Anna Ryder Richardson
Encyclopedia
Anna Caroline Ryder Richardson (born 29 January 1964), is a British interior designer and television presenter. She is known for being a designer on the BBC shows Changing Rooms
, House Invaders and Staying Put.
with her adopted sister Sarah. Her adoptive father, Colin, was a wartime
Evacuee
who survived the sinking of the SS City of Benares
by a German U-Boat.
After an early career in modeling
, she became a fitness instructor
. She then managed children's interior shop Squidy Things, where she started designing and decorating children's bedrooms, which launched a career as an interior designer.
She has purchased Manor House Wildlife Park, St. Florence, near Tenby
, and made the video diary turned TV programme Trouble at the Zoo, which followed the progress of the redevelopment of the zoo.
restaurateur Colin MacDougall, on 22 March 2005 in a small private ceremony in Glasgow
attended by close family and friends. Prior to the wedding, she had her ears pierced for the very first time especially to be able to wear a pair of antique diamond earrings that originally belonged to her adoptive grandmother, and that her adoptive mother had worn on her wedding day.
Richardson, her husband and their two daughters, Bibi-Belle (born 2002) and Dixie-Dot (born 2003), currently live in St. Florence
, Pembrokeshire
, having relocated from Glasgow
. In January 2001, following a number of miscarriages, she gave birth prematurely to a son, nicknamed 'Bean', who only lived for 74 minutes. Her second daughter, Dixie-Dot, was born several weeks prematurely, weighing just 3 lbs 3ozs. She has stated she wants to adopt a Chinese baby and that people should do this rather than get pets or buy Ferrari
s.
She is sometimes mistakenly linked with a lawsuit involving Arnold Schwarzenegger
. The presenter involved was in fact Anna Richardson
of movie review show Big Screen.
Anna now runs and owns a wildlife park deep in rural Pembrokeshire
called Manor House Wildlife Park which was featured in an ITV1 Wales documentary called Anna's Welsh Zoo. In 1992 Richardson came under fire for alleged cruelty to a disabled puppy (source: BBC Look North).
Her personal style usually features a strong emphasis on dark shades, especially black, and includes such garments as very tight leather trousers. When she heard that Anna had finally pierced her ears, fellow Changing Rooms designer Linda Barker
gave her a pair of large silver hoop earrings. This style has now become her favorite, and she's rarely seen without them.
Changing Rooms
Changing room may refer to:*changeroom, a room or enclosure in a clothing store where customers may try on clothes before purchasing them*Changing Rooms, a BBC television series*The Changing Room, a stage play by David Storey...
, House Invaders and Staying Put.
Biography
Anna Ryder Richardson was born in Swansea in 1964. Her father was a Malaysian student, and her mother Welsh. At six weeks of age, she was adopted by Colin and Jill Ryder Richardson, and raised in SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
with her adopted sister Sarah. Her adoptive father, Colin, was a wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Evacuee
Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
who survived the sinking of the SS City of Benares
SS City of Benares
SS City of Benares was a steam passenger ship built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War the City of Benares was used as an evacuee ship to evacuate 90 children from Britain to Canada. The ship was purposefully targeted and torpedoed by the ...
by a German U-Boat.
After an early career in modeling
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, she became a fitness instructor
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
. She then managed children's interior shop Squidy Things, where she started designing and decorating children's bedrooms, which launched a career as an interior designer.
She has purchased Manor House Wildlife Park, St. Florence, near Tenby
Tenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
, and made the video diary turned TV programme Trouble at the Zoo, which followed the progress of the redevelopment of the zoo.
Personal life
Richardson married her longtime partner, GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
restaurateur Colin MacDougall, on 22 March 2005 in a small private ceremony in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
attended by close family and friends. Prior to the wedding, she had her ears pierced for the very first time especially to be able to wear a pair of antique diamond earrings that originally belonged to her adoptive grandmother, and that her adoptive mother had worn on her wedding day.
Richardson, her husband and their two daughters, Bibi-Belle (born 2002) and Dixie-Dot (born 2003), currently live in St. Florence
St. Florence
St Florence is a small village and community situated outside the seaside town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It has a population of 751. The present name of the village is taken from the saint to whom the church is dedicated....
, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, having relocated from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. In January 2001, following a number of miscarriages, she gave birth prematurely to a son, nicknamed 'Bean', who only lived for 74 minutes. Her second daughter, Dixie-Dot, was born several weeks prematurely, weighing just 3 lbs 3ozs. She has stated she wants to adopt a Chinese baby and that people should do this rather than get pets or buy Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s.
She is sometimes mistakenly linked with a lawsuit involving Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. The presenter involved was in fact Anna Richardson
Anna Richardson (presenter)
Anna Clare Richardson is an English presenter, television producer, writer and journalist, as well as author of four books.Richardson was born in Shropshire...
of movie review show Big Screen.
Anna now runs and owns a wildlife park deep in rural Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
called Manor House Wildlife Park which was featured in an ITV1 Wales documentary called Anna's Welsh Zoo. In 1992 Richardson came under fire for alleged cruelty to a disabled puppy (source: BBC Look North).
Style
Richardson has sometimes been criticised for her interior design style, which often features the use of bold colors, especially blues, strong geometric shapes, and other unusual items. On one notable episode of Changing Rooms, she designed a room featuring framed erotic French underwear in place of pictures. When the couple who owned the house saw the completed room, the woman objected strongly to the framed underwear on the grounds that it was completely inappropriate decor for a house containing children, and then burst into tears.Her personal style usually features a strong emphasis on dark shades, especially black, and includes such garments as very tight leather trousers. When she heard that Anna had finally pierced her ears, fellow Changing Rooms designer Linda Barker
Linda Barker
Linda Barker is an English interior designer and television presenter.-Education:Barker studied Fine Arts at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in Farnham. She then did odd jobs in various areas including fashion, before settling into a career as an interior designer...
gave her a pair of large silver hoop earrings. This style has now become her favorite, and she's rarely seen without them.
Filmography
- Apart from Changing Rooms, Richardson has also appeared in several other home-design shows for the BBC including House Invaders and Staying Put.
- In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumperShow jumpingShow jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
in the BBC's Sport ReliefSport ReliefSport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
event Only Fools on HorsesOnly Fools on HorsesOnly Fools on Horses was a BBC reality television programme produced by Endemol UK. The show's name was a play on that of the sitcom Only Fools and Horses, and first aired on 7 July 2006. It featured twelve celebrities who performed equestrian events, with one celebrity being eliminated every day...
. - She was a hidden celebrity on the CBBCCBBCCBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
show Hider in the HouseHider in the HouseHider in the House was a British children's game show presented by Jason King and Joel Ross . In the programme, a celebrity had to be hidden in a family's house by three children and a parent. If the family have fewer than three children, they use friends or related children to make up the numbers...
. - She was the sixth person to leave the jungle in ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's 2007 I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. - She appeared alongside fellow I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestant and eventual winner, Christopher BigginsChristopher BigginsChristopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...
, on a Celebrity Version of the ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
show Who wants to be a Millionaire?Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers large cash prizes for correctly answering a series of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The format is owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television International. The maximum cash prize is one million pounds...
, which aired on 1 January 2008, in which Anna and Christopher shared a £50,000 prize for their chosen charities.
External links
- Ryder Richardson bio at UKTVUKTVUKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
- Manor House Wildlife Park Tenby