Moira Stuart Biography
Moira Stuart (Moira Clare Ruby Stuart) is a British presenter born on 2nd September 1949 in London, UK. She made history as the first female African – Caribbean newsreader in 1981 with the BBC. She is a newsreader on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Two (weekdays from 6:30-9:30 AM)
Moira began her career as a journalist in BBC as a production assistant in Radio’s Talks and Documentaries department in the 1970s. She later became a BBC Radio 4 announcer and a newsreader and programme presenter. In 1981 she moved to television news becoming the first female African-Caribbean newsreader in 1981 as a diverse presenter of BBC News bulletin before leaving in 2007.
Some of the programs she presented on radio and television includes: Best Of Jazz on Radio 2, BBC1’s The Holiday Programme , Have I Got News For You! in 2007.
Moira Stuart Age
Moira was born on 2nd September 1949 in London, UK (69 years as of 2018)
Moira Stuart
Moira Stuart Education
Moira attended Our Lady’s Convent RC High School, Stamford Hill. When she was 13 years together with her family they moved to Bermuda for a while returning to London, when she was 15, where she attended college.
Moira Stuart Family
Moira Stuart was born to a Dominican mother, Marjorie Gordon (1921–2017) and Barbadian father, Harold Stuart (1914–66). Her parents divorced when she was 10 months old and the last time she saw her father she was three. At the age of 17 she made an effort to look for him but she discovered that he had died in 1966.
“There was a family will and so I needed to try to trace him. I went to Somerset House and found he had died the year before. He was driving along a motorway and was hit by an articulated lorry.”
At the time of the accident he was driving at a great speed and on the wrong side of the road. His Triumph sports car ploughed into an oncoming vehicle.
Moira Stuart Husband
Moira is not married but she once told The Daily Mail that she almost married twice. She was also sensationally propositioned by John Humphrys, Today show presenter who once told her she was “sensationally sexy”.
“You’re the most sensationally sexy lady I know. The best thing we can do for the next few hours is to make mad, passionate love in the basement.”
When Moira was asked about the incidence she made no comment about the issue other than the programme in which he supposedly said that was recorded for the deaf community which meant the audience could lip-read every word he said.
Moira Stuart Partner
Des Lynam has said that he has been a boyfriend of hers. In 2016 it was reported that John Humphrys had also propositioned her.
Moira Stuart BBC
Moira began her career in as a production assistant in Radio’s Talks and Documentaries department in BBC in the 1970’s. She progressed to become a BBC Radio 4 announcer and a newsreader and programme presenter.
In 1981 she joined television becoming the first female African-Caribbean newsreader. While at BBC she presented every news bulletin on BBC1 apart from the 10 O’Clock News.
She worked for BBC for four decades before she was axed from Andrew Marr’s Sunday morning show on BBC1 in 2007. Six months later she quit BBC after more than 30 years in the corporation although she never gave her reasons but they were speculations that she left over BBC’s alleged prejudice against older women.
Her quitting sparked a chorus of complaints from MPs and some of the biggest names at the BBC, including Jeremy Paxman and John Humphrys, who demanded that Stuart be reinstated immediately.
They accused BBC of age discrimination and claimed that she was being sidelined to make way for younger presenters.
BBC director general at the time, Mark Thompson, denied the allegation telling MPs that the role of the traditional newsreader had “virtually died out”.
Moira Stuart Radio 2/ Moira Stuart Chris Evans Show
In 2010 BBC today confirmed that Moira Stuart would join Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 breakfast show as the newsreader.
Stuart said: “I’m delighted to be joining the Chris Evans Breakfast Show at Radio 2. We’ll certainly have some fun.”
Evans said: “It doesn’t get any better than Moira Stuart. The voice, the authority, the style, the class, plus a side of her the majority of people have never seen before. She’s funny, she’s cheeky and dare I say it – ever such a little bit naughty. Always brilliant on the telly, I predict she’s going to be even better on the radio. In fact, I know she will be.”
Moira Stuart Salary
In 2010 after Moira joined BBC 2 Chris Evans Show she was rumoured to receive a salary of £1,700 a day.
Moira’s agent insists that she was being paid ‘nowhere near’ the rumored fee the gulf between her deal and the £25 an hour paid to others has prompted complaints to BBC bosses.
A source said: ‘It meant a 25 per cent pay cut, while only losing an hour of their time. Eight-hour shifts included an hour meal break that they took at the end of the shift, because you can’t leave the studio during a shift in case something goes wrong. Shortening the shift times meant the BBC could drop the meal break. The newsreaders complained about Moira’s fee because although they recognise she is a famous name and has a clever agent, she was getting something like £560 per hour. The problem was that if Chris wanted something, he would get it, no matter how much it cost, whereas everyone else was told there is no money.’
Moira Stuart Awards and Achievements
- 1988: “Best Newscaster of the Year” (1988) by the TV and Radio Industries Club Awards.
- 1989: “Best Television Personality” by the Women of Achievement Awards.
- 1994: “Best Female Television Personality” by the Black Journalists’ Association.
- 1997: “Best Media Personality” by The Voice newspaper.
- 2001: Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
- 2002: “Media Personality of 2002” at the EMMA Awards.
- 2003: one of 100 Great Black Britons.
- 2006: Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, the university where her grandparents met.
- 2008: “Oldie Autocutie of the Year” for her outstanding contribution to television by The Oldie magazine.
- 2012: Awarded the degree Honorary Doctor of Letters by De Montfort University.
- 2013: Received an honorary doctorate from Canterbury Christ Church University.
Moira Stuart News: My problems with alcohol, by Moira Stuart – Newsreader reveals she was forced to quit drinking because of health problems
Moira Stuart has revealed that she no longer drinks after she ‘developed problems with alcohol’.
The BBC newsreader told listeners of Chris Evans’ breakfast show on Radio 2 yesterday that she used to enjoy a tipple, especially at weddings.
But she was forced to quit drinking after developing health problems.
Evans was quizzing Miss Stuart, 67, about dry January, where drinkers abstain from alcohol for a month, and asked if she had never drunk.
She replied: ‘Oh I did. Oh Yes. I used to when I was a child, yes notorious at weddings, going round and drinking everybody’s.’
Evans replied: ‘Minesweeping is what it’s called. You were an early minesweeper. And that put you off for life?’
Miss Stuart said: ‘Um no. I developed problems with alcohol so I just left it alone. They weren’t hangovers, migraines – alcohol doesn’t do it for me, along with cheese and chocolate. I’m telling you it’s been rougher than tough.’
Miss Stuart became the first female African-Caribbean newsreader when she moved from radio to television news in 1981.
Last year the Daily Mail revealed how BBC Radio 4 Today show presenter John Humphrys told Miss Stuart she was ‘sensationally sexy’ after a news bulletin.
He is believed to have said: ‘You’re the most sensationally sexy lady I know. The best thing we can do for the next few hours is to make mad, passionate love in the basement.’
Miss Stuart then made it clear that the programme had been recorded for the deaf community, so the audience would have been able to lip-read every word he had said.
She quit the BBC after 26 years in 2007, when the BBC unceremoniously announced her departure.
The statement prompted accusations that the Corporation did not want older women on screen and led to a series of complaints from MPs that she be immediately reinstated.
Miss Stuart eventually returned to the BBC in 2010, when she became the main newsreader on Radio 2’s breakfast show.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk