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Caterina Irene Elena Maria Boyle, Lady Saunders (née Imperiali dei Principi di Francavilla; 29 May 1926 – 20 March 2018), usually known as Katie Boyle, was an Italian-born British actress, writer, radio announcer, television personality, game-show panellist and
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
activist. She became best known for presenting the Eurovision Song Contest on four occasions, in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1974; the first three in London and the
last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, an ...
in Brighton, England. She was once an agony aunt, answering problems that had been posted by readers of the ''
TVTimes ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, whic ...
''.


Early life, modelling and film career

She was born in a royal palace in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
,
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, Italy, which had once belonged to the Italian royal family, the daughter of an Italian marquis (the Marchese Demetrio Imperiali di Francavilla), and his English wife, Dorothy Kate Ramsden. She came to the United Kingdom in 1946 and started a modelling career, which included work for such publications as ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
''. She also appeared in several 1950s films, the first being ''
Old Mother Riley, Headmistress ''Old Mother Riley, Headmistress'' is a low budget black and white 1950 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Riley's ...
'' (1950) in which she was billed as Catherine Carleton, followed by '' I'll Never Forget You'' (uncredited, 1951), '' The Diary of Major Thompson'' (filmed in France in 1955), '' Not Wanted on Voyage'' (1957), ''
The Truth About Women ''The Truth About Women'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento. Plot When his son-in-law comes to him with a woeful tale of an unhappy relationship and ...
'' (also 1957), and '' Intent to Kill'' (1958).


Radio and television

Boyle was an on-screen continuity announcer for the
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in the 1950s. A decade later she became a television personality, regularly appearing on panel games and programmes such as ''
What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
?'' and ''
Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American serie ...
''. Boyle was the presenter for the 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1974 Eurovision Song Contests, all of which were hosted in the UK. She hosted the 1974 contest wearing no underwear; it had been cut off from under her satin dress moments before the broadcast began. She also hosted the UK qualifying heat, ''
A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
'', in 1961. In the 1960s she appeared in a long-running series of television advertisements for
Camay Camay is an American brand of bar soap owned by Unilever. It was introduced in 1926 by Procter & Gamble and was marketed as a "white, pure soap for women," as many soaps of the time were colored to mask impurities. Camay's slogan for many ye ...
soap. Boyle was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1982, when she was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...
while in Rome. That same year she played herself in the BBC radio play ''The Competition'', which told the story of a fictitious international song contest being staged in
Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...
. Boyle was guest of honour at the Eurovision fan club conventions staged in 1988 and 1992, and appeared at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest held in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
as a special guest of the BBC. Her other work has included theatre, television (''What's Up Dog?'') and radio (''Katie and Friends''). In 2004 Boyle was a guest on a special Eurovision-themed celebrity version of '' The Weakest Link'' on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, hosted by
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of BBC game show '' The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017). She presented the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'' from June 2021 to Jul ...
. Boyle became the first, and to date the only, contestant ever to vote herself off the programme.


Personal life

In 1947, she married The Hon. Richard Bentinck Boyle, heir to the 8th
Earl of Shannon Earl of Shannon is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for the prominent Irish politician Henry Boyle, who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. The earldom is named a ...
; the marriage was dissolved in 1955 but she kept his surname, Boyle. Later that year she married Greville Baylis, a racehorse owner, who died in 1976. In 1979 she married theatre impresario Sir Peter Saunders, who died in 2003. In ''Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who Is Not Amused'' by Nicholas Davies it is alleged that Boyle had a long-standing relationship with
Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
in the 1950s. Boyle told
Gyles Brandreth Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is an English broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning ...
: "It's ludicrous, pure fabrication. When it appears in print, people believe it. You can't take legal action because it fans the flames, so you just have to accept people telling complete lies about you." She was represented for most of her working life by Bunny Lewis and was a committee member of Battersea Dogs Home for more than 25 years. She died at home on Tuesday 20 March 2018.


Alternative crediting

She was also credited as Catherine Boyle and Catherine Boyl.


Filmography


Bibliography

She also wrote four books: * ''Dear Katie'' – tips from her days as agony aunt for ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'', 1975, * ''What This Katie Did'' – autobiography, 1980, * ''Boyle's Law'' - household tips, 1982, * ''Battersea Tales'' – stories of rescues from the Battersea Dogs Home, 1997


See also

*
List of Eurovision Song Contest presenters The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition, held every year by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. This page is a list of people who have acted as presenters of the contest. Since 1988, it ...


References


External links


Katie Boyle
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Katie 1926 births 2018 deaths British television presenters British women writers Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom BBC Radio 2 presenters Mass media people from Florence 20th-century British actresses Italian nobility Italian people of English descent
Katie Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports * Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player * Katie Clark (born 1994), Bri ...
English people of Italian descent British women radio presenters British women television presenters British advice columnists British women columnists Royalty and nobility models Royalty and nobility actors English female models 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Wives of knights