Laurie Macmillan (May 10, 1947 - October 8, 2001) was a
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
newsreaderA news presenter is a person who presents a news show on television, radio or the Internet.-Newscasters and newsreaders:...
and continuity announcer born in
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
on the east coast of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Educated at
Haberdashers' Monmouth School for GirlsHaberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls is an independent school located in Monmouth, Wales, and one of the most exclusive educational institutions in the world. The school was established, and continues to be supported by, the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892. There are four houses -...
,
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
and then at Newcastle University graduating with a degree in
PoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
and
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
.
She joined the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
in 1968 as a Trainee Studio Manager, became a studio manager in 1973 and an announcer in 1975. Easily recognisable in the BBC Newsroom by her thick dark hair that was so long she would frequently end up sitting on it.
Laurie Macmillan (May 10, 1947 - October 8, 2001) was a
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
newsreaderA news presenter is a person who presents a news show on television, radio or the Internet.-Newscasters and newsreaders:...
and continuity announcer born in
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
on the east coast of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Educated at
Haberdashers' Monmouth School for GirlsHaberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls is an independent school located in Monmouth, Wales, and one of the most exclusive educational institutions in the world. The school was established, and continues to be supported by, the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1892. There are four houses -...
,
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
and then at Newcastle University graduating with a degree in
PoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
and
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
.
She joined the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
in 1968 as a Trainee Studio Manager, became a studio manager in 1973 and an announcer in 1975. Easily recognisable in the BBC Newsroom by her thick dark hair that was so long she would frequently end up sitting on it. Worked on
The World at OneThe World at One, or WATO for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, which is broadcast from 1pm to 1:30pm from Monday to Friday. The programme describes itself as "Britain's leading political programme. With a reputation for rigorous and original...
, PM, It's Your Line and
You and YoursYou and Yours is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.-History:It began broadcasting in 1970. On 14 October 2008, there was a large change of format, with two presenters being replaced by one. The breadth of topics covered was extended to global problems as well as...
on
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
, also occasionally working on
BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation Artists scheme...
and
BBC Local RadioBBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 41 stations.Initially, stations had to be co-funded by the BBC and local authorities, which only some Labour-controlled areas proved willing to do. Radio Leicester was the first to launch on 8...
, and briefly reading the news on
NewsnightNewsnight 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 almost two decades....
on BBC2.
Wrote and presented a schools radio series on industrial geography, and was for a time an aficionado of Radio 4's Bells on Sunday, becoming an expert on peals of Grandsire Doubles and Stedman Triples.
In the late 1970s she and partner Martine Ronaldson moved to
SticklepathSticklepath is a village on Dartmoor, in the county of Devon, England. Its history is unusual in that, unlike most villages, it did not evolve around a manor. It never had a rectory or a squire. It owes its being and development to two factors - geography and religion.Sticklepath lies along the...
in
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
(They later married in 1986). They renovated the cottage and she grew organic vegetables. She maintained a broad range of interests - attending evening classes studying
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
looking at what was a sky relatively clear of
light pollutionLight pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light. The International Dark-Sky Association , "The Light Pollution Authority," defines light pollution as: It obscures the stars in the night sky for city dwellers, interferes with...
; studying
GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
she tried it out while on walking holidays in the
Scottish Highlands and IslandsThe Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...
, later returning to Radio 4 on a part time basis.
Noted for her forthright expression of her opinions of other people's usage of spoken English, plain speaking and treating people at all levels of seniority and none with the same straight forthright manner, because of this her views were highly prized.
She found it difficult to talk about herself or her problems, and always was far more interested in others and general gossip.
Having been diagnosed with
breast cancerBreast cancer is a cancer that starts in the breast, usually in the inner lining of the milk ducts or lobules. There are different types of breast cancer, with different stages , aggressiveness, and genetic makeup. With best treatment, 10-year disease-free survival varies from 98% to 10%...
and despite being breathless from the treatment she returned to Radio 4 although only working on the 6 O'Clock News until March 2001 when the cancer returned. She died on 8 October 2001 in
OkehamptonOkehampton is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, at the northern edge of Dartmoor, on the River Okement. The border of the Dartmoor National Park is just south of the town....
,
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
from breast cancer.
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