Anne Atkins
Encyclopedia
Anne Atkins is a novelist, broadcaster and journalist. She is the author of three novels, The Lost Child, On Our Own, and A Fine and Private Place, and is a regular contributor to the radio feature Thought for the Day
on the BBC Radio 4
Today
programme.
, Dorset, and moved to Cambridge
at the age of three when her father became headmaster of King's College School
. She went to Byron House School, the Cambridgeshire High School for Girls and the Perse School for Girls
. After school, she went to the Decroux School of Mime in Paris and studied harp under Solonge Renie. She studied English Language and Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford
, and then trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
in London.
. Her career moved increasingly into writing until her last theatre appearance at the National Theatre
in 1991.
The Lost Child is based on a true story, in which a family makes a decision one summer which haunts five-year-old Sandy into adulthood. Interwoven with the history of Cassandra
, sooth-saying daughter of Priam King of Troy, The Lost Child was described by The Sunday Times as “ambitious and very readable”, and in The Telegraph, “the perceptions of childhood are excellent.”
On Our Own is its sequel: a murder mystery set in Cambridge, featuring a ten-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome and his violinist mother. It examines issues around domestic violence; just as A Fine and Private Place, also a murder mystery set in and around Cambridge, tackles child abuse.
Anne Atkins is an Anglican and is a regular contributor to the radio feature "Thought for the Day
" on the BBC Radio 4
Today
programme. One of her contributions on this programme reportedly had the distinction of prompting the first ever complaint to the BBC
from the Church of England
Press Office. She was The Daily Telegraph’s first agony aunt (1996–2000), and also writes for The Guardian
, The Mail on Sunday
, The Daily Mail
, The Evening Standard, Country Life
, and The Express
, in which she has a weekly column about raising children.
She presented The Agony Hour series for Channel 5; Watch Your ****ing Language for Channel 4
; Why People Hate Christians for BBC Radio 4
; and frequently comments on programmes such as Question Time
, Any Questions?
and the Today
programme.
Her contributions to BBC Radio 4’s
Thought for the Day
have sometimes been controversial. She raised the question, for instance, as to whether religious self-righteousness could be considered a worse sin than paedophilia and also questioned the efficacy of psychotherapy.
In November 2007 she defended a motion for Free Speech on BBC2's Newsnight
, when the Oxford Union
invited extreme right-wing figures David Irving
and Nick Griffin
to speak: "When you say that the majority view is always right I think that is a deeply dangerous and disturbing thing to say. I am not for a moment saying that I agree with David Irving or Nick Griffin but I am saying that once you start having truth by democracy you risk silencing some of the most important prophets we have ever had."
In 1998 the Press Complaints Commission
ruled that an article written by her in The Sun
objecting to Government proposals to make the age of consent for homosexuals equal to that for heterosexuals broke the industry's Code of Conduct. In the article she stated that "this is not opinion: it is fact. The life expectancy of a gay man without HIV is a shocking 43 years" and "a gay man is, alarmingly, 17 times more likely to be a paedophile than a straight man". The PCC ruled that these were not proven facts and that she had been misleading the readers. The Sun apologised.
In September 2008, Atkins prompted widespread complaints after mocking the people of Norfolk
on BBC Radio 4
. In a discussion about compensation culture
, Atkins said "No more chestnut trees lining the streets of Norwich, in case the conkers fall on your head - as if that would make a difference, in Norfolk." Atkins insisted she had cleared the line with a BBC
producer prior to the broadcast, and stated that she would not apologise over the incident because the remark was only intended as a joke.
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Today
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
programme.
Early life
Anne Atkins was born in 1956 at BryanstonBryanston
Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour one mile west of Blandford Forum. The parish has a population of 968 . The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an independent school.The village was named after Brian de Lisle, a...
, Dorset, and moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
at the age of three when her father became headmaster of King's College School
King's College School Cambridge
King's College School is a mixed private preparatory school in Cambridge, England, situated on West Road off Grange Road, west of the city centre. It is an integral part of and receives some funding and its name from King's College, a college of the University of Cambridge as it was founded to...
. She went to Byron House School, the Cambridgeshire High School for Girls and the Perse School for Girls
Perse School for Girls
The Stephen Perse Foundation is an independent, fee-paying day school situated near the centre of Cambridge, England. The Foundation is made up of four schools: The Stephen Perse Pre-Prep School, for boys and girls aged 3-7, Perse Girls Junior School,for girls aged 7-11, Perse Girls Senior School,...
