Artistes of the Month
Also featured: Chris Beardshaw, Penny Junor
Jenni Murray
Jenni
is one of radio and television's most respected broadcasters. As presenter
of BBC Radio's WOMAN'S HOUR, Jenni daily demonstrates her incredible range
and depth and a unique ability to understand the feelings and complexities
of those she interviews.
Her interviews with the powerful (PM's, Cabinet Ministers, Church and
Business leaders and the Royal Family) are described as "probing"',
"steely" and "no-nonsense" and her knowledge of the
arts is matchless. Describing her work with people in tragic or difficult
circumstances, one reviewer wrote of Jenni as "an interviewer who
for sensitivity and pointfulness (sic) leaves most others far behind".
Her wide-ranging expertise in politics, business and the arts has led
commentators to write admiringly of her "well stocked mind".
For Granada TV Jenni presented three series of This Sunday - a live look at issues across the entire religious spectrum. She has brought her wit and wisdom to a couple of episodes of the revamped Loose Women - Live Talk - for Granada TV .
In 1998-2000 she wrote a weekly column for THE EXPRESS - a great forum
for her wit and ideas, and written proof of her versatility and depth.
Away from page and broadcast Jenni is an accomplished conference facilitator
and presenter - skilled at managing platform and audience with an incisive
grasp of issues and impressive speaking skills.
In late 2006 Jenni anounced on air that she was about to undergo surgery
for breast cancer but would returning to work in due course.
Chris
Beardshaw
The
first years in television for Chris began in the fertile beds of TV Gardening,
blooming in 2003 with no fewer than three prestigious BBC 2 series: -Gardener's World, Hidden Gardens Flying Gardener - progressing to Channel 4's brand new, live Garden Design Challenge for 2005:- for 62 days through March-July teams will be designing small gardens from a vast plot at Blenheim Palace - with the public voting winners and losers as the series proceeds.
Chris is more than a TV gardener: a highly qualified horticulturalist he brings deep and special knowledge to all his work and began in 1999 as the expert on Surprise Gardeners - Carlton TV whence he was potted-on to BBC TV with Real Rakeovers - again as the expert contributor.
His first show as sole presenter was Weekend Gardener for UK Style in 2000 - the same year he co-presented Gardening Neighbours for BBC 2.
He reached a new audience by digging over the plot for Housecall (series 1,2 + 3) for BBC 1 Daytime in 2000/1
In 2000 Chris joined Gardener's World Live as a specialist presenter - thence it was a short jump to Gardeners World itself as an integral team member - now with Monty Don.
His solo career took off with Flying Gardener - and Winter Flying Gardener - and for Hidden Gardens he has unlocked horticultural treasure troves (2002 + 2003)
Chris studied horticulture at Pershore - where he also lectured for four and a half years - before managing the plant research and development division of one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the country and gaining an MA in Landscape Architecture from Cheltenham.
He lectures and writes (The Natural Gardener pub. winter 2002), has a thriving garden-design business still finding time for his other passion - diving!
Penny Junor
Penny
is best known for her royal writing and broadcasting. She has been writing
well-respected, best-selling biographies for over 20 years and is much
in demand as a commentator on royal events - most recently at the royal
Wedding in April - but the monarchy is not her only field of expertise.
She spent almost as long writing and broadcasting about Consumer Affairs
and Travel and before spent many years interviewing and profile-writing
in the national press. She also presented programmes about health, families
and lifestyle and edited a book about women's health. And running parallel
to the writing and broadcasting for five years (1993 -98), she was a director
of the John Lewis Partnership, responsible for the journalism and public
relations within the department store and Waitrose supermarket chain.
She has a wealth of experience in presenting live and recorded programmes, both in the studio and on location. She presented the highly successful Travel Show on BBC2 for nine years [1998-97] and for seven years was the presenter of an award -winning consumer programme, 4 What Its Worth on Channel 4 [1982-89]. She was also an investigative reporter on that programme, involved in foot-in-the-door confrontations. And she co-presented, with the singer Barbara Dickson, two series of The Afternoon Show on BBC1 (1984-85). She has also presented corporate videos.
As a journalist she has written for most national newspapers and had regular consumer columns in Private Eye and Business Traveller magazine, a current affairs column in Today newspaper, and regular interview slots in the London Evening News and Evening Standard. Penny is an experienced corporate presenter and a highly informed after-dinner speaker.
She is the author of best-selling biographies of both the Prince and Princess of Wales and two British Prime Ministers- Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In 2002 she wrote Home Truths: Life around My Father, and her latest book, The Firm, The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor, was published in April 2005.
She is a committed vegetarian, a Samaritan volunteer and patron of Women's
Health Concern and Cirencester Eating Disorders Association. Other interests
include motorcycles (she was an RAC/ACU instructor), cars, cooking, dogs,
cats, children and chickens. She is married to James Leith, has four children
and lives in Wiltshire.
Further Information
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