Suzanne Dando
Encyclopedia
Suzanne Dando is a former British Olympic gymnast
, who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics
in Moscow. She works as a television presenter mainly with Sky Sports
.
teacher Anne Billingham. She quickly passed all the BAGA awards and climbed onto the uneven bars for the first time when she was 12. In 1975 she had to leave her family home in Sussex and move to London to further her gymnastics career. She first represented her country at international level in 1976 aged just 15 where she competed for Britain against West Germany. After winning many National titles, in 1977 she was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill
Scholarship Churchill Fellowship allowing her to spend time training in America in 1978. United States. She returned to America in early 1979, returning home in time to compete in the British Championships, unfortunately she sustained an injury and could not compete, which then ruled her out of the squad for the 1979 European Championships. On recovery, she went on to represent her country in the more competitive arena of the 1979 World Championships, Fort Worth, Dallas USA, gaining her F.I.G. Gold Pin.
In 1980, Dando won the 'Champion of Champions' title at the Royal Albert Hall
. In May she became the Overall British National Champion. She led her teammates, Susan Cheesborough and Denise Jones, to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Dando improved dramatically on her standing (48th) following prelims, finishing 27th in the AA competition.
whilst a gymnast. At one point, her parents and coaches reduced her training until she regained her strength and started eating properly.
, citing Margaret Thatcher
as her inspiration.
In 1982 she competed in and became the BBC
Superstars Champion.
In 1983, Dando was the gymnastics supervisor for the Bond film, Octopussy
. The following year her fitness album
, Shape Up and Dance with Suzanne Dando, peaked at #87 in the UK Albums Chart
.
Dando has had a career in show business, serving as a TV presenter on a variety of shows for BBC
, ITV and Channel Four. Dando also worked as a model, actress and singer.
Her TV career started with the BBC
presenting the children's program 'Stopwatch' with Daley Thompson
and Janice Long
.
She first joined Sky Sports
at the end of 1993, mainly live programs on basketball and show jumping, with the odd stint on the BBC
for national and international gymnastics events. She presented the BBC2 art program, 'Awash with Colour,' and BBC's 'The Pet Set'. Most recently co-presenting Horse of Year Show 2009.
' (for whom she ran the 2008 London Marathon), Against Breast Cancer, an ambassador to The Princes Trust and a fundraiser for 'Help for Heroes
' and the 'Royal British Legion'.
In July 1987, Dando married Graham Maclean in Westminster, a composer and song writer. However, the marriage broke down. In September 1996 Dando married the Australian actor Bruce Roberts at Uckfield but he returned to Australia alone in the winter of 1998. At the time he said that he hoped their relationship could survive the separation. It did not and the couple divorced. Dando then had a long relationship with former footballer Andy Gray until he ended it. Dando is now married to businessman Adam Reynolds and lives in Oxfordshire
with three dogs, a cat, a horse and several chickens. Her hobbies are keeping fit, running, hiking, walking her dogs, riding her horse, playing the piano, gardening and Spitfires
. She shares her husband's passion for international travel and classic cars.
Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics
Gymnastics events have been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. For 32 years, only men were allowed to compete. Beginning at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in artistic...
, who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow. She works as a television presenter mainly with Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
.
British and Olympic gymnast
Her gymnastics talent was first recognized at age eleven by her school physical educationPhysical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher Anne Billingham. She quickly passed all the BAGA awards and climbed onto the uneven bars for the first time when she was 12. In 1975 she had to leave her family home in Sussex and move to London to further her gymnastics career. She first represented her country at international level in 1976 aged just 15 where she competed for Britain against West Germany. After winning many National titles, in 1977 she was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
Scholarship Churchill Fellowship allowing her to spend time training in America in 1978. United States. She returned to America in early 1979, returning home in time to compete in the British Championships, unfortunately she sustained an injury and could not compete, which then ruled her out of the squad for the 1979 European Championships. On recovery, she went on to represent her country in the more competitive arena of the 1979 World Championships, Fort Worth, Dallas USA, gaining her F.I.G. Gold Pin.
