Carol Barnes

Infobox_Celebrity
name = Carol Barnes


caption =
birth_date = birth date|1944|9|13|df=yes
birth_place = Norwich, Norfolk, England
death_date = death date and age|2008|3|8|1944|9|13|df=yes
death_place = Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, East Sussex, England
occupation = Newsreader
partner = Denis MacShane
spouse = Nigel Thomson (1981–1999)
children = James Barnes
Clare Barnes (deceased)

Carol Lesley Barnes (13 September 1944 – 8 March 2008) was a British television newsreader and broadcaster. She worked for ITN from 1975 to 2004.

Early life

Barnes was born in Norwich, and attended St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls, Tulse Hill, London. She did not like school, and left at the age of 16, doing a number of jobs for a year, before leaving to study for A levels at a local polytechnic. She then gained a BA in English, French, and Spanish at the University of Sheffield, [cite web |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7276854.stm| title = Obituary: Carol Barnes |publisher = BBC |accessdaymonth = 8 March |accessyear = 2008] [ [http://www.shef.ac.uk/alumni/known.html Sheffield University Alumni page] ] followed by a postgraduate teaching diploma (PGCE) at Birmingham University.

Career

Carol Barnes started her working life as a supply teacher, but decided to switch to a career in media, and held various posts including public relations officer for the Royal Court Theatre in London and sub-editor on the magazine "Time Out", before moving into broadcasting, working for Independent Radio News. She was one of the original news team members at the launch of radio station LBC in 1973, and then worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4 for a year, before joining ITN in 1975. [ [http://tvpresenters.thetvroomplus.com/channel-84.html The TV Room] TV presenters. Retrieved on 22 July 2007.] During her time as an ITN reporter, she covered the troubles in Northern Ireland, the return of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, and the Brixton riots in 1981. She made her name as a reporter with ITN on Robert Kee's "First Report" programme in the late 1970s, but her first stint as a newscaster came in 1982 when she became Michael Nicholson's relief presenter on the "". She was a regular presenter on the "ITN Lunchtime News" and ITN's weekend news bulletins from July 1985 until March 1989, and again between January 1991 and 1998. During the intervening period, she was the launch presenter of the 'Channel 4 Daily' breakfast programme. She regularly fronted the ITN flagship "News At Ten" programme, as well as other current affairs programmes, and in 1994 was voted Newscaster of the Year at the TV and Radio Industries Club Awards. Barnes left ITN in 1999, and then returned in 2003 to work on their short-lived 24-hour ITV News Channel, until she left in 2004. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19990110/ai_n9704502"Carol Barnes splits from her husband after 17 years",] "Sunday Mirror", 10 January 1999, as reproduced on the "Find Articles" website. Retrieved on 21 July 2007.]

Personal life

In March 2004, Barnes' 24 year-old daughter, Clare Barnes, from her 6-year relationship with former Labour Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane, died after her parachute malfunctioned while skydiving near Melbourne, Australia. [PA News [http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article64432.ece "UKminister's daughter killed in sky-dive tragedy",] "The Independent", 15 March 2004. Retrieved on 21 July 2007.] . After her separation from MacShane, Barnes married ITN cameraman Nigel Thomson in July 1981. The couple had a son, James, but divorced in 1999. A keen golfer and one-time qualified private pilot, Barnes resided in Brighton, and was a local magistrate, until forced to stand down after being convicted of a drink-driving offence in 2004.

Later life and death

On 18 January 2008, Barnes presented "Saving Ed Mitchell" on ITV1, a programme about her former colleague's descent into alcoholism.

On 4 March 2008, "The Daily Mirror" newspaper reported that she had suffered a life-threatening stroke that had left her in a coma. Her doctors did not expect her to recover, and friends spoke of their fears that she did not have long left. [ [http://tvnewsroom.co.uk/blog/carol-barnes-ill-in-hospital/ TV Carol Fighting for Her Life] "TV Newsroom' ', 3 March 2008. Retrieved on 3 March 2008.] [ [http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1307847,00.html Newsreader Carol Barnes Suffers A Stroke] "Sky News", 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 4 March 2008.] [ [http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7713213 Carol 'serious' after stroke] "MSN Entertainment", 5 March 2008. Retrieved on 5 March 2008.] Barnes never regained consciousness and died, aged 63, on 8 March 2008 in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7279128.stm Ex-newsreader Barnes dies at 63] "BBC", 8 March 2008. Retrieved on 8 March 2008.]

References

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2008/03/08/db0802.xml Obituary, "The Daily Telegraph", 8 March 2008]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3514583.ece Obituary, "The Times", 9 March 2008]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/10/itv.television1 Obituary, "The Guardian", 10 March 2008]
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carol-barnes-authoritative-television-journalist-who-anchored-news-at-ten-793670.html Obituary, "The Independent", 10 March 2008]

External links

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Persondata
NAME= Barnes, Carol
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Newsreader
DATE OF BIRTH= 13 September 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH= Norwich, Norfolk, England
DATE OF DEATH= 8 March 2008
PLACE OF DEATH= Brighton, East Sussex, England