Patricia Rosemary HughesNigel Ree
Obituary: Patricia Hughes
''The Guardian'', 24 February 2013 (26 January 1923 – 8 February 2013)
telegraph.co.uk, 10 February 2013 was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

and

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

, most associated with

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. Known for her "meticulous delivery" and, according to former Radio 3 controller Stephen Hearst, "Kensington voice" (which was not intended as a compliment),Humphrey Carpenter ''The Envy of the World: Fifty Years of the BBC Third Programme and Radio 3'', London: Phoenix, 1997

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

p.274 Hughes broadcast for the Corporation on several of its networks over the decades.

Biography

Born in Malaya, where her father was a senior executive, Hughes was educated at a school in Sussex. After returning to Kuala Lumpur, following the completion of her schooling, she was evacuated to Singapore with her mother when the Japanese invaded at Christmas 1941. After a brief period in South Africa, she returned to London. She joined 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 ...

's secretarial typing pool in 1944 during the later stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hughes began her broadcasting career on the

BBC Overseas Service 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 state ...

. She then appeared on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

and

BBC Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

. Hughes was one of the first women to read the news on BBC radio, four years before Sheila Tracy became the first female news reader 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 ...

. After a career break during which she raised her daughter, Hughes returned to the newly launched

in 1969, when she began presenting the Monday Lunchtime Concerts from

St John's, Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, ...

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, ...

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 ...

. Under the insistence of Radio 3 controller

Ian McIntyre Ian McIntyre (9 December 1931 – 19 April 2014) was a British BBC Radio producer, journalist, broadcaster and author. who was Controller of BBC Radio 4 from 1976 to 1978 and then Controller of BBC Radio 3 between 1978 and 1987. After joinin ...

, who objected to her "cut-glass tones", she was forced to retire from the BBC staff in 1983, on reaching the then statutory retirement age of 60. A controversial decision at the time, the author and television presenter

Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (, 24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster of '' University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasc ...

described McIntyre as a "barbarian" for his action."Ian McIntyre - obituary"
''Daily Telegraph'', 17 June 2014 Hughes was awarded with a special commendation at the inaugural

Sony Radio Academy Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

in the same year. In broadcast retirement, Hughes continued to use her vocal skills, recording

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

s including an autobiography of

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 ...

, and as the reader on the Radio 4 panel game '' Quote... Unquote'' from 1994 to 2001 when Hughes chose to retire again. Having lived during her career in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, Hughes died at a nursing home in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

on 8 February 2013, aged 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Patricia 1923 births 2013 deaths British radio presenters BBC Radio 3 presenters Radio and television announcers