Selina Scott

Infobox Person
name = Selina Scott


image_size = 200px
caption = Selina on the ITV News Channel, celebrating 50 years of ITV.
birth_name = Selina M. Scott
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|05|13|df=y
birth_place = Scarborough, Yorkshire, England
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nationality = British
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known_for = "North Tonight", "News at Ten, Breakfast Time, The Clothes Show, Wogan, Sky News, The Selina Scott Show"
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occupation = journalist, newsreader, television presenter.
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Selina Scott (b. 13 May 1951 in Scarborough, Yorkshire) is a British newsreader, journalist and television presenter.

Background and early life

Scott was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1951, the eldest of five children. Her father, Charles [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/2969731.stm,"BBC News" 23 April 2003] was a police sergeant and her mother, Elizabeth (nee Bumby), was formerly a journalist from Ryedale, North Yorkshire. [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/39Too-old39-Selina-Scott-sues.4448374.jp "Yorkshire Post" 05 September 2008]

She completed her secondary education at the Laurence Jackson School in Guisborough, North Yorkshire where she was head girl, whilst living in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland. [http://www.knowhere.co.uk/Saltburn_-_by_-_the_-_sea/Cleveland/Northern-England/info/celebs "Knowhere.co.uk"] She then continued her studies at the University of East Anglia, reading English and American Literature.

Career

Initially resisting the temptation to continue a family trait working in journalism Scott succumbed and went to work on the Sunday Post in Dundee, Scotland for 2 years. She then took up the post of Press officer for the Tourist board on the Isle of Bute. She then began broadcasting after being hired by Ted Brocklebank, then Head of News & Current Affairs, now a Tory MSP, as a reporter and presenter with Grampian TV in 1978. She made her television debut on the nightly news programme "Grampian Today", presenting from a North Sea oil platform and at the summit of Cairn Gorm. (A common story among rig-workers was that the unwashed bed-linen from her cabin was auctioned amongst the crew.Fact|date=September 2008) She later became one of the launch team for "North Tonight".

Several months after "North Tonight" began, Scott, at the age of 29, progressed to national television; appearing first as a newsreader on ITV's "News at Ten". In 1982 at the outbreak of the Falklands War Scott became the Forces' pin-up girl causing viewing figures to soar. [ http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/features/War-and-peace.1525402.jp "Yorkshire Post" May 1982] She then went on to launch Breakfast Television in the UK joining the BBC's "Breakfast Time" programme in January 1983. She presented the show with Frank Bough and Nick Ross. Ironically, Scott had been hired by ITN to replace Anna Ford who had defected to launch ITV's Breakfast Television channel TV-am. Before TV-am began broadcasting in February 1983, Scott had already quit ITN to launch the BBC's rival show. She later went on to present "The Clothes Show", and to be guest host on the chat show, "Wogan" (named for its regular host Terry Wogan).

1988 saw Scott cross the Atlantic to join the US channel CBS hosting a current affairs programme - West 57th. [http://www.loch-ness.org/anecdotes.html.'Loch Ness Org']

Back in the UK she joined Rupert Murdoch's satellite channel Sky, co-anchoring its 1992 election night coverage with Sir David Frost. [http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/Profile-on-Selina-Scott-Age.4466472.jp "Scotland On Sunday" 7 September 2008]

Scott has also produced documentaries across two decades on the Royal Heads of Europe including A Prince Among Islands, a profile of Prince Charles [http://www.filmhebrides.com/index.php "Filmed" 1995] , a film with King Juan Carlos of Spain (which achieved record viewing figures for a documentary in Spain) and The Return of the King, which involved travelling with King Constantine of Greece after 25 years of exile.

By 1995 in the US she had her own chat show on NBC. By 1997 she was back in the UK signing a contract said to be worth £1 million with Sky. She anchored the breakfast programme, later switching to the 5pm news. Latterly she had her own chat show but this was halted after 8 weeks.

In 2003 she moved from Perthshire, Scotland to her native North Yorkshire [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/My-Yorkshire-Selina-Scott.3728886.jp "Yorkshire Post" 01 Feb 2008] after buying a convert|200|acre|km2|sing=on farm near Ampleforth to accommodate her 27 Angora goats. The fleeces are washed, spun and dyed, producing Mohair wool for her farm business, creating socks for the gun makers Purdey, growing into her own company designing and creating socks [http://www.kingfishertv.co.uk/tfcfact07.htm 'Tales From The Country' Series - 2007] . Through this venture she has greatly enhanced her role as a Countryside Custodian whilst living in an area designated as an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [http://www.howardianhills.org.uk/downloads/Selina_Scott_Article.pdf "National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty Magazine" Autumn 2006]

October 2006 saw a new departure as Scott was chosen to launch the new season's fashion campaign for Country Casuals [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2006/11/03/ftselina03.xml&page=1 "The Daily Telegraph" 3 November 2006 ] , or CC as it is now known, part of the Austin Reed clothing group previously occupied by the model, Erin O'Connor.

Spring 2007 saw a return to the TV screen as Kingfisher Productions, of whom her old friend Tony Francis is a director, lured Selina to co-host a series entitled "Tales from the Countryside". [http://www.kingfishertv.co.uk/index.htm] The first series showed Scott's own working farm, her herd of Angoras being shorn through to the eventual production of the socks. [http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2007/01/04/selina-scott-country/ Hello Magazine 4 January 2007] Other programmes in the series featured similar topics. A second series was commissioned and shown in Spring 2008 featuring unique rural stories, several can be seen on YouTube.

