Fiona Frances MacDonald (27 May 1957 – 3 October 2024) was an Australian television presenter.

Life and career

MacDonald was raised on a cattle property in the outback town of

Blackall, Queensland Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is the service centre for the Blackall-Tambo Region. The dominant industry in the area is grazing with over 70 homesteads in the locality (a ...

. She had two sisters, Kylie and

Jacki MacDonald Jacki MacDonald (born Jenine MacDonald; 26 November 1953) is a former Australian television personality from Blackall, Queensland, who also has worked in radio broadcasting. Career Popular in her home state of Queensland, MacDonald appeared on ...

, the latter also a television presenter. MacDonald appeared on local television in Queensland before going on to national programs such as children's show ''

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

'' and the local version of British game show ''

It's a Knockout ''It's a Knockout!'' is a British game show first broadcast in 1966. It was adapted from the French show ''Intervilles'', and was part of the international ''Jeux sans frontières'' franchise. History The series was broadcast on BBC1 from 7 Au ...

''. While hosting ''Wombat'', she was featured in the "A Day in the Life" series by ''

The Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...

''. After leaving ''It's a Knockout'', MacDonald became a wine expert. She also was writer and co-editor of the student newspaper ''

Woroni The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university and member of the Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition ...

'' in the 1990s.

Personal life and death

She married in the 1990s and had two sons. MacDonald was diagnosed with

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

in November 2021. She undertook a drive around Australia with her sister, Kylie Thynne, in mid-2023 to raise funds for research into the disease, and talked about her experience with it in an October 2023 episode of ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs, AB ...

''. She died on 3 October 2024, at the age of 67.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Fiona 1957 births 2024 deaths Australian game show hosts Mass media people from Brisbane People from Blackall, Queensland Deaths from motor neuron disease in Australia