Caron Keating
Encyclopedia
Caron Louisa Keating was a Northern Irish television presenter on British and Northern Irish television.
, West London, to Northern Irish parents, but at three months her parents returned to Northern Ireland, where she was raised. Her parents were television presenter Gloria Hunniford
and BBC
producer Don Keating. Keating attended Methodist College Belfast
, where she gained 8 'O' levels and 3 'A' levels. She was accepted to study at the University of Bristol
where she graduated three years later aged 21 with a BA Honours Degree in English and Drama.
from 13 November 1986.
Keating brought a new trendy image to the programme, and was popular with viewers because of her looks, fashion-conscious image and Ulster
accent. She appeared on the programme with Peter Duncan
, Janet Ellis
, Mark Curry
, Yvette Fielding
, and John Leslie
. Highlights of her Blue Peter career included a trip to Moscow
in 1987 during the perestroika
period, swimming with sharks, abseiling
down skyscrapers and standing strapped to the top of a light aircraft whilst it performed aerial acrobatics. She also interviewed serving Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
on the programme in 1988.
After four years, Keating left Blue Peter on 22 January 1990. Keating joined BBC Radio 5
where amongst other programmes she co-hosted an early 90’s afternoon show with film critic Mark Kermode
, the show was named "A game of two halves” and in his autobiography Kermode described Keating as “The very dictionary definition of Lovely”. She presented several other TV programmes including This Morning
, before breast cancer was diagnosed in 1997. Keating also appeared in a TV commercial for So Good soya drink in 1999, and presented We Can Work It Out in the same year.
in 1997. After various conventional and alternative
treatments, including a period away from her family on the Gold Coast
, Australia, and at a hospice in Switzerland, she died at the age of 41, on 13 April 2004, at her mother's house in Sevenoaks
, Kent
. Her body was subsequently buried at St Peter's Parish Church in Hever
.
, London: Charles Jackson Lindsay (born 1994) and Gabriel Don Lindsay (born 1998). Her second son, Gabriel, has the middle name of his maternal grandfather, who died just a few days before he was born. Her widower married television presenter Sally Meen
on 4 September 2006.
Early life and education
Keating was born in FulhamFulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, West London, to Northern Irish parents, but at three months her parents returned to Northern Ireland, where she was raised. Her parents were television presenter Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
producer Don Keating. Keating attended Methodist College Belfast
Methodist College Belfast
Methodist College Belfast , styled locally as Methody, is a voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and is a member of the Independent Schools Council...
, where she gained 8 'O' levels and 3 'A' levels. She was accepted to study at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
where she graduated three years later aged 21 with a BA Honours Degree in English and Drama.
Broadcasting career
Keating's television career began in Northern Ireland where she presented The Video Picture Show, Channel One and the music programme Greenrock, but her big break undoubtedly came when she was selected to join the team of Blue PeterBlue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
from 13 November 1986.
Keating brought a new trendy image to the programme, and was popular with viewers because of her looks, fashion-conscious image and Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
accent. She appeared on the programme with Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (actor)
Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...
, Janet Ellis
Janet Ellis
Janet Ellis is a British television presenter and actress, who appeared on BBC children's television in the 1980s, including a four year period as a presenter on Blue Peter, a role she won after hosting the award-winning children's programme Jigsaw.- Early life :Ellis's father was a soldier,...
, Mark Curry
Mark Curry (television presenter)
Mark Curry is an English television presenter most often in children's programmes.- Early career :He started his television career aged seven appearing on ITV's Junior Showtime and played the producer in the film Bugsy Malone .In 1981, Curry co-hosted the series Get Set For Summer on BBC1 with...
, Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding is a British broadcaster, producer and actress. She is best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Blue Peter, Most Haunted and Ghosthunting With....-Early life and career:...
, and John Leslie
John Leslie (television presenter)
John Leslie is a Scottish former television presenter. He has presented BBC One's Blue Peter and ITV's This Morning and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor...
. Highlights of her Blue Peter career included a trip to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1987 during the perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
period, swimming with sharks, abseiling
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
down skyscrapers and standing strapped to the top of a light aircraft whilst it performed aerial acrobatics. She also interviewed serving Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
on the programme in 1988.
After four years, Keating left Blue Peter on 22 January 1990. Keating joined BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 may refer to the following United Kingdom radio stations:* BBC Radio 5 , on air from 1990 to 1994.* BBC Radio 5 Live, the current station, which replaced BBC Radio 5 in 1994....
where amongst other programmes she co-hosted an early 90’s afternoon show with film critic Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
, the show was named "A game of two halves” and in his autobiography Kermode described Keating as “The very dictionary definition of Lovely”. She presented several other TV programmes including This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
, before breast cancer was diagnosed in 1997. Keating also appeared in a TV commercial for So Good soya drink in 1999, and presented We Can Work It Out in the same year.
Illness and death
Keating was diagnosed with breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 1997. After various conventional and alternative
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
treatments, including a period away from her family on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Australia, and at a hospice in Switzerland, she died at the age of 41, on 13 April 2004, at her mother's house in Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Her body was subsequently buried at St Peter's Parish Church in Hever
Hever, Kent
Hever is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden, a tributary of the River Medway, east of Edenbridge. It is by in extent, and in area...
.
Family
Keating married Russ Lindsay in Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1991. Their two sons were born in HammersmithHammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London: Charles Jackson Lindsay (born 1994) and Gabriel Don Lindsay (born 1998). Her second son, Gabriel, has the middle name of his maternal grandfather, who died just a few days before he was born. Her widower married television presenter Sally Meen
Sally Meen
Sally Meen , is an English television presenter.Meen has a degree in Catering and Institutional Management, and latterly qualifications in Art and Design. Her TV career started out on TSW, before becoming a weather presenter on GMTV...
on 4 September 2006.
The Caron Keating Foundation
Set up in Keating's memory, The Caron Keating Foundation is a fund-raising partnership set up to raise money to offer financial support to professional carers, complementary healing practitioners, and support groups dealing with cancer patients, as well as individuals and families who are affected by the disease. It will also financially help a number of cancer charities with their ongoing quest for prevention, early detection and hopefully an ultimate cure. It was set up by her mother, TV presenter Gloria Hunniford, and her two brothers Michael and Paul Keating. The foundation website is www.caronkeating.org.External links
- The Caron Keating Foundation official site
- Caron Keating presenter biography
- Blue Peter's Caron Keating dies - BBC obituary
- Caron Keating - The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
obituary - 'Blue Peter' presenter Caron Keating dies of breast cancer, aged 41 - The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
obituary - Interview with mother Gloria re Caron and the Foundation
- Photographs of Keating's grave at Findagrave