Caroline Righton
Encyclopedia
Caroline Righton is an English
television
presenter
and author
, best known for being a presenter on the daily Breakfast Television
station TV-am
and being an anchor of the Channel 4
news show, The Channel Four Daily
.
At the 2010 general election, Righton was the Conservative
candidate for the new St Austell and Newquay constituency but lost to the Liberal Democrats.
. She worked as a Junior reporter for The West Briton
and The Cornish Guardian
. Also during this time, Caroline was presenting regional TV programmes for BBC South West
in Plymouth. This work enabled her to gain vital experience, and she became one of the founding presenters of BBC Radio Cornwall
in 1984. After presenting the Duchy Today programme with Ted Gundry, Righton became a producer of Radio Cornwall.
and started presenting the BBC London regional early morning television show London Plus
from 1985-87.
In 1987, Righton moved to the already successful ITV
breakfast station, TV-am
, becoming a national television presenter for the first time, she presented the early part of TV-am before handing over to the main Good Morning Britain show. The on-air promotions at the time said that she was recruited "to get the early rising men tuning in to TV-am's first hour". She joined in April 1987 and left in October the same year. The 4–10 April 1987 edition of TV Times
magazine said "Windsor, she finds, has much in common with Cornwall 'lots of holidaymakers.'"
Righton occasionally wrote columns for The Times
and The Guardian
while she was presenting on TV-am.
After leaving TV-am she occasionally appeared as a stand-in presenter on other news and Breakfast TV programmes reading the short BBC Daytime bulletins and BBC Breakfast Time
bulletins in 1988. Next was BSB, Sky News, ITN and the occasional filling-in on LWT News in 1990. She occasionally presented on The Channel Four Daily
, where she was presenter for the last edition of the failed show in 1992. During her time presenting the national news, Caroline presented on-screen with Jeremy Paxman
and was a main anchor during The Gulf War. In the Nineties, Caroline was the face of Channel Four's Daily Business News
Righton has produced television programmes for Sky, ITV and Channel 4
. She then started her own producing business, before being bought out by a larger company and becoming the Managing Director of their broadcast division. During this time she worked closely with the companies corporate clients and had media coached senior personnel of many blue-chip companies.
In 1999, after 14 years away, Righton returned to the West Country
after becoming a regional controller for ITV company Carlton
under her former TV-am boss Clive Jones. It was from her base in Cornwall in 2003, that Righton started her career as an author, with her first work, The Life Audit, a self-help
plan and guide that has become a best-seller in America
, Asia
and Australia
. It has also been translated into Mandarin
, French and Dutch. Righton appeared on national television in the UK and on CBS
's Early Show in the United States
, while the associated website to the book has members from 25 different countries.
as a prospective Member of Parliament
. Placed on the party's A-List of female and ethnic minority applicants, it was announced in 2008 that Righton would become the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the newly-created seat of St Austell and Newquay. As this was a new seat there was no incumbent MP
, however, the seat was regarded as having a notional majority of 5,723 (12.44%) to the Liberal Democrats
. In the election, Righton came second to Liberal Democrat Steve Gilbert, despite reducing the majority to 1,312 (2.8%).
, and then graduated from the University of Warwick
with a degree in English. During a gap year Righton did a journalism course in Cardiff
and after doing some work experience in Falmouth
, Cornwall for The Packet Newspapers
, was offered a full time job at the newspaper.
Righton moved to Cornwall when she was 19, moving to Windsor when she was 27 and back to the West Country when she was 41. Righton married her husband, Mark, in 1979 and they have two sons. The family currently live in St Columb Major
, Cornwall.
Righton is a surfer and is a campaigner for The Surf Life Saving Association.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, best known for being a presenter on the daily Breakfast Television
Breakfast Television
Breakfast Television is a Canadian morning news and entertainment program which airs on the Citytv stations . Each station produces its own local edition of Breakfast Television....
station TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
and being an anchor of the 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...
news show, The Channel Four Daily
The Channel Four Daily
The Channel Four Daily was a breakfast television newsmagazine produced by Independent Television News, in collaboration with other production companies, for Channel 4. The programme was the first breakfast news programme for Channel 4, broadcasting between 06.00 and 09.25 each weekday morning...
.
At the 2010 general election, Righton was the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for the new St Austell and Newquay constituency but lost to the Liberal Democrats.
Biography
Born Caroline Donovan in Bristol, as a teenager, Righton worked in several restaurants and hotels, however, she had always intended to become a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. She worked as a Junior reporter for The West Briton
The West Briton
The West Briton is a local weekly newspaper published every Thursday. It serves different areas of Cornwall, United Kingdom with four separate editions—Truro and Mid-Cornwall, Falmouth and Penryn, Redruth Camborne and Hayle, and Helston and The Lizard. It was established in 1810 and is part...
and The Cornish Guardian
Cornish Guardian
Cornish Guardian is a weekly newspaper in Cornwall, UK, which is part of the Cornwall & Devon Media group. It is published in 7 separate editions:*Bodmin edition*Lostwithiel and Fowey edition*Newquay edition*North Cornwall edition...
