Angela Rippon

Infobox journalist
name = Angela Rippon


caption =
birthname =
birth_date = birth date and age|1944|10|12|df=yes
birth_place = Plymouth, Devon, England
death_date =
death_place =
education =
occupation = Journalist, Newsreader, Presenter
alias =
gender = Female
status = Divorced
title =
family =
spouse = Christopher Dare (div)
children =
relatives =
ethnic = English
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits = "BBC News"
"Eurovision Song Contest"
"Top Gear"
"Antiques Roadshow"
"Masterteam"
"Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting"
agent =
URL = :'Victoria Plum' redirects here. For other uses, see Victoria plum.Angela Rippon, OBE (born 12 October 1944 in Plymouth, Devon), is a well-known English television journalist, newsreader and presenter.

Biography

Her father was a Royal Marine, and she didn't see him until aged three after he returned from World War Two. The family holidayed in St. Ives, Cornwall and Rippon attended Plymouth Grammar School, and was a Girl Guide.

Career

Upon leaving school at 17 she joined the photographic office of the "Western Morning News" and worked for the "Sunday Independent." She then worked in BBC local radio and for Westward Television as an editor.

Television

Her presenting career started at the BBC in Plymouth. She is often erroneously stated to have been the first female newsreader on prime-time television news, on BBC2 in 1974 (later presenting the BBC's "Nine O'Clock News"), but Barbara Mandell predates her, having first appeared on the second night of ITV in 1955. However, Rippon was the first female newsreader to hold the job on a regular basis.

She famously guest-starred in the 1976 Morecambe and Wise Christmas show, first appearing behind a newsdesk and then emerging to do 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 the members of a high-kicking chorus line. Ripon would later present the long-running show "Come Dancing".

Also in 1977, she hosted the Eurovision Song Contest at The Wembley Conference Centre in the UK. According to "The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History" by author John Kennedy O'Connor, the contest was postponed by over a month, finally broadcast on 7 May 1977. [O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3]

She was the first presenter of BBC Television's "Top Gear" motoring show. She 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) Rippon worked as an Arts and Entertainments Editor for a television station called CHANNEL 7 in Boston, MA for a spell.

Rippon helped to present the BBC's coverage of the wedding between Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles on 29 July 1981. In the mid-1980s she hosted the TV quiz show, "Masterteam" on BBC One, then went on to host the ITV revival of the popular panel game "What's My Line?" from 1989 to 1990.

From 1990 to 1994 she presented a daily radio news programme on LBC Newstalk - "Angela Rippon's Morning Report" and later, "Angela Rippon's Drivetime". She was also a regular stand-in newsreader on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast when regular newsreaders were on holiday or otherwise unavailable.

In 2005 she co-hosted a new series of "Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting" for BBC2 daytime. In April 2006 she toured the country as part of the cast of the musical 'Anything Goes'.

BBC One is currently showing Rippon presenting 'Cash In The Attic'. The daytime television programme meets members of the general public in their homes searching for valuables and antiques to be sold at auction. Rippon, along with an antiques expert, presents the show with the owners at auction helping them to get the best price for their items. She recently hosted a weekend news show called "Live with Angela Rippon" on the ITV News Channel. Angela Rippon also became a presenter in the 11th series of the show -Cash in the Attic, filmed in 2007.

Books

In the early 1980s, Rippon wrote a series children's books about a character called "Victoria Plum", for Purnell and Sons. The character was a tree fairy in "the Great Wood". Other fairy characters - Marsha, Ben, Sugar Plum - and talking woodland creatures inhabited the fictional universe. The series spawned related merchandise and a Christmas annual. [ [http://www.biblio.com/books/82358142.html Biblio.com entry] for "Victoria Plum Annualby Rippon, Angela", accessed 19 December 2007]

She has since written keep-fit guides for older people, including "Stay Active, Stay Supple, Stay Healthy" and "Feel Fabulous at Fifty and Beyond: A Survival Guide". [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_4?ie=UTF8&rs=266239&rh=n%3A266239%2Cp%5F27%3AAngela%20Rippon&page=4 Amazon.co.uk] search for "Angela Rippon"]

Equestrianism is another of her interests, and she authored a book on Princess Anne's first husband called "Mark Phillips: the man and his horses."

Music

The song "Mucky Pup" by Puncture, an English punk band, has an allusion to her in the last verse of the song (this song was covered by the Exploited on their first album "Punk's Not Dead"). [ [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Mucky-pup-lyrics-Exploited/A27AC9007FFCA74E482570E5000F8D6F Exploited - Mucky Pup Lyrics ] ]

The English anarcho-punk band, Crass, has a song devoted to Rippon on their 1984 album, Best Before. The one minute track addresses Rippon and other contemporary English newsreaders (Robert Dougal, Kenneth Kendal and Richard Baker) and seems to be reacting to the public figures' tactics of conveying information, asserting that such tactics may have been false or biased to a certain degree.

Rippon is also mentioned in the lyrics of the Billy Bragg song, "A Busy Girl Buys Beauty" from the album " Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy". The lyrics include the couplet: 'What was Anna Ford wearing?/What did Angela Rippon say?'

Personal life

Rippon was married to Christopher Dare but is now divorced. Rippon was awarded the OBE in June 2001.

References

External links

* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/571330/ Screenonline biography]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before = Bruce Parker
title = Host of Antiques Roadshow
years=1979
after= Arthur Negus

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before=Corry Brokken
title=Eurovision Song Contest presenter
years=1977
after=Léon Zitrone and Denise Fabre