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Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's '' Nine O'Clock News'', becoming a regular presenter in 1975. She was the first female journalist to be given a permanent role presenting the BBC national television news, and the third female news presenter to appear on national broadcasts on British television, after Barbara Mandell on Independent Television News (ITN) in 1955, and
Nan Winton Nancy Wigginton (6 November 1925 – 11 May 2019), known professionally as Nan Winton, was a British broadcaster, best known for being the first female newsreader to read the national news on BBC television. Career Winton (born Nancy Wigginton) ...
, who temporarily presented the national news on
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 ...
, in 1960. Rippon appeared on a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1976, presented the first two series of '' Top Gear'' and also presented '' Come Dancing''. She hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1977. She was a presenter on, and co-founder of, breakfast television franchisee TV-am. In the 1990s, she moved to radio, presenting daily news programmes for LBC Newstalk between 1990 and 1994, and appeared on Channel 4's '' The Big Breakfast'' as a stand-in newsreader. She presented the BBC broadcast of the United Kingdom Ballroom Championships at the
Bournemouth International Centre The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC ) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it ...
in 1991. Rippon has written fourteen books,"Angela Rippon," ''People of Today'', Debrett's Ltd., (2011) ''Gale Biography In Context'' toured with a production of '' Anything Goes'' and presented a segment of BBC One's '' The One Show''. Since 2009, she has co-presented the BBC One consumer show '' Rip Off Britain'' with Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville; in 2013 and 2014 she hosted '' Holiday Hit Squad'' alongside Helen Skelton and
Joe Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...
. She also voiced the BBC One game show '' The Wall'' and is often seen presenting on GB News.


Early life

Angela May Rippon was born on 12 October 1944 in
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, Devon, into a working-class family. Her father, John, was a Royal Marine; she first saw him in 1947 when he returned from World War II. Rippon's Scottish mother, Edna, worked at a fine china company called Lawley's and was also a seamstress. She attended Public Secondary School for Girls, Cobourg Street in Plymouth.


Career

After leaving school at 17, Rippon joined the photographic office of the ''
Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western Mo ...
'' and worked for the ''Sunday Independent'', and later, BBC local radio and Westward Television as an editor.


