Carolyn Quinn (born 22 July 1961 in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is a British journalist best known for her work on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

as a political correspondent and for presenting the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' programme and '' PM''.

Early life

Quinn attended St Joseph's RC Primary School in

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

, Dartford Grammar School for Girls and the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

where she obtained a degree in French. She trained as a teacher, gaining a PGCE at the

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

in London before becoming a French teacher at a London

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

, but gave this up to be a ward

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

at Charing Cross Hospital. She joined Riverside Radio at the hospital.

Career

She

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

d before joining the '' Irish Post'' and was then selected for a BBC Local Radio trainee scheme. After training and two years at BBC Radio Solent from 1987–9, she joined BBC's political and parliamentary team at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in 1989 and became a political correspondent in 1994. For 2011–2012 she was elected Chairman of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

Press Gallery {{Short description, Parliamentary reporters The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of ...

, the first female holder of the post.

BBC Radio 4

Quinn was a presenter of '' PM'' from 2001 and the ''

'' programme from 2004 to 2008, co-presenting her last programme with James Naughtie on Wednesday 26 March 2008. As the programme closed, she invoked

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

's comments upon leaving office as British Prime Minister, wishing well to "friend and foe alike" and referring to a "rollercoaster", indicating that her departure from the programme may have been less than entirely amicable. She presented '' PM'' on Saturdays, and covered the weekday edition when Evan Davis was away. She also presented '' Pick of the Week'' several times and in January 2007 presented an edition of ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

''. Quinn became the regular presenter of Radio Four's ''

The Westminster Hour ''The Westminster Hour'' is a British political news review produced by BBC News, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each Sunday evening between 22:00 and 23:00 (starting with a national and international news bulletin). The programme began to be broadcas ...

'' from January 2007 following Andrew Rawnsley's departure in September 2006. Quinn presented her last edition of ''PM'', on 24 February 2023, announcing that she was retiring from full-time broadcasting. She also presented her last regular programme, ''The Westminster Hour'' two days later on 26 February, after hosting the programme for 16 years.

Personal life

Carolyn Quinn married Nigel Morris, Political Editor of the ''i'' newspaper, and former political correspondent of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'', in

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

in June 2003. She received an honorary doctorate from the

in 2013.

References

External links

*
BBC Profile

BBC Biography

''The Observer'' January 2007

Audio clips

Interviewing Lord Andrew Philips in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Carolyn 1961 births Alumni of the University of Kent BBC newsreaders and journalists British political journalists Living people British people of Irish descent People from Camberwell People from Dartford Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education People educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls BBC Radio 4 presenters