Melanie Reid (born 13 April 1957) is a British journalist. Her weekly column for ''

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 ...

'' magazine, "Spinal Column", was about

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

and her life as a disabled person. Her final "Spinal Column" was published in November 2024. She broke her neck and back in April 2010 while horse riding, and is now a

tetraplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

. Following her accident, she spent twelve months in the spinal unit of

Southern General Hospital The Southern General Hospital (SGH) was a large teaching hospital with an acute operational bed complement of approximately 900 beds. The hospital was located in Linthouse in the south west of Glasgow, Scotland. All facilities and services have ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.

Career

Reid was a columnist at '' The Herald'' in Glasgow and a former associate editor of '' The Sunday Mail'' before joining ''The Times'' and reporting and commentating from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Reid said of her writing: "A lot of people take inspiration from it. I have a black sense of humour, I think you have to have in this situation. You have to try to keep going and tell it like it is." Reid co-wrote actor

Gregor Fisher Gregor Fisher (born 22 December 1953) is a Scottish comedian and actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the comedy series '' Rab C. Nesbitt'', a role he has played since the show's first episode in 1988. He has also ...

's 2015 autobiography ''The Boy from Nowhere''. A tie-in documentary, ''In Search of Gregor Fisher'', broadcast on

BBC One Scotland BBC One Scotland is a Scottish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Scotland. It is the Scottish variation of the UK-wide BBC One network and is broadcast from Pacific Quay in Glasgow. History The BBC Television Service sta ...

, followed Reid and Fisher during part of their research for the book. Reid's memoir ''The World I Fell Out Of'' was published in 2019 by 4th Estate (HarperCollins) and won the Saltire Non Fiction Book of the Year Award. She was named 2011 Columnist of the Year in the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...

, and in 2012 she was awarded

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

Columnist of the Year. Her column generates hundreds of letters, emails and comments every week. In June 2014, Reid received an honorary degree from the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

"in recognition of her contribution to journalism, to disability rights and awareness, and for being an inspirational example of human resilience and dignity". Reid was appointed

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

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to journalism and to people with disabilities. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 2022.

Personal life

Reid is married, has a son, and lives in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

, Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Melanie 1957 births British women journalists English disabled sportspeople English writers with disabilities Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Horse-related accidents and incidents Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire People with tetraplegia