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Selina Mary Scott (born 13 May 1951) is an English television presenter. She co-hosted the first dedicated breakfast television programme in the UK, before moving to the United States to join '' West 57th'', a prime-time current-affairs show. Scott continues to write, and run her lifestyle brand ''Naturally Selina Scott''.


Early life and education

Scott was born in
Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...
, in 1951. Her secondary education was at Laurence Jackson School in Guisborough, North Yorkshire where she became head girl. She read English and American studies at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
.


Journalism

Scott trained in
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
on D. C. Thomson's ''
The Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, U ...
'' newspaper, before becoming press officer for the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
Tourist board on the Isle of Bute. She made her television debut on '' North Tonight'', the nightly news programme for the regional ITV station
Grampian Television Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and which, decades later, was merged with the Central Belt channel STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isle ...
, in
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
at the height of the
North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian ...
boom.


British television

Several months after ''North Tonight'' began, Scott, aged 29, moved to national TV, appearing as a newsreader on ITN's '' News at Ten''. In 1982, at the outbreak of the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, Scott became a forces' pin-up. She was recruited by 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 ...
to launch '' Breakfast Time'' in January 1983. In contrast to Alastair Burnet and
Sandy Gall Henderson Alexander Gall, (born 1 October 1927) is a Scottish journalist, author, and former Independent Television News (ITN) news presenter whose career as a journalist has spanned more than 50 years. He began his career in journalism as a s ...
, who had welcomed her at ITN, she presented the new show with an adversarial Frank Bough. In a 2020 interview Scott said that Bough deliberately undermined her by interrupting mid-question and in other ways; when she attempted to complain she said that senior management simply wasn't interested: "they seemed to have no
emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. High emotional intelligence includes emotional recognition of emotions of the self and others, using ...
, and they let men like Frank Bough roam the BBC without any check on them". She said that there was a very sexist atmosphere at the BBC, "this malevolence". When she left ''Breakfast Time'', she accepted the role as presenter of the BBC's '' The Clothes Show'' (1986–1988), and was guest host on the chat show '' Wogan''. Here she interviewed, amongst many others,
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
and
Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...
. In connection with interviewing Andrew, she says he asked her out, but she managed to ignore it. It was at this time that Albert Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond films, auditioned Scott for the role of
Miss Moneypenny Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M (James Bond), M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Serv ...
in '' The Living Daylights''. "He sat me on a high stool so he and his producer could get a good eyeful," Scott told '' The Lady'' in 2013. Scott appeared on Britain's first satellite service, BSB, before moving to
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
's
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
when the two companies merged. There she co-anchored its 1992 election-night coverage with
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...
. Scott has also produced independent documentaries on European royalty including '' A Prince Among Islands'', a profile of
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
which achieved 14 million viewers, the first in-depth interview with King Juan Carlos of Spain, ''The Year of Spain'' (which also achieved record viewing figures for a documentary in Spain) and ''The Return of the King'', returning to Greece with King Constantine and his family after 25 years of exile. In 2007, she took part in the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
series: '' The Underdog Show'' to highlight the Dogs Trust Charity for rescued animals. After six weeks of intensive training she was voted the winner with an abandoned wolfhound cross Chump, beating singer Huey Morgan and actress Julia Sawalha in the final. In October 2008, Scott presented a four-part series for the
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
channel and ITV, Edward Seago — ''The Forgotten Painter'', and included interviews with
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
; who described how he and Seago explored a pristine Antarctic abroad soon after the first official royal tour to Australia. In 2018 Scott appeared in 4 episodes of 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 '' The Real Marigold Hotel'', shot in
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, which she had always wanted to visit as her great-great-grandfather (a soldier surgeon) survived the
Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After ...
. In December 2021, Scott was one of the four walkers travelling with a 360-degree camera, in the first series of BBC Four's Winter Walks. Scott's episode featured a walk through Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales.


