaper as deputy diary editor; he was appointed deputy foreign editor in 1975. In 1978, he travelled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

as the paper's West Coast correspondent. He returned to London in 1982 in the position of Chief Foreign Correspondent and was named as International Reporter of the Year in the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named '' ...

in 1983. In 1988, Benson was given his own gossip column to rival that of

Nigel Dempster Nigel Richard Patton Dempster (1 November 1941 in Calcutta, India – 12 July 2007 in Ham, Surrey) was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the ''Dai ...

of the ''Daily Mail''. Benson was the

ghost writer A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

for

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

's autobiography, ''The Good, the Bad and the Bubbly'', published in 1990. Further books followed; ''Paul McCartney: Behind the myth'' in 1992 and ''Charles: The untold story'' in 1993. In 1997, Benson returned to the ''Daily Mail'' as a foreign correspondent, winning a

London Press Club The Press Club was established in 1882 as a London gentlemen's club. For much of its history, it occupied premises in Wine Office Court, near Fleet Street. It still exists today, as a society for journalists, but no longer offers club facilities, ...

Award in 2004 for his work covering

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Married three times, Benson had three children. His last marriage in 1987 was to writer Ingrid Seward, the editor of ''Majesty'' magazine. A keen

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

supporter and season ticket holder, he watched them beat

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

at Chelsea's home ground on the eve of his death. He died in his sleep at his London home on the 8 March 2005 of a suspected heart attack.

References

External links

Remembering Ross Benson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Ross 1948 births 2005 deaths People educated at Gordonstoun People from Newton Mearns Scottish journalists