Denise Robertson

Denise Robertson
Robertson opening the customer information office at Durham railway station in 2015.
Born	Margaret Denise Broderick (1932-06-09) 9 June 1932 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Writer, television broadcaster, agony aunt
Years active	1985–present
Employer	ITV
Known for	Agony aunt role on This Morning
Spouse(s)	Alexander Inkster "Alex" Robertson (1960–1972) John "Jack" Tomlin (1973–1995) Bryan Thubron (1997–present)
Children	Mark Alexander Robertson (born 1962)
Website	www.deardenise.com

Denise Robertson MBE, DL (born 9 June 1932) is a British writer and television broadcaster. She made her television debut as the presenter of the Junior Advice Line segment of the BBC's Breakfast Time programme in 1985, though is perhaps best known as the resident agony aunt on the ITV show This Morning since its first ever broadcast on 3 October 1988.^[1]

Robertson briefly hosted her own television series Dear Denise in 2000. She also featured as a love and relationships pundit on Dave Gorman's Important Astrology Experiment in 2002. She has an advice website called DearDenise.com and has written a monthly column for national magazine, Candis.

Robertson also makes regular appearances on Channel 5's Big Brother's Bit On The Side.

Personal life

Born Margaret Denise Broderick on 9 June 1932 in Sunderland, County Durham, she is the youngest of two daughters of Herbert Stanley (1889–1961) and Catherine Maud Broderick (née Cahill, 1896–1971).^[2] She is twice widowed - she married Alexander Inkster "Alex" Robertson (1919–1972) in 1960 and they a had a son Mark Alexander (born 1962).^[3] Robertson died of lung cancer in 1972 and she married the father of her son's friends, John "Jack" Tomlin (1921–1995) a year later. Tomlin died of a stroke in 1995. She then married her childhood friend Bryan Thubron, in 1997 and has four stepsons via him.^[4]

In 1998, Robertson was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham.^[5] She was given the Freedom of the City of Sunderland in 2006 and appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Birthday Honours that year for "services to Broadcasting and to Charity".^[6][7] She is a keen supporter of Sunderland A.F.C. and has worked with the University of Sunderland, appearing as guest speaker at graduation ceremonies. Robertson currently lives in East Boldon with her husband and dogs.^[8] She also has eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Filmography

Works

• Don't Cry Aloud Hopcyn Press 2015 ISBN 9780992893323
• Winds of War Little Books 2009 ISBN 9781906264079
• None To Make You Cry Little Books 2009 ISBN 978-1-906264-06-2
• The Promise Little Books 2008 ISBN 978-1-904435-97-6
• The Second Wife Little Books 2008 ISBN 978-1-904435-95-2
• Agony? Don't Get Me Started... Autobiography Max Press 2006 ISBN 978-1-904435-84-6
• The Bad Sister Little Books 2005 ISBN 978-1-904435-42-6
• Relax it's only a Baby - The no-fuss guide to parenting Little Books 2005 ISBN 978-1-904435-46-4
• Men Are From Earth. Women Are From Earth.: Deal with It! Little Books 2005 ISBN 978-1-904435-32-7
• Sir Tom Cowie, A True Entrepreneur: A Biography University of Sunderland 2004 ISBN 978-1-873757-84-0
• A Relative Freedom ISBN 978-1-904435-85-3
• Wait For the Day ISBN 978-1-904435-55-6
• The Beloved People (Belgate Trilogy 1) 2004 ISBN 978-1-904435-34-1
• Strength for the Morning (Belgate Trilogy 2) 2004 ISBN 978-1-904435-35-8
• Towards Jerusalem (Belgate Trilogy 3) 2005 ISBN 978-1-904435-37-2

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denise Robertson.

• Official website
• Denise Robertson returns to Uganda