35 Facts About Angela Rippon

1.

Angela May Rippon was born on 12 October 1944 and is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter.

2.

Angela Rippon was the first female journalist permanently to present the BBC national television news, and the second female news presenter on British television after Barbara Mandell on Independent Television News in 1955.

3.

Angela Rippon appeared on a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1976, presented the first two series of Top Gear and presented Come Dancing.

4.

Angela Rippon was a presenter on, and co-founder of, breakfast television franchisee TV-am.

5.

Angela Rippon presented the BBC broadcast of the United Kingdom Ballroom Championships at the Bournemouth International Centre in 1991.

6.

Angela Rippon has written fourteen books, toured with a production of Anything Goes and presented a segment of BBC One's The One Show.

7.

Angela Rippon was born in Plymouth, Devon, into a working-class family.

8.

Angela Rippon's father, John, was a Royal Marine; she first saw him in 1947 when he returned from World War II.

9.

Angela Rippon's Scottish mother, Edna, worked at a fine china company called Lawley's and was a seamstress.

10.

Angela Rippon attended Public Secondary School for Girls, Cobourg Street in Plymouth.

11.

When she was 21, Angela Rippon began her television career at BBC South West in Plymouth in 1966, before becoming a reporter for BBC TV news.

12.

Angela Rippon first presented a national news programme on BBC2 in 1974.

13.

Angela Rippon was called by newspapers the first female television newsreader.

14.

Angela Rippon was the first female journalist to read the news regularly on national television.

15.

Angela Rippon's appearance was so popular she made a cameo appearance in the following year's show, in which she was revealed to be one of a chorus line.

16.

Angela Rippon hosted the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest at the Wembley Conference Centre in London.

17.

Angela Rippon was the first presenter of BBC television's Top Gear, presenting the motoring programme from 1977 to 1979.

18.

Angela Rippon appeared briefly on TV-am following its launch in 1983.

19.

Angela Rippon co-presented the BBC's coverage of the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981 and BBC One's coverage of the 1979 UK general election results.

20.

Angela Rippon became a regular presenter on BBC Radio 2, often sitting in for Jimmy Young and presenting a seasonal Friday night show from 1986 to 1989.

21.

Angela Rippon was a stand-in newsreader on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast until 2002.

22.

In 2005, Angela Rippon co-hosted a series of Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting for BBC 2 and in April 2006, she toured the UK as a cast member of the musical Anything Goes.

23.

In 1997, Angela Rippon presented the Channel 4 show "Game of War" with co-presenter Paddy Griffith, a programme that re-enacted historic battles on the wargames table with modern-day military commanders re-fighting the battles.

24.

In 2010, Angela Rippon appeared for one night on the ITV show Dancing on Ice as a judge, covering for Robin Cousins and returned to the show as one of 16 participants in the sixth season on 9 January 2011, with her professional partner, Canadian ice skater Sean Rice.

25.

On 19 November 2011, Angela Rippon appeared on Children in Need, performing alongside BBC newsreaders Sian Williams, Susanna Reid, Sophie Raworth, and Emily Maitlis in a special one-off edition of Strictly Come Dancing.

26.

Angela Rippon joined the BBC again, as a co-presenter on the BBC One show Holiday Hit Squad in 2013, alongside Joe Crowley and Helen Skelton.

27.

In 2014, Angela Rippon co-hosted the ITV Saturday night entertainment series Amazing Greys alongside Paddy McGuinness.

28.

In 2018, Angela Rippon was a co-presenter of live coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for Channel Seven alongside Michael Usher and Melissa Doyle.

29.

Angela Rippon has been a stand-in presenter on GB News, first alongside Eamonn Holmes on the breakfast programme, and then on Alistair Stewart and Friends.

30.

Angela Rippon has since written keep-fit guides for older people, including Stay Active, Stay Supple, Stay Healthy.

31.

In 2000, Angela Rippon was appointed Chair of English National Ballet.

32.

Angela Rippon was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1981 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while signing copies of her newly published book in a store at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

33.

Angela Rippon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 Birthday Honours.

34.

Angela Rippon was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Plymouth University in 2012.

35.

Angela Rippon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to dementia care in her role as development lead with Dementia Friendly Communities.