. After school, she went to the Decroux School of Mime in Paris and studied harp under Solonge Renie. She studied English Language and Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, and then trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
in London.
Career
She started her acting career at St George’s Shakespeare Theatre in Tufnell ParkTufnell Park
Tufnell Park is an area of north London, England which straddles the border of the London Borough of Islington and the London Borough of Camden.-Origins:...
. Her career moved increasingly into writing until her last theatre appearance at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 1991.
The Lost Child is based on a true story, in which a family makes a decision one summer which haunts five-year-old Sandy into adulthood. Interwoven with the history of Cassandra
Cassandra
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
, sooth-saying daughter of Priam King of Troy, The Lost Child was described by The Sunday Times as “ambitious and very readable”, and in The Telegraph, “the perceptions of childhood are excellent.”
On Our Own is its sequel: a murder mystery set in Cambridge, featuring a ten-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome and his violinist mother. It examines issues around domestic violence; just as A Fine and Private Place, also a murder mystery set in and around Cambridge, tackles child abuse.
Anne Atkins is an Anglican and is a regular contributor to the radio feature "Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
" on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Today
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
programme. One of her contributions on this programme reportedly had the distinction of prompting the first ever complaint to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Press Office. She was The Daily Telegraph’s first agony aunt (1996–2000), and also writes for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
, The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, The Evening Standard, Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
, and The Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, in which she has a weekly column about raising children.
She presented The Agony Hour series for Channel 5; Watch Your ****ing Language for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
; Why People Hate Christians for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
; and frequently comments on programmes such as Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
, Any Questions?
Any Questions?
Any Questions? is a topical debate radio programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:It is broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on Friday evenings and repeated on Saturday afternoons, when it is followed by a phone-in response programme, Any Answers?, previously a postal response slot...
and the Today
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
programme.
Her contributions to BBC Radio 4’s
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
have sometimes been controversial. She raised the question, for instance, as to whether religious self-righteousness could be considered a worse sin than paedophilia and also questioned the efficacy of psychotherapy.
In November 2007 she defended a motion for Free Speech on BBC2's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, when the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
invited extreme right-wing figures David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
and Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
to speak: "When you say that the majority view is always right I think that is a deeply dangerous and disturbing thing to say. I am not for a moment saying that I agree with David Irving or Nick Griffin but I am saying that once you start having truth by democracy you risk silencing some of the most important prophets we have ever had."
Controversy
In 1996 she used her slot on Radio 4's Thought for the Day to attack Anglican bishops for supporting a celebration in Southwark Cathedral marking 20 years of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Her opinions prompted the Church of England's first ever complaint about the programme.In 1998 the Press Complaints Commission
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines...
ruled that an article written by her in The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
objecting to Government proposals to make the age of consent for homosexuals equal to that for heterosexuals broke the industry's Code of Conduct. In the article she stated that "this is not opinion: it is fact. The life expectancy of a gay man without HIV is a shocking 43 years" and "a gay man is, alarmingly, 17 times more likely to be a paedophile than a straight man". The PCC ruled that these were not proven facts and that she had been misleading the readers. The Sun apologised.
In September 2008, Atkins prompted widespread complaints after mocking the people of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. In a discussion about compensation culture
Compensation culture
"Compensation culture" describes a society in which it is acceptable for anyone who has suffered a personal injury to seek compensatory damages through litigation from someone connected with the injury...
, Atkins said "No more chestnut trees lining the streets of Norwich, in case the conkers fall on your head - as if that would make a difference, in Norfolk." Atkins insisted she had cleared the line with a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
producer prior to the broadcast, and stated that she would not apologise over the incident because the remark was only intended as a joke.
Fiction
- The Lost Child (1994). ISBN 0340632453
- On Our Own (1996). ISBN 0340672188
- A Fine and Private Place (1998). ISBN 0340673318
Non-fiction
- Split Image: male and female after God’s likeness (1987). ISBN 0340709863
- Child Rearing for Fun: trust your instincts and enjoy your children (2004). ISBN 0310254175
- Agony Atkins (2006). ISBN 1854247255
Contributions to
- Encouraging Women (1998). ISBN 1853451355
- A Working Faith (1999). ISBN 0953327702
- Why I am Still an Anglican (2006). ISBN 0826481434