Kathy Clugston
Encyclopedia
Kathy Clugston is a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4
and the BBC World Service
. She is known to BBC Radio 1
listeners as "The Posh Radio Four Lady" or PR4L for short.
Born in Belfast
, Clugston attended Methodist College
and then studied French and Russian at Queens University Belfast. The degree course entailed a period in France and a year in Voronezh
, Russia. While at University, she was very active in the drama society, playing leading roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Private Lives
and Buried Child
, among many others, and directed L'Alouette (The Lark)
by Jean Anouilh
.
Clugston worked as a continuity announcer and transmission director at BBC Northern Ireland
from 1996 to 2003, announcing for BBC One Northern Ireland
, BBC Two Northern Ireland, and appearing as one of three in-vision announcers on BBC Choice
Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2001. She also lent her voice to the BBC Northern Ireland animated comedy series The Folks on the Hill.
Prior to starting at Radio 4, Clugston spent some years in Amsterdam, working as a reporter and presenter for Radio Netherlands Worldwide. She began working on Radio 4 in 2006, and first read evening news bulletins in 2007. In April 2008, she began newsreading duties on the flagship Today programme
.
Alongside her newsreading and announcing duties, Clugston is known as 'The Posh Radio 4 Lady' or 'The PR4L' on Scott Mills
' drivetime radio show on BBC Radio 1
, reading out emails from listeners. More recently she took part in Scott Mills The Musical in her role of "Posh Radio 4 Lady".
As well as being a ukelele player who made a documentary for Radio Four in 2009 she came up with the idea for "Radio4minus1letter", taking a radio programme title and dropping a single letter to create a new title, while using Twitter
. The idea resulted in Clugston's book - A Brief History of Tim: The World Minus One Letter - based on the game; she reads the latest creations on Broadcasting House
.
Clugston is the female Irish voice on Tom Tom
Sat navs.
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 the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. She is known to BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
listeners as "The Posh Radio Four Lady" or PR4L for short.
Born in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Clugston attended Methodist College
Methodist College
Methodist College may refer to:*Methodist University in North Carolina *Methodist College in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong*Sha Tin Methodist College in Sha Tin, Hong Kong*Methodist College Belfast*Southern Methodist University...
and then studied French and Russian at Queens University Belfast. The degree course entailed a period in France and a year in Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
, Russia. While at University, she was very active in the drama society, playing leading roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
and Buried Child
Buried Child
Buried Child is a play by Sam Shepard first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright...
, among many others, and directed L'Alouette (The Lark)
L'Alouette (The Lark)
L'Alouette is a 1952 play by Jean Anouilh about Joan of Arc. It was presented on Broadway in English in 1955, starring Julie Harris as Joan and Boris Karloff as Pierre Cauchon. It was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden.The English adaptation was by Lillian Hellman and the incidental music was by...
by Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
.
Clugston worked as a continuity announcer and transmission director at BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...
from 1996 to 2003, announcing for BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One Northern Ireland is the national variation for BBC Northern Ireland of the network BBC One service broadcast by the BBC. The service is broadcast in Northern Ireland from Broadcasting House in Belfast...
, BBC Two Northern Ireland, and appearing as one of three in-vision announcers on BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2001. She also lent her voice to the BBC Northern Ireland animated comedy series The Folks on the Hill.
Prior to starting at Radio 4, Clugston spent some years in Amsterdam, working as a reporter and presenter for Radio Netherlands Worldwide. She began working on Radio 4 in 2006, and first read evening news bulletins in 2007. In April 2008, she began newsreading duties on the flagship Today programme
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...
.
Alongside her newsreading and announcing duties, Clugston is known as 'The Posh Radio 4 Lady' or 'The PR4L' on Scott Mills
Scott Mills
Scott Robert Mills is a British radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor, best known for presenting The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1...
' drivetime radio show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, reading out emails from listeners. More recently she took part in Scott Mills The Musical in her role of "Posh Radio 4 Lady".
As well as being a ukelele player who made a documentary for Radio Four in 2009 she came up with the idea for "Radio4minus1letter", taking a radio programme title and dropping a single letter to create a new title, while using Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. The idea resulted in Clugston's book - A Brief History of Tim: The World Minus One Letter - based on the game; she reads the latest creations on Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House (radio programme)
Broadcasting House is a current affairs programme on BBC Radio 4, presented by Paddy O'Connell. It is broadcast every Sunday between 09:00 and 10:00....
.
Clugston is the female Irish voice on Tom Tom
Tom Tom
Tom Tom is a science-themed children's television series on the BBC, from BBC Bristol. Presented by Jeremy Carrad and John Earle with roving reporter Norman Tozer...
Sat navs.