Television and radio

In 1966, when she was 21, Rippon began her television career at
BBC South West BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, West Somerset, West Dorset and Channel Islands. Services Television ''BBC South Wests television service (broadcast on BBC One South West) consists of the flagshi ...
in Plymouth, before becoming a reporter for BBC TV news. Rippon first presented a national news programme on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in 1974. For a fortnight, she replaced newsreader Richard Baker – who was on holiday – on BBC One's ''Nine O'Clock News'', and was offered a permanent newsreading role on that programme in 1975. Rippon was called by newspapers the first female television newsreader. However,
ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...
's Barbara Mandell predated her, having first appeared on the second night of
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
in 1955;
Nan Winton Nancy Wigginton (6 November 1925 – 11 May 2019), known professionally as Nan Winton, was a British broadcaster, best known for being the first female newsreader to read the national news on BBC television. Career Winton (born Nancy Wigginton) ...
was the first female BBC newsreader in 1960, and
Mary Marquis Mary Elizabeth Marquis is a former leading interviewer and presenter on BBC Scotland from the mid-1960s, and became the face of the network's evening news programme ''Reporting Scotland'' until 1988, including the whole of the 1970s '' Nationwi ...
had already been
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
's main newsreader for a few years. Rippon was the first female journalist to read the news regularly on national television. In an interview with '' The Guardian'', she said: "You just become an automated autocue reader and if you've half a brain you want an opportunity to use it. When I read the Nine O'Clock News, I kept my brain active by working on programmes like '' Antiques Roadshow'' (which she briefly hosted in 1979), '' Top Gear'' and ''In the Country''." Rippon was a guest in the 1976 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, first appearing behind a BBC newsdesk, then emerging to perform a high-kicking dance routine. Her appearance was so popular she made a cameo appearance in the following year's show, in which she was revealed to be one of a chorus line. Rippon later presented the long-running show '' Come Dancing''. Rippon hosted the
1977 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organise ...
at the Wembley Conference Centre in London. She was the first presenter of BBC television's '' Top Gear'', presenting the motoring programme from 1977 to 1979. Rippon appeared briefly on TV-am following its launch in 1983. After a much publicised exit from TV-am (with most of its other founder presenters), she worked as an Arts and Entertainments correspondent for WHDH-TV (then known as WNEV) in Boston, Massachusetts for a brief period. Rippon co-presented the BBC's coverage of the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981 and BBC One's coverage of the 1979 UK general election results. In the mid-1980s, she hosted the quiz show, '' Masterteam'' on BBC One, and hosted
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's revival of the panel game '' What's My Line?'' from 1989 to 1990. In 1990, she also hosted a game show, '' Matchpoint'', that was based on tennis format. She also became a regular presenter 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. ...
, often sitting in for Jimmy Young and presenting a seasonal Friday night show from 1986 to 1989. From 1990 to 1994, she presented ''Angela Rippon's Morning Report'', a daily radio news programme on LBC Newstalk, and, later, ''Angela Rippon's Drivetime''. She was a stand-in newsreader on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast until 2002. In 2005, Rippon co-hosted a series of ''Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting'' for BBC 2 and in April 2006, she toured the UK as a cast member of the musical ''Anything Goes''. In 2007, she became a presenter on ''
Cash in the Attic ''Cash in the Attic'' is a British television programme that aired on BBC One from 4 November 2002 to 24 May 2012. The programme's tagline was ''The show that helps you find hidden treasures in your home, and then sells them for you at auction'' ...
'', a BBC One daytime television programme broadcast where presenters meet members of the general public, who seek out valuables and antiques to be sold at auction, in their homes. In 1997, Rippon presented the Channel 4 show ''Game of War'' with co-presenter
Paddy Griffith Paddy Griffith (4 February 1947, Liverpool, England – 25 June 2010) was a British military theorist and historian, who authored numerous books in the field of War Studies. He was also a wargame designer for the UK Ministry of Defence, and a le ...
, a programme that re-enacted historic battles on the wargames table with modern-day military commanders re-fighting the battles. The show only aired for three episodes. The battles re-fought were Battle of Naseby (14 June 1645), Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) and Battle of Balaklava (25 October 1854). In 2010, Rippon appeared as a guest judge on the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
show ''
Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...
'', covering for Robin Cousins. The following year, she returned to the show as a contestant in the sixth series on 9 January 2011, with her professional partner, Canadian ice skater
Sean Rice Sean Rice (July 20, 1972 – January 14, 2022) was a Canadian pair skater who also competed in the fours discipline. With Jodeyne Higgins, he was the 1995 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, the 1992 Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalist, a ...
, she failed to qualify for the competition and was eliminated alongside
Nadia Sawalha Nadia Sawalha (; born 18 November 1964) is a British actress, television personality and YouTuber. She played the role of Annie Palmer on the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 1997 to 1999 and Gina in ITV comedy Second Thoughts from 1992 ...
and
Mark Hanretty Mark Hanretty (born 21 March 1985) is a Scottish former competitive ice dancer who represented the United Kingdom with Christina Chitwood. They are two-time (2008, 2010) British medalists and competed at the 2009 European Championships, placin ...
. In March 2011, she appeared with Lenny Henry, Samantha Womack and Reggie Yates in a BBC documentary to raise funds for Comic Relief. It was called '' Famous, Rich and in the Slums'', and showed four celebrities travelling to
Kibera Kibera (Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa.http://www.dominionpa ...
in Kenya, Africa's largest
slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
. In 2011 she joined '' The One Show'', presenting a five-minute slot called "Rippon's Britain". On 19 November 2011, Rippon appeared on Children in Need, performing alongside BBC newsreaders
Sian Williams Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of ''BBC Breakfast'' as ...
, Susanna Reid, Sophie Raworth, and Emily Maitlis in a special one-off edition of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
''. In the same month she worked briefly on
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
as a stand-in presenter on the ''Double Take'' programme. Rippon joined the BBC again, as a co-presenter on the BBC One show ''Holiday Hit Squad'' in 2013, alongside
Joe Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...
and Helen Skelton. The show returned for a second series in March 2014. In 2014, Rippon co-hosted the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
Saturday night entertainment series '' Amazing Greys'' alongside Paddy McGuinness. The show lasted for just one series. In April 2016, she co-presented the two-part BBC One series ''How to Stay Young''. In 2018, Rippon was a co-presenter of live coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the Seven Network (Australia) alongside
Michael Usher Michael Usher is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Usher presents ''Seven News Sydney'' on Friday and Saturday with Angela Cox and ''The Latest: Seven News''. Career Usher graduated from All Saints' College, Perth in 1987. He we ...
and Melissa Doyle. In 2022, Rippon provided analysis on the Australian television broadcaster Seven Network's coverage of the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II as a royal commentator. She has been a stand-in presenter on GB News, first alongside Eamonn Holmes on the breakfast programme, and then on
Alistair Stewart Alistair McLeod Stewart (2 October 1905 – 3 April 1970) was a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Buckhaven, Scotland and became a chartered accountant by career. He was first electe ...
and Friends. In August 2023, it was announced that she would be taking part in the twenty-first series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', over thirty years after hosting the original version of the show ''Come Dancing''. Rippon, who turned 79 whilst participating in the series, is the oldest contestant in the show's history.


Books

In the early 1980s, Rippon wrote a series of children's books about a character called "Victoria Plum" that was published by
Purnell and Sons Purnell and Sons started out as a small family printers based in Somerset which merged with other printers over the next 100 years to become one the largest print groups in the UK and at one time a major publisher. History The company was found ...
. Victoria Plum was a tree fairy in "the Great Wood". Merchandise and a Christmas annual were released following the second series. In 1982, she wrote a book '' Mark Phillips, the Man and His Horses'', about the Princess Royal's then husband. Rippon has since written keep-fit guides for older people, including ''Stay Active, Stay Supple, Stay Healthy''.


Other activities

Rippon is patron of the Old Time Dance Society. In 2010, she attended the society's 25th Anniversary Ball of the Year. In 2000, Rippon was appointed Chair of
English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...
. After several years of involvement, she resigned in late 2003 following complaints and briefings about her leadership style, which was described as "schoolmistressy" and "imperious".


Personal life

In 1967 at the age of 22, she married Christopher Dare, an engineer. They separated in 1989, divorcing later. They had no children. Rippon has said that her marriage ending was very painful, and that her celebrity status was one factor. She has had subsequent long-term relationships, but is happy being single.


Honours and awards

She was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...
'' in 1981 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while signing copies of her newly published book in a store at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Rippon was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
2004 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2004 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2004 for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Cook IslandsCook Islands list: and elsewhere to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2004. The recipients of honours are d ...
. Rippon was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from
Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...
in 2012. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the
2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
for services to dementia care in her role as development lead with Dementia Friendly Communities.


Filmography


References


External links

*
Bio
at www.screenonline.org
Angela Rippon
at Knight Ayton Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Rippon, Angela 1944 births Living people Antiques Roadshow BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC Radio 2 presenters British women journalists British women radio presenters British women television presenters Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English journalists English National Ballet English television presenters GB News newsreaders and journalists Mass media people from Plymouth, Devon Television personalities from Devon WFTV Award winners