In 1980, Dando won the 'Champion of Champions' title at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. In May she became the Overall British National Champion. She led her teammates, Susan Cheesborough and Denise Jones, to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Dando improved dramatically on her standing (48th) following prelims, finishing 27th in the AA competition.
Retirement
Like many gymnasts, Dando retired after the Olympics, explaining that the direction the sport was taking concerned her, as the serious injuries, like Yelena Mukhina's, were increasing. Dando later revealed to the UK press that she had suffered anorexiaAnorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
whilst a gymnast. At one point, her parents and coaches reduced her training until she regained her strength and started eating properly.
After gymnastics
Following her retirement, Dando coached the under fives in gymnastics at the Lewisham Leisure Centre in South London. She wrote a book, "Fun Ways to Looking Good", and produced and presented her own fitness video, "Flexercise". In the early 1980s, she made several appearances for the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, citing Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
as her inspiration.
In 1982 she competed in and became the 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...
Superstars Champion.
In 1983, Dando was the gymnastics supervisor for the Bond film, Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
. The following year her fitness album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Shape Up and Dance with Suzanne Dando, peaked at #87 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
Dando has had a career in show business, serving as a TV presenter on a variety of shows for 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...
, ITV and Channel Four. Dando also worked as a model, actress and singer.
Her TV career started with the 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...
presenting the children's program 'Stopwatch' with Daley Thompson
Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson CBE , is a former decathlete from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times....
and Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
.
She first joined Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
at the end of 1993, mainly live programs on basketball and show jumping, with the odd stint on the 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...
for national and international gymnastics events. She presented the BBC2 art program, 'Awash with Colour,' and BBC's 'The Pet Set'. Most recently co-presenting Horse of Year Show 2009.
Personal life
Dando is an active supporter of many charities, including 'The Children's TrustThe Children's Trust, Tadworth
The Children's Trust, Tadworth is a national charity that provides care, education and therapy to children and young people with multiple disabilities and complex health needs...
' (for whom she ran the 2008 London Marathon), Against Breast Cancer, an ambassador to The Princes Trust and a fundraiser for 'Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes is a British charity launched on 1 October 2007 to help provide better facilities for British servicemen and women wounded since September 11, 2001. It was founded by Bryn Parry OBE and his wife Emma Parry OBE after they visited soldiers at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham...
' and the 'Royal British Legion'.
In July 1987, Dando married Graham Maclean in Westminster, a composer and song writer. However, the marriage broke down. In September 1996 Dando married the Australian actor Bruce Roberts at Uckfield but he returned to Australia alone in the winter of 1998. At the time he said that he hoped their relationship could survive the separation. It did not and the couple divorced. Dando then had a long relationship with former footballer Andy Gray until he ended it. Dando is now married to businessman Adam Reynolds and lives in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
with three dogs, a cat, a horse and several chickens. Her hobbies are keeping fit, running, hiking, walking her dogs, riding her horse, playing the piano, gardening and Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. She shares her husband's passion for international travel and classic cars.
Competition record
- Lilia-White Championships: 1st UB
- Grade 6 National Champion.
- Grade 4 National Champion.
- British Vault Champion.
- British Beam Champion.
- British Floor Champion.
- GBR-TCH Dual Meet: 4th AA
- GBR-HUN Dual Meet: 5th AA
- GBR Nationals: 3rd AA
- Coca-Cola International v China: 7th AA (tie)
- 1979 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships..16th
- 1980 British Championship: 1st AA
- 1980 Champions Cup: 1st AA
- 1980 GBR-HUN Dual Meet: 3rd AA
- 1980 Champions All: 6th AA
- 1980 Cottbus Intl: 14th AA
- 1980 Summer Olympics:27th AA