. Also during this time, Caroline was presenting regional TV programmes for BBC South West
BBC South West
BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Devon, Cornwall and the Channel Islands.-Television:BBC South Wests television service consists of the flagship regional news service Spotlight, the opt-out service BBC Channel Islands, the topical magazine programme Inside Out and a 20-minute...
in Plymouth. This work enabled her to gain vital experience, and she became one of the founding presenters of BBC Radio Cornwall
BBC Radio Cornwall
BBC Radio Cornwall is the BBC Local Radio service for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the United Kingdom. It broadcasts from its studios on Phoenix Wharf in Truro on 95.2 in the east, 96.0 on the Isles of Scilly and 103.9 in the west MHz FM, as well as on DAB.Andrew George, MP for St Ives, has...
in 1984. After presenting the Duchy Today programme with Ted Gundry, Righton became a producer of Radio Cornwall.
Media career
Righton transferred her skills as a radio presenter to television. She moved to Windsor, BerkshireWindsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
and started presenting the BBC London regional early morning television show London Plus
London Plus
London Plus was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. Launched in 1984, the programme represented the BBC's attempt to boost regional news service for the South East...
from 1985-87.
In 1987, Righton moved to the already successful ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
breakfast station, TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
, becoming a national television presenter for the first time, she presented the early part of TV-am before handing over to the main Good Morning Britain show. The on-air promotions at the time said that she was recruited "to get the early rising men tuning in to TV-am's first hour". She joined in April 1987 and left in October the same year. The 4–10 April 1987 edition of TV Times
TV Times
TVTimes is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by IPC Media, a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is known for its access to television actors and their programmes. In 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look, increasing its emphasis on big star interviews and soaps...
magazine said "Windsor, she finds, has much in common with Cornwall 'lots of holidaymakers.'"
Righton occasionally wrote columns for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
while she was presenting on TV-am.
After leaving TV-am she occasionally appeared as a stand-in presenter on other news and Breakfast TV programmes reading the short BBC Daytime bulletins and BBC Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time was British television's first national breakfast show, beating TV-am's flagship programme Good Morning Britain to the air by two weeks.The show was revolutionary for the time...
bulletins in 1988. Next was BSB, Sky News, ITN and the occasional filling-in on LWT News in 1990. She occasionally presented on The Channel Four Daily
The Channel Four Daily
The Channel Four Daily was a breakfast television newsmagazine produced by Independent Television News, in collaboration with other production companies, for Channel 4. The programme was the first breakfast news programme for Channel 4, broadcasting between 06.00 and 09.25 each weekday morning...
, where she was presenter for the last edition of the failed show in 1992. During her time presenting the national news, Caroline presented on-screen with Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
and was a main anchor during The Gulf War. In the Nineties, Caroline was the face of Channel Four's Daily Business News
Righton has produced television programmes for Sky, ITV and 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...
. She then started her own producing business, before being bought out by a larger company and becoming the Managing Director of their broadcast division. During this time she worked closely with the companies corporate clients and had media coached senior personnel of many blue-chip companies.
In 1999, after 14 years away, Righton returned to the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
after becoming a regional controller for ITV company Carlton
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
under her former TV-am boss Clive Jones. It was from her base in Cornwall in 2003, that Righton started her career as an author, with her first work, The Life Audit, a self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
plan and guide that has become a best-seller in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It has also been translated into Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, French and Dutch. Righton appeared on national television in the UK and on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Early Show in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while the associated website to the book has members from 25 different countries.
Politician
In January 2006, Righton put herself forward to the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
as a prospective Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Placed on the party's A-List of female and ethnic minority applicants, it was announced in 2008 that Righton would become the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the newly-created seat of St Austell and Newquay. As this was a new seat there was no incumbent MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, however, the seat was regarded as having a notional majority of 5,723 (12.44%) to the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. In the election, Righton came second to Liberal Democrat Steve Gilbert, despite reducing the majority to 1,312 (2.8%).
Personal life
Righton went to school at La Retraite High School in Clifton, BristolClifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
, and then graduated from the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
with a degree in English. During a gap year Righton did a journalism course in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and after doing some work experience in Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, Cornwall for The Packet Newspapers
Packet Newspapers
The Packet Newspapers are a series of weekly local newspapers in west Cornwall owned by the Newsquest Group. The titles include:*The Camborne and Redruth Packet *The Falmouth Packet...
, was offered a full time job at the newspaper.
Righton moved to Cornwall when she was 19, moving to Windsor when she was 27 and back to the West Country when she was 41. Righton married her husband, Mark, in 1979 and they have two sons. The family currently live in St Columb Major
St Columb Major
St Columb Major is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as St Columb, it is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Wadebridge and six miles east of Newquay...
, Cornwall.
Righton is a surfer and is a campaigner for The Surf Life Saving Association.