Catherine Sheila Freeman (''née'' Dove, formerly Wheeler; 10 August 1931 – 15 July 2020) was a British TV producer for shows including ''Panorama'' and diplomatic hostess.

Life

Freeman was born in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. Her husband returned to the UK and became a producer on the fledgling current affairs series ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' in 1956. As part of ''Panorama''s team, her husband travelled to Hungary to cover what would become known as the Hungarian Uprising. Taking ''Panorama's'' camera into the country, he filmed the jubilant Hungarian reaction to the rebellion. He and Catherine had to persuade the BBC to give the story prominence. Just hours after Wheeler returned to Britain, the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

invaded Hungary and crushed the revolt. In 1957 she was involved in the BBC April Fools scam where the programme reported on the spaghetti harvest showing the workers picking the spaghetti from the trees where it grew. She took the credit for that and ''Panorama'' pushed back other boundaries when it transmitted the first British pictures of a baby being born and the word "fuck" being used. In 1962 she remarried to a former member of parliament, John Freeman. He was appointed in 1965 as the High Commissioner to India by

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

's government. He went on to be the British Ambassador to the United States. Freeman gave up television and became a renowned host in New Delhi where she and John had three children. She toured during the Bihar Drought in 1967 writing a report for the UK government. Having seen the results of the drought, she raised funds to build wells. Freeman met many important people, taking a dislike to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. In 1976 she returned to her television career after she and John Freeman divorced. She went not to the BBC but to

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

becoming in time the controller of documentaries. At the

Channel Four Television Corporation Channel Four Television Corporation is a British state-owned_enterprise, state-owned media company which runs 12 television channels, a streaming service, and film and TV production. Unlike the BBC, it receives no Subsidy, public funding and is ...

she obtained their backing for a programme that would follow children from their birth to the age of majority which was titled Citizen 2000. She later served on committees of the

Arts council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Catherine British television producers 1931 births 2020 deaths Mass media people from Penang Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford