Miriam O'Reilly
Encyclopedia
Miriam O'Reilly is a television presenter, best known as a former presenter on the BBC One
rural affairs show Countryfile
.
farmer
who came to England
in the 1960s, O'Reilly left school aged seventeen, keen to be a journalist
.
She applied for newspaper
apprenticeship
s while working several jobs, including work on the children's television programme Tiswas
. She then worked for the BBC
on the Radio 4
programmes Farming Today
, Costing the Earth and Woman's Hour
. She also worked as a television presenter, on field and specialist reports, perhaps most notably on Countryfile.
After she was dropped from Countryfile in 2009, she successfully sued the BBC for age discrimination, saying at the start of her court case that she could no longer watch the programme after being axed from it, as it was too emotionally painful. During the hearing, former BBC One Controller Jay Hunt (ten years O'Reilly's junior) was called as a witness, who O'Reilly accused of ageism, sexism and that she "hated women." In January 2011, the day after Hunt began working at Channel 4
, O'Reilly's claims for age discrimination and victimisation were upheld. In February 2011 O'Reilly presented a show about ageism
on ITV1
called Too Old For TV?, as part of the Tonight
television series. In March 2011, as part of its coverage of International Women's Day
, The Guardian
newspaper included O'Reilly in its list of the "Top 100 Most Inspirational Women" in the world saying, "The landmark judgement will change the way the BBC, and inevitably other broadcasters, operate." Some time after the case, O'Reilly spoke about how dozens of older BBC women presenters had their careers saved as a result of her legal action. O'Reilly was also included in an exhibition at BBC Television Centre of women who had made a significant contribution towards equality at the Corporation since its formation in 1922.
In June 2011, O'Reilly returned to the BBC as the co-presenter for the third series of Crimewatch Roadshow with Rav Wilding
.
In July 2011, a photograph of O'Reilly by Kate Peters was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery
in the People of Today collection.
Award (2011) for her version of Aeschylus
' tragedy The Persians
.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
rural affairs show Countryfile
Countryfile
Countryfile is a British magazine-style television programme produced by BBC Birmingham, first aired on 24th July 1988, which reports on rural and environmental issues within the United Kingdom. For its first 20 years it was fronted by broadcaster John Craven, until he stepped back from the role of...
.
Early life and career
The daughter of an IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
who came to England
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...
in the 1960s, O'Reilly left school aged seventeen, keen to be a journalist
Journalist
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 applied for newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
s while working several jobs, including work on the children's television programme Tiswas
Tiswas
Tiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
. She then worked for 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...
on the 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...
programmes Farming Today
Farming Today
-Transmission:It is broadcast each week day between 5.45 and 6.00 a.m. and a longer programme is broadcast on Saturdays from 06.35 – 7.00 a.m. Around one million people listen to the programme...
, Costing the Earth and Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
. She also worked as a television presenter, on field and specialist reports, perhaps most notably on Countryfile.
After she was dropped from Countryfile in 2009, she successfully sued the BBC for age discrimination, saying at the start of her court case that she could no longer watch the programme after being axed from it, as it was too emotionally painful. During the hearing, former BBC One Controller Jay Hunt (ten years O'Reilly's junior) was called as a witness, who O'Reilly accused of ageism, sexism and that she "hated women." In January 2011, the day after Hunt began working at 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...
, O'Reilly's claims for age discrimination and victimisation were upheld. In February 2011 O'Reilly presented a show about ageism
Ageism
Ageism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice, discrimination, and subordination...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
called Too Old For TV?, as part of the Tonight
Tonight (TV series)
Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...
television series. In March 2011, as part of its coverage of International Women's Day
International Women's Day
International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper included O'Reilly in its list of the "Top 100 Most Inspirational Women" in the world saying, "The landmark judgement will change the way the BBC, and inevitably other broadcasters, operate." Some time after the case, O'Reilly spoke about how dozens of older BBC women presenters had their careers saved as a result of her legal action. O'Reilly was also included in an exhibition at BBC Television Centre of women who had made a significant contribution towards equality at the Corporation since its formation in 1922.
In June 2011, O'Reilly returned to the BBC as the co-presenter for the third series of Crimewatch Roadshow with Rav Wilding
Rav Wilding
Rav Wilding is an English television presenter, former security guard at Harrods, former soldier and former police officer who, since June 2004, has been a presenter on Crimewatch.-Early life and education:...
.
In July 2011, a photograph of O'Reilly by Kate Peters was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery can refer to:*National Portrait Gallery in Canberra*Portrait Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario*National Portrait Gallery , with satellite galleries in Denbighshire, Derbyshire and Somerset...
in the People of Today collection.
Personal life
O'Reilly is the sister of the playwright Kaite O'Reilly, winner of the Ted HughesTed Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
Award (2011) for her version of Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
' tragedy The Persians
The Persians
The Persians is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. First produced in 472 BCE, it is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre...
.