Caron Keating
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Caron Louisa Keating (5 October 1962 – 13 April 2004) was a British television presenter.


Early life and education

Keating was born on 5 October 1962 in
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
, south-west London, to an English father with Irish roots and a Northern Irish mother. When she was three months old her family relocated to Northern Ireland where she was raised. Her parents were the television presenter
Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer from Northern Ireland. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regula ...
and 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 ...
producer Donald Keating (d. 1997). Keating attended Harmony Hill Primary School, Lisburn and Methodist College, Belfast, where she gained 8 'O' levels and 3 'A' levels. She was accepted to study at the
University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
where she graduated three years later aged 21 with a BA Honours Degree in English and Drama.


Broadcasting career

Keating's television career began in Northern Ireland where she presented ''The Video Picture Show'', ''Channel One'' and the music programme ''Greenrock'', but her big break came when she was selected to join the team of ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...
'' from 13 November 1986. Keating appeared on the programme with Peter Duncan,
Janet Ellis Janet Ellis, (born 16 September 1955) is an English television presenter, actress and writer, who is best known for presenting the children's television programmes ''Blue Peter'' and '' Jigsaw'' between 1979 and 1987. She has published two nov ...
, Mark Curry,
Yvette Fielding Yvette Paula Fielding (born 23 September 1968) is an English television presenter, producer, actress, writer and paranormal investigator. In 1987, aged 18, she became the youngest presenter on the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. With h ...
, and John Leslie. Her ''Blue Peter'' career included a trip to
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 ...
in 1987 during the
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
period, swimming with
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
s,
abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling, the person descending controls their own movement down a static or fixed rope, in cont ...
down skyscrapers and standing strapped to the top of a light aircraft whilst it performed aerial acrobatics. She also interviewed serving prime minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
on the programme in 1988. After four years, Keating left ''Blue Peter'' on 22 January 1990. Keating joined BBC Radio 5 where amongst other programmes she co-hosted an early 90s afternoon show with film critic
Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...
titled ''A Game of Two Halves''. In his autobiography, Kermode described Keating as "The very dictionary definition of Lovely". She presented several other TV programmes including '' This Morning'', before breast cancer was diagnosed in 1997. Keating was the face of
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
Reward Card from 1996 to 1997, before Edita Brychta took over towards the end of 1997, and also appeared in a TV commercial for So Good soya drink in 1999. In 1999 she co-presented the consumer affairs programme ''We Can Work It Out'' on ITV with Judy Finnigan and Jenni Falconer.


Personal life, illness and death

Keating married Russ Lindsay in
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
, Kent in 1991. Their two sons were born in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...
, London. The family settled in
Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...
, Cornwall for a few years at the turn of the century. Keating was diagnosed with
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
in 1997. After undergoing conventional and
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...
treatments, and spending a period away from her family on the Gold Coast, Australia, and at a
hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
care in Switzerland, she died at the age of 41, on 13 April 2004, at her mother's house in
Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...
,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
.


The Caron Keating Foundation

Set up in Keating's memory, The Caron Keating Foundation is a fund-raising partnership set up to raise money to offer financial support to professional carers, complementary healing practitioners, and support groups dealing with cancer patients, as well as individuals and families who are affected by the disease. It will also financially help a number of cancer charities with their ongoing quest for prevention, early detection and hopefully an ultimate cure. It was set up by her mother, TV presenter Gloria Hunniford, and her two brothers Michael and Paul Keating.


See also

* List of ''Blue Peter'' presenters


References


External links

*
The Caron Keating Foundation official siteCaron Keating presenter biographyBlue Peter's Caron Keating dies
– BBC obituary
Caron Keating
– ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' obituary
'Blue Peter' presenter Caron Keating dies of breast cancer, aged 41
– ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' obituary
Interview with mother Gloria re Caron and the Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Caron 1962 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Bristol British children's television presenters Deaths from breast cancer in England British women television presenters People from Fulham People educated at Methodist College Belfast British people of Irish descent