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Nan Winton, BBC's first female TV newsreader, dies aged 93


The first woman to read the news on BBC television, Nan Winton, has died, aged 93.

The broadcaster, whose real name was Nancy Wigginton, was appointed to read evening and weekend bulletins at the corporation in June 1960.

She had previously worked on news programmes Panorama and Town and Around before she joined the team in response to commercial rival ITN, whose female newscaster Barbara Mandell had been with them since their launch in 1955.

Fran Unsworth, the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, said in a statement: “We send our condolences to Nan’s family and friends. “At a time when we have a host of brilliant women who present, edit, film and report the BBC news, we should look back and pay tribute to trailblazers such as Nan, the first female newsreader on the BBC.”

The retired TV and radio journalist, who lived in Bridport, Dorset, died in hospital on 11 May after a fall at her home.

BBC bosses at the time called the decision to hire Winton an “experiment” but believed she was serious enough to overcome prejudiced voices in the media that said women were “too frivolous to be the bearers of grave news”.

She was removed from the role after she had read only seven late bulletins, when audience research found that viewers thought a woman reading the late news was “not acceptable”.

Winton (second right) with fellow presenters (left to right) Michael Aspel, Judith Chalmers and Kenneth Kendall in 1960
Winton (second right) with fellow presenters (left to right) Michael Aspel, Judith Chalmers and Kenneth Kendall in 1960

Winton (second right) with fellow presenters (left to right) Michael Aspel, Judith Chalmers and Kenneth Kendall in 1960.Photograph: George Elam/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock

Speaking to the Daily Mail in 1964, Winton said she had “suffered” and faced prejudice and discrimination.

“There were times when I was doing the announcing when I wanted to shout aloud like Shylock, ‘Hath not woman eyes, ears, sense?’”

She added: “In Italy and Spain they have women newsreaders who are beautiful and sexy too. We’re afraid of that here.”

Winton remained the only woman to have read the BBC’s televised national news until 1975, when Angela Rippon joined the Nine O’Clock News.

In 1961, Winton moved to ITV where she remained as a TV and radio news reporter and interviewer until her retirement.

She had worked as a BBC TV continuity announcer from 1958 to 1961 and had also been a regular panellist on BBC radio game Treble Chance. She was formerly married to Charles Stapley, an actor who had appeared in the ITV soap opera Crossroads.

An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned at Bournemouth coroner’s court last week.

Coroner’s officer Ken McEwan said Winton had “become frail and had been falling frequently”.

She was taken to Dorchester County hospital after fracturing her femur and had surgery the following day but was later admitted to critical care. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure, hypertension and frailty of old age.

A full inquest into Winton’s death will take place in January.