Caron Keating

Caron Keating
Born	(1962-10-05)5 October 1962 Fulham, London, England
Died	13 April 2004(2004-04-13) (aged 41) Sevenoaks, Kent, England
Cause of death	Breast cancer
Occupation	Television presenter
Known for	Blue Peter presenter
Spouse(s)	Russ Lindsay (m. 1991–2004, her death)
Children	Charlie and Gabriel
Parents	Gloria Hunniford Don Keating (deceased)
Website
www.caronkeating.org

Caron Louisa Keating (5 October 1962 – 13 April 2004) was a British television presenter on British and Northern Irish television.

Early life and education

Keating was born in Fulham, West London, to Northern Irish parents, but at three months her parents returned to Northern Ireland, where she was raised. Her parents were television presenter Gloria Hunniford and BBC producer Don Keating.^[1] Keating attended Methodist College Belfast, where she gained 8 'O' levels and 3 'A' levels. She was accepted to study at the University of Bristol where she graduated three years later aged 21 with a BA Honours Degree in English and Drama.

Broadcasting career

Keating's television career began in Northern Ireland where she presented The Video Picture Show, Channel One and the music programme Greenrock, but her big break undoubtedly came when she was selected to join the team of Blue Peter from 13 November 1986.

Keating brought a new trendy image to the programme, and was popular with viewers because of her looks, fashion-conscious image and Ulster accent. She appeared on the programme with Peter Duncan, Janet Ellis, Mark Curry, Yvette Fielding, and John Leslie. Highlights of her Blue Peter career included a trip to Moscow in 1987 during the perestroika period, swimming with sharks, abseiling down skyscrapers and standing strapped to the top of a light aircraft whilst it performed aerial acrobatics. She also interviewed serving Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the programme in 1988.

After four years, Keating left Blue Peter on 22 January 1990. Starting the following week, she hosted a weekly (but short-lived) science show on Channel Four called 4th Dimension. Keating joined BBC Radio 5 at its launch in August 1990, where amongst other programmes, such as Euromix and Vibe, she co-hosted an early 90’s afternoon show with film critic Mark Kermode; the show was named A Game of Two Halves and in his autobiography Kermode described Keating as “the very dictionary definition of Lovely”.^[2] She presented several other TV programmes including This Morning, before breast cancer was diagnosed in 1997. Keating was the face of Sainsbury's Reward Card from 1996 to 1999 and also appeared in a TV commercial for So Good soya drink in 1999. 1999 also saw her present We Can Work It Out.

Illness and death

Keating was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. After various conventional and alternative treatments, including a period away from her family on the Gold Coast, Australia, and at a hospice in Switzerland, she died at the age of 41, on 13 April 2004, at her mother's house in Sevenoaks, Kent.^[3] Her body was buried at St Peter's Parish Church in Hever.^[4]

Family

Keating married Russ Lindsay in Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1991. Their two sons were born in Hammersmith, London: Charles Jackson Lindsay (born 1994) and Gabriel Don Lindsay (born 1998).^[5] Her second son, Gabriel, has the middle name of his maternal grandfather, who died just a few days before he was born.The family settled in Cornwall for a few years at the turn of the century. Her widower married television presenter Sally Meen on 4 September 2006.^[6]

The Caron Keating Foundation

Set up in Keating's memory, The Caron Keating Foundation is a fund-raising partnership set up to raise money to offer financial support to professional carers, complementary healing practitioners, and support groups dealing with cancer patients, as well as individuals and families who are affected by the disease. It will also financially help a number of cancer charities with their ongoing quest for prevention, early detection and hopefully an ultimate cure. It was set up by her mother, TV presenter Gloria Hunniford, and her two brothers Michael and Paul Keating. The foundation website is www.caronkeating.org.^[7]

References

External links

• Caron Keating at the Internet Movie Database
• The Caron Keating Foundation official site
• Caron Keating presenter biography
• Blue Peter's Caron Keating dies - BBC obituary
• Caron Keating - The Times obituary
• 'Blue Peter' presenter Caron Keating dies of breast cancer, aged 41 - The Independent obituary
• Interview with mother Gloria re Caron and the Foundation