In 2007, Scott appeared as one of the dog handlers on the BBC-2 dog trials series "The Underdog Show" screened to highlight the Dogs Trust Charity for rescued dogs. After six weeks of competition, she was voted winner, beating singer Huey Morgan and actress Julia Sawalha in the final.

July 2007 saw Scott presenting the BBC's Animal Rescue Live Show daily from Battersea Dog's Home in central London, co-hosting with presenter Matt Baker. Scheduled to run daily for three weeks, the programme highlights the plight of many animals at the home appealing to the public to consider re-homing. Daily appearances by celebrity rescuers helped boost the programme as well as showcasing other rescue centres around the British Isles.

In August 2008, Scott announced her intention to sue Five, a UK television station, for age discrimination. [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a128669/selina-scott-to-sue-five-over-ageism.html "Digitalspy.co.uk" 2 September 2008] She claimed Five reneged on an agreement for her to cover Natasha Kaplinksy's maternity leave because she was 'too old'. Scott has hired Simon Smith of Schillings [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Top-lawyers-to-fight-over.4462689.jp "Yorkshire Post 5 September 2008] - dscribed as "the City's most fearsome defamation lawyers." Five denied the claim. A preliminary hearing began on 24 September 2008 with a full five-day hearing scheduled for December 2008. [http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/63111/Here-s-the-news-girl-who-got-Selina-Scott-s-job-"Daily Express" 25 September 2008]

October 2008 will see Scott present a four-part series for the Sky Arts channel & ITV - Edward Seago - The Forgotten Painter, to be shown in HD (High Definition) & including interviews with and access to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; an admirer of Seago's work. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/2696092/Mandrake-Edward-Seago-and-Prince-Philips-art.html "Daily Telegraph" 06 Sept 2008] [http://www.skypressoffice.co.uk/skyarts/News/showarticle.asp?id=2508 "Sky Arts Press Release" 15 July 2008]

Personal

Scott is from a family of journalists: her mother Betty was and her grandfather, George Bumby, was the editor of the then local newspaper The Malton Herald in Malton, North Yorkshire. Her grandparents came from Aberdeen, Scotland.

Scott's brother Robin Scott is the editor of Sporting Gun Magazine. [http://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/pursuits/article/267897/Interview_Selina_Scott.html "Country Life" 24 July 2008]

She is the eldest of five children; a younger sister, Fiona, is a Fine Art portrait artist, also based in Ampleforth, who regularly exhibits at the Royal Society of Portait Painters Exhibition in London. In April 2007 she exhibited a long-awaited portrait of her famous sister. [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/Portrait-of-the-artist-who.2178892.jp "Yorkshire Post" 26 March 2007] Scott bought it. It can be viewed using the external link below.

A very private person, Scott has resolutely managed to keep her life just that. She has been linked, mainly by rumour and/or conjecture, with various names including Ted Brocklebank [ [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/04/26/tory-uses-car-phone-loophole-to-beat-charge-86908-20395141/ "Daily Record" 26 April 2008] ] in her Grampian TV days and Prince Andrew but she has always been single and has no children. [ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/child_health/article1291973.ece "The Times" 13 Jan 2007] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/aug/27/broadcasting.film Interview in "The Observer" 27 August 2006] ]

Scott is a dog lover; her first memory of her first pet is that of Toby, a male German shepherd cross. She has two dogs, one of which is Nip, a female collie cross and Kiki, a German shepherd she rescued from Majorca. Leisure pursuits include angling [http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/Miscellaneous-Articles/famous_anglers.html "AnglersNet" 21 January 2001] , countryside walking [http://www.stevenboothdesign.co.uk/CW/CW_July06/email.html "Country Walking" July 2006] , wildlife conservation and countryside management. [http://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/pursuits/article/267897/Interview_Selina_Scott.html "Country Life" 24 July 2008]

Scott has a home on the island of Majorca near to the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. Continuing her interest in Literature, Scott became the Patron of the Charles Dickens (Malton) Society based in Malton, North Yorkshire where Dicken's based his one of his most famous novels A Christmas Carol. [http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/3544310.Dickens_group_unveils_plan_to_trigger_the_best_of_times/ "Malton Gazette & Herald" 24 July 2008]

Trivia

*It is often claimed that Scott was the model for the character of Sally Smedley in the TV show "Drop the Dead Donkey"Fact|date=March 2008.
* [http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1906462005 Scotsman] part of ITN's "Famous Five", with Anna Ford, Gordon Honeycombe, Martyn Lewis and Julia Somerville, were bought back to screens for one week in September 2005 for ITN's 50th anniversary. The presenters were back to share the ITV evening news with Mark Austin or Mary Nightingale
* Scott was the subject of Dundee band Saint Andrew and the Woollen Mill's 1980 song "Selina", on the album "The Woollen Mill Story". According to interview excerpts included on this album, the song was written by the band after learning that Scott was to leave North Tonight to take up a position with the UK independent national news network ITN.
*Selina Scott is working on a television documentary on the history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
* Selina Scott was mentioned in British comedienne Victoria Wood's song "Count Your Blessings" and was described as being "permanently knackered". The song is on YouTube.

References

External links

* [http://www.selinascott.com/ Selina Scott Website]
* "The Observer" ( Tim Adams) [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1858944,00.html TV go home] 27 August 2006
* [http://www.tonygreenway.com/page5.htm] Selina Scott Interview for Yorkshire Life Nov 2006
* [http://www.fionascott.net/mainmenu.html Fiona Scott Website]
*imdb name|0779781|Selina Scott
* [http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/Profile-on-Selina-Scott-Age.4466472.jp] Scotland On Sunday Profile - Selina Scott 7 September 2008