Sheila Dillon is a British

food journalist Food journalism is a field of journalism that focuses on news and current events related to food, its production, and the cultures of producing and consuming that food. Typically, food journalism includes a scope broader than the work of food crit ...

who began her career writing for the New York food magazine ''Food Monitor''. She is known to listeners of

Radio Four 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 Broadcasting ...

as presenter of ''

The Food Programme ''The Food Programme'' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating and celebrating good food, founded by Derek Macdonald Cooper, Derek Cooper and currently presented by Sheila Dillon, Dan Saladino, Leyla Kazim and Jaega Wise. The series is produce ...

'', on which she has appeared for more than 20 years. Dillon has been the programme's regular presenter since 2001.

Early life and education

Dillon was born in

Hoghton Hoghton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 802. Brindle and Hoghton ward also includes the parish of Brindle. Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor hou ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and grew up in the 1950s and 1960s. She is from a farming background and went to a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

primary school. Her grandfather was a head joiner on the

Hoghton Tower Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor house east of the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England, and stands on a hilltop site on the highest point in the area. It takes its name from the De Hoghton baronets, de Hoghton family, its historical ...

Estate. Her mother worked as a weaver and her father was a barber who came from a farming family in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She has one younger sister and a younger brother. Dillon studied English at

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

where she wrote for the university newspaper. At university she became involved in the

women's movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...

Career

After university, Dillon spent a year in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

with the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

. She then undertook postgraduate work in the American Midwest before getting a job in publishing at the

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

. During her time at

Little Brown & Co Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

Publishers, she was involved in a landmark

sex discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

case pertaining to issues of equal pay which helped change discriminatory employment practices in the USA. Working with

Derek Cooper Major George Derek Cooper OBE MC (28 May 1912 – 19 May 2007) was a British Army officer, campaigner for refugees, and supporter of the Palestinian people. Early life and career Cooper was born in Bromley in Kent. He was the third of four ch ...

, Dillon was responsible for coverage of

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

(BSE), GM and food irradiation which helped establish food as an important, newsworthy subject. She has been the presenter of Radio 4’s ''The Food Programme'' since taking over from Derek Cooper. She hosts the annual BBC Radio Food and Farming Awards.

Awards and honours

Dillon has won awards for her work, including the Glaxo Science Prize, the Caroline Walker Award and several

Glenfiddich Awards The Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards were intended to recognize achievements in writing, publishing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink. The awards had been sponsored since 1972 by William Grant & Sons, a family-owned Scottish disti ...

. In 2008, she was awarded an honorary degree by City University for her work, which, the citation says, "has changed the way in which we think about food." She is also a patron of Oxford Gastronomic. In 2010, Dillon received an "Outstanding Achievement Award" from ''

Observer Food Monthly ''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'' ...

'' magazine and was one of the "100 Leading Influential Ladies".

Personal life

Dillon was diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

, a cancer of the bone marrow, in December 2011. She has become increasingly interested in the link between diet and treatment and prevention of cancer. In 2013, she spoke to

Jenni Murray Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's '' Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020. Early life Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yo ...

on ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' about her experience of the disease and her views on how diet can affect recovery.

References

External links

Radio 4 People: Sheila Dillon

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 ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Sheila Living people Alumni of the University of Leicester British magazine writers British women radio presenters English people of Northern Ireland descent English women food writers Mass media people from Lancashire People from Hoghton People with multiple myeloma Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from Lancashire