Bridget Kendall (born 27 April 1956) is an English journalist who was the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Diplomatic correspondent working for the corporation's radio and television networks. From 2016 to 2023, she was Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge: the first woman to head the college.

Early life and education

Kendall was born in 1956 at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, a daughter of statistician

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

David George Kendall and Diana (''née'' Fletcher). She has two brothers (one of whom is statistician

Wilfrid Kendall) and three sisters. Kendall was educated at Perse School for Girls, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. She then read Modern Languages at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and spent two years in Russia on

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

scholarships in 1977 and 1982. Her postgraduate Soviet studies took her from St Antony's College, Oxford to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where she spent two years as a Harkness Fellow in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Career

Kendall joined the BBC in 1983 as a radio production trainee for the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. She was the BBC's

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

correspondent from 1989 to 1994, and developed her background in Russian politics. She was in Moscow to witness the power struggles in the Soviet Communist Party as

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

tried to introduce reform, and reported on the break-up of the Soviet Union and the internal conflicts in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. She sent reports of the attempted coup in August 1991 and covered

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

's rise to power. Kendall was the BBC's Washington correspondent from 1994, becoming the Corporation's diplomatic correspondent in November 1998. She speaks fluent Russian, and has interviewed world leaders including two interviews with

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

live from the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

as part of internet webcasts in March 2001 and July 2006. She interviewed King Abdullah of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

for the

later in 2001, and hosted a similar event in Moscow with former Soviet President Gorbachev in 2002. She is the host of the intellectual talk show, '' The Forum'', on

radio. On 1 February 2016, Kendall was elected as the first female Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. She took up her new post at the college in July, and continues to broadcast for the BBC as an external contributor. She served as Master of Peterhouse until July 2023, and was succeeded by Andy Parker.

Personal life

Kendall married freelance television journalist Nick Worrall in the early 1990s; they later divorced. She is the civil partner of Amanda Farnsworth, former BBC Visual Journalism and Data Editor.

Awards

Kendall received the

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

for Journalism in 1992 for reports on events in the former Soviet Union, being the first woman to receive that award. Later that year, she won a Bronze Sony Radio Award for "Reporter of the Year" and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 1994 New Year Honours. In 2020 she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (Hon FBA), and in 2021 was awarded the

David Crystal David Crystal, (born 6 July 1941) is a British linguist who works on the linguistics of the English language. Crystal studied English at University College London and has lectured at Bangor University and the University of Reading. He was aw ...

Award for her work with languages by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

References

External links

BBC Press Office Profile
, bbc.co.uk
Peterhouse Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendall, Bridget 1956 births Living people Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford People educated at the Perse School for Girls People from Abingdon-on-Thames People from Trumpington Harkness Fellows Harvard University alumni BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World News BBC World Service presenters English women journalists Members of the Order of the British Empire English LGBTQ journalists English LGBTQ broadcasters 21st-century English LGBTQ people Masters of Peterhouse, Cambridge