Carol Barnes
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| Carol Barnes | |
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| Born | 13 September 1944 Norwich, Norfolk, England |
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| Died | 8 March 2008 (aged 63) Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Newsreader |
| Spouse | Nigel Thomson (1981–1999) |
| Partner | Denis MacShane |
| Children | James Barnes Clare Barnes (deceased) |
Carol Lesley Barnes (13 September 1944 – 8 March 2008) was a British television newsreader and broadcaster. She worked for ITN from 1975 to 2004.
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[edit] Early life
Barnes was born in Norwich and attended St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls, Tulse Hill, London. She did not like school and left at the age of 16, doing a number of jobs for a year before leaving to study for A levels at a local polytechnic. She then gained a BA in English, French and Spanish at the University of Sheffield[1][2] followed by a postgraduate teaching diploma (PGCE) at Birmingham University.
[edit] Career
Carol Barnes started her working life as a supply teacher but decided to switch to a career in media and held various posts including public relations officer for the Royal Court Theatre in London and sub-editor on the magazine Time Out before moving into broadcasting working for Independent Radio News. She was one of the original news team members at the launch of radio station LBC in 1973, then worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4 for a year before joining ITN in 1975.[3] During her time as an ITN reporter, she covered the troubles in Northern Ireland, the return of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and the Brixton riots in 1981. She was a newscaster from 1982 to March 1989 and between January 1991 and 1998. During the intervening period she was the launch presenter of the 'Channel 4 Daily' breakfast programme. She regularly fronted the ITN flagship News At Ten programme as well as other current affairs programmes and in 1994 was voted Newscaster of the Year at the TV and Radio Industries Club Awards. Barnes left ITN in 1999 and then returned in 2003 to work on their short-lived 24-hour ITV News Channel until she left in 2004.[4]
[edit] Personal life
In March 2004, Barnes' 24 year-old daughter, Clare Barnes, from her 6-year relationship with former Labour Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane, died after her parachute malfunctioned while skydiving near Melbourne, Australia.[5]. After her separation from MacShane, Barnes married ITN cameraman Nigel Thomson in July 1981. The couple had a son, James, but divorced in 1999.[4] A keen golfer and one-time qualified private pilot, Barnes resided in Brighton and was a local magistrate until forced to stand down after being convicted of a drunk-driving offense in 2004.[6]
[edit] Later life and death
On 18 January 2008, Barnes presented Saving Ed Mitchell on ITV1, a programme about her former colleague's descent into alcoholism.
On 4 March 2008, The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that she had suffered a life-threatening stroke that had left her in a coma. Her doctors did not expect her to recover and friends spoke of their fears that she did not have long left.[7][8][9] Barnes never regained consciousness and died, aged 63, on March 8, 2008 in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Obituary: Carol Barnes. BBC. Retrieved on 8 March 2008.
- ^ Sheffield University Alumni page
- ^ The TV Room TV presenters. Retrieved on 22 July 2007.
- ^ a b "Carol Barnes splits from her husband after 17 years", Sunday Mirror, 10 January 1999, as reproduced on the Find Articles website. Retrieved on 21 July 2007.
- ^ PA News "UKminister's daughter killed in sky-dive tragedy", The Independent, 15 March 2004. Retrieved on 21 July 2007.
- ^ a b Ex-newsreader Barnes dies at 63 BBC, 8 March 2008. Retrieved on 8 March 2008.
- ^ TV Carol Fighting for Her Life TV Newsroom' ', 3 March 2008. Retrieved on 3 March 2008.
- ^ Newsreader Carol Barnes Suffers A Stroke Sky News, 4 March 2008. Retrieved on 4 March 2008.
- ^ Carol 'serious' after stroke MSN Entertainment, 5 March 2008. Retrieved on 5 March 2008.
- Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 8 March 2008
- Obituary, The Times, 9 March 2008
- Obituary, The Guardian, 10 March 2008
- Obituary, The Independent, 10 March 2008
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barnes, Carol |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Newsreader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13 September 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | 8 March 2008 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Brighton, East Sussex, England |