United States and Donald Trump

CBS in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
hired her for their news show '' West 57th'', which on one assignment took her to Kenya. For CBS, Scott gained exclusive access and revealing interviews with, amongst others,
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
,
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
, Bono of U2 and the world chess champion
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
. Whilst in America, Scott interviewed
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Her 1995 documentary for ITV about Trump was the first investigation into his honesty. Owing to a technical issue with the camera, Scott interviewed Trump twice, the programme intercut them. When it aired on ITV, Trump was shocked by its critical tone and threatened Scott with legal action and sent her numerous angry threatening letters, an issue which partly became public knowledge at the time. Trump warned ITV that if they sold the rights to any of the American television stations that were bidding for it, he would tie them up in the courts. ITV complied, meaning the US press and public were unable to see the documentary. It also started a long-running feud between Trump and Scott. Shortly after the interview with Trump, Scott signed a deal reportedly worth $200,000 to host her own talk show, ''The Selina Scott Show'' for NBC Super Channel. By 1997, she was back in the UK, signing a contract with Sky reputedly for £1,000,000. She hosted the breakfast programme, later switching to the 5pm news.


Personal life

Scott lives on a farm in a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
where she has created a "nature haven" for threatened species. She has established a natural fibres business, ''Naturally Selina Scott'', sourcing sustainable cashmere from the
Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...
in
Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto'' ...
(to where she went in 2016 to see for herself how the fibre is produced and animals raised). Scott lived with the nomads in their gers and traced the entire process from the rearing of the cashmere goats to the making of the finished garment in
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...
before launching to the public. She is the eldest of five children: her brother Robin is editor of Britain's best-selling shooting magazine, '' Sporting Gun'' and her sisters are Angela, Vanessa, and Fiona, the last a fine-art portrait artist, who regularly exhibits at the ''Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition'' in London. In April 2007 Fiona exhibited a long-awaited portrait of Selina, who purchased it. At the time when
Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...
was, like Scott, having problems with the press, Michael Shea, press secretary to the Queen, asked Scott if she would befriend the princess. He thought that Scott might be able to advise her on dealing with the press; Scott commented "the trouble was I was going through just the same as she was". Scott did befriend Diana, but they did not discuss the press. In a departure from broadcasting, Scott wrote her first autobiographical book, ''A Long Walk in the High Hills: The Story of a House, a Dog and a Spanish Island'', published in 2010. This book describes how Kendi, her rescued German Shepherd, came to live with her. Scott also has another dog, Nip, a female Border collie cross. With her continuing interest in literature, Scott became Patron of the Charles Dickens Society, based in
Malton, North Yorkshire Malton is a market town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshi ...
, raising a public appeal to buy a rare signed edition of ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
'' at auction in New York. The story of the rescue of the book found in a refuse bin in New York, and its homecoming to the market town of Malton (where the character of Scrooge and his Counting House was reputedly based) made national headlines. In March 2012, Scott was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Journalism degree from the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
.


Activism

Scott is an active campaigner for causes such as animal welfare and wildlife conservation, spearheading a campaign to ban the live transportation of animals in Europe after
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
, which achieved over 100,000 signatures to initiate a debate in Parliament. She supported Brexit because of this issue. In August 2008, Scott announced her intention to sue Channel 5, a UK television station, for age discrimination. She claimed Five reneged on an agreement for her to return to News because she was "too old". Scott hired Simon Smith of Schillings, and Five denied the claim. A preliminary hearing began on 24 September 2008 with a full five-day hearing scheduled for December 2008. On 5 December 2008 she won, with Five issuing a public apology and making a confidential out-of-court financial settlement. It was later reported that she accepted the offer, despite publicly declaring she would have her day in court, as her father had become seriously ill in December. He died on Christmas Eve and she wanted to be at his side and felt unable to continue the action as planned. Following her claim against ageism, Age UK and Equal Justice, a legal firm, commissioned Scott to compile a report investigating the employment of women over 50 years old at the BBC. The report was delivered to Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust and
Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...
, the shadow Culture and Media Secretary in April 2010. The report accused the BBC of institutional ageism against older women. In 2014 ''
the Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'' newspaper reported that Scott was considering standing for election to Parliament as a Conservative MP; Scott commented that this was nonsense, she was not even a Tory.


Charitable patronage

*President: Malton Food Lovers Festival *Patron:
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
(Malton) Society *Patron: Animals Worldwide *Patron:
National Star College The National Star College (previously known as the Star Centre) is an independent specialist further education college for people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and associated learning difficulties. It is based at Ullenwo ...


References


External links

* ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' (Tim Adams
TV go home
27 August 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Selina 1951 births Alumni of the University of East Anglia BBC newsreaders and journalists British radio journalists English reporters and correspondents British television newsreaders and news presenters English radio personalities English television journalists English women journalists ITN newsreaders and journalists ITV regional newsreaders and journalists Living people People from Guisborough People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Reality show winners STV News newsreaders and journalists Television personalities from Yorkshire British women television journalists