Debbie Thrower
{{Short description|British broadcast journalist}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Debbie Thrower
| image = Gac2.jpg
| caption = Thrower (right) interviewing a collector on Collector's Lot
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|11|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Nairobi, Kenya
| death_date =
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| nationality = British
| other_names =
| known_for = Meridian Tonight
Collectors' Lot
Songs of Praise
Afternoon show on BBC Radio 2
| education = Edgehill College
University of London
| employer =
| occupation = Broadcaster
Journalist
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| spouse = Peter Thompson (1983–2018), Charles Parker (2020–)
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| children = 2
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}}
Debbie Thrower (born 17 November 1957 in Nairobi, Kenya) is an English journalist and broadcaster who presented BBC national news bulletins in the 1980s and ITV Meridian's flagship news programme Meridian Tonight (southern edition) from its inception in 1993 to 2009. She is the founder and pioneer of Anna Chaplaincy for Older People, part of The Bible Reading Fellowship, BRF.
Early life and education
She was born in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and spent her early childhood there before she and her family came back to England, settling in Devon.[http://www.womanalive.co.uk/stories/view?articleid=238 June 2011 Women at Work] Woman Alive, 4 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2017. She was educated at Edgehill College, formerly a girls' independent school in Bideford, Devon, and the University of London where she obtained a degree in French.[http://www.themedianet.org/article?article=299fd805-6a52-4726-8dcd-e22e1b44da22 "Meet....Debbie Thrower"], theMediaNet, 30 August 2011
Career
=Journalism=
Thrower originally trained as a newspaper journalist at the Wimbledon Guardian. She began her broadcasting career[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/07_july/27/thrower.shtml "Debbie Thrower back on air with Radio Solent"], BBC Press Office, 27 July 2009 at BBC Radio Leicester, before moving to BBC Radio Solent in the early 1980s, and then transferring to television as the co-presenter of BBC South Today. In 1987, she replaced Jan Leeming reading national BBC news bulletins, primarily at weekends and then read the Nine O’Clock News for a time. She also became a regular presenter on Songs of Praise, and the Sunday programme on BBC Radio 4.
=Radio and television=
Transferring to ITV, Thrower and colleague Fred Dinenage were presenters of Meridian Tonight (South) when it first aired in 1993. In addition, she was the first person seen after the changeover of TV contractor from TVS to Meridian, shortly after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day 1993, covering the celebrations at Winchester Cathedral, which was celebrating its 900th anniversary. Her final show as presenter of Meridian Tonight was on 6 February 2009.
She was latterly the final presenter for Channel 4's antiques programme Collectors' Lot, which aired on weekday afternoons.
She also had a BBC Radio 2 afternoon show between 1995 and 1998 replacing long-time presenter Gloria Hunniford. On 13 January 2009, Thrower confirmed in an interview with The News in Portsmouth that she was leaving ITV Meridian to concentrate on freelance work and her voluntary ministry as a Church of England reader or Licensed Lay Minister (LLM).{{cite news | url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/debbie-thrower-to-leave-meridian-tonight-sofa-1-1225264 | title=Debbie Thrower to leave Meridian Tonight sofa | work=The News | date=13 January 2009 | accessdate=20 June 2019 }} Thrower is a Lay Canon Emeritus of Winchester Cathedral. In 2016 she was awarded an honorary degree for public service from the University of Winchester – Doctor of Letters honoris causa.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1218122}}
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Category:English television journalists
Category:English women journalists
Category:ITN newsreaders and journalists
Category:ITV regional newsreaders and journalists
Category:British television newsreaders and news presenters
Category:British radio journalists
Category:British women radio journalists
Category:British women television journalists
Category:Kenyan people of English descent
Category:Mass media people from Nairobi
Category:Television personalities from Devon