Janet Street-Porter
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Janet Street-Porter (born December 27, 1946) is a media personality in the United Kingdom. She has been a journalist, presenter, producer and currently works as editor-at-large of the Independent newspapers. Her trademark oversized glasses, toothy grin and cockney voice make her an immediately recognisable figure in and out of television studios.
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[edit] Early career
She was born Janet Bull in south London, the outcome of a doubly adulterous affair, the daughter of an electrician and a Welsh mother. Growing up in Fulham and Perivale, her relations with her parents were extremely poor. She studied at Lady Margaret School in Parsons Green from 1958-64 and then spent two years at the Architectural Association. She dropped out and immediately moved into media work: after a brief stint at a girls magazine she joined the Daily Mail in 1969. She moved to the Evening Standard in 1971 as fashion editor.
Street-Porter and the noted journalist Paul Callan are credited with inventing a new form of radio, albeit unintentionally. At the launch in 1973 of the London Broadcasting Company, or LBC, the pair were pitched as co-presenters of the morning drive time show.[1] The intention was to contrast the urbane Callan with the cockney Street-Porter, whose accents were respectively known to studio engineers as "cut-glass" and "cut-froat".
In the event friction between the ill-assorted pair led to an entertaining stream of one-upmanship that became required listening for many Londoners, the sharper put-downs being blamed for several collisions by motorists incapacitated with laughter. The programme was the first in the the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and heavyweight political figures on the same show, blurring the line between classic British comedy and analysis of international affairs.
[edit] Television
Street-Porter broke into television with LWT in 1975, working as a reporter on a series of often youth-oriented programmes. She advanced into production work after joining Channel 4 in 1986. She was editor of the innovative Network 7 from 1987, writing its five rules; she won a Bafta in 1988. The same year she was enticed to BBC 2 by Alan Yentob to become Head of Youth and Entertainment Features, and directed the wildly varying output of the twice-weekly DEF II and commissioned Rapido, Red Dwarf and Rough Guide.
Street-Porter's approach did not enamour her to the more conservative critics who argued that her diction was appalling, questioning her values and the suitability of someone thrice-married-before-40 as an influence on youth programming. When at the beginning of April 1991 it was rumoured that she had been quietly selected for the post of Head of Art & Culture at BBCTV the Conservative Monday Club caused a public outcry. Subsequently she did not get the post. Finding her advancement halted she left the BBC for Mirror Group Newspapers in 1994 and as joint managing director with Kelvin MacKenzie shared responsibility for the disaster of the L!VE TV channel in 1995, leaving after four months. In 1996 she set-up an independent production company.
[edit] Newspaper editor
In 1999 Street-Porter was the surprise appointment as editor of the Independent on Sunday. Checking her propensity for excessive innovation she put in a solid performance during the two years that she held the position. In 2002 she moved to a specially created role as editor-at-large and undertook other media work.
[edit] Marriages
She has been married four times:
- 1) Tim Street-Porter (photographer)
- 2) Tony Elliott (Time Out)
- 3) Frank Cvitanovich (film-maker)
- 4) David Sorkin; this marriage lasted fourteen months.
She has also had a number of high profile affairs, often overlapping the ends of her marriages.
[edit] Other activities
She was president of the Ramblers' Association from 1994 to 1996 and has also been vice-president.
Most recently, Street-Porter took part in the series four of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! on ITV in the UK. Finishing fourth, she was the last female to be voted off, with comedian Joe Pasquale eventually being crowned King of the Jungle.
In 1987 she commissioned a house from CZWG Architects in Clerkenwell. It is in an eye-catching design, notable among the largely Georgian houses in the area.
Her distinctive voice made her a favourite for impersonation. Pamela Stephenson appeared as Street-Porter on Not the Nine O'Clock News and Kenny Everett also impersonated her.
[edit] Further reading
- Street-Porter, Janet. Fall Out: A Memoir of Friends Made and Friends Unmade. London: Headline Review, 2006. ISBN 0755314956.
- A heavily autobiographical novel about her childhood, Baggage, was published in 2004.
| Preceded by: Kim Fletcher |
Editor of The Independent on Sunday 1999-2002 |
Succeeded by: Tristan Davies |
