Winifred Robinson (born 7 December 1957
) is a
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
presenter of the ''
You and Yours
''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News.
History
''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...
'' programme.
Early life
Robinson was born in Liverpool, the fourth of six daughters of a
docker and a housewife. She attended Notre Dame Collegiate School (now
Notre Dame Catholic College), a girls' Roman Catholic
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
in
Everton Valley.
In 1979, she graduated from
Liverpool University
The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...
[''You and Yours''](_blank)
BBC presenter page with a degree in English.
Career
Robinson began her career at the Catholic Pictorial, and then the ''
Ormskirk Advertiser
Reach plc publishes many newspapers, magazines and news websites. This list of Reach plc titles is a non-exhaustive list of these. Before 2018, Reach plc was known as Trinity Mirror plc. The list includes titles owned by the Mirror Group Newspap ...
'' newspaper. Her first job in broadcasting was in the newsroom at the original
BRMB
BRMB is a British radio station based in Aston, Birmingham, which is owned and operated by Murfin Music International. It broadcasts on 89.1FM in Aston and surrounding areas, on DAB throughout Birmingham, and online via the station's website a ...
Radio in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, later moving to
Red Rose Radio in Preston and the local television news ''
BBC North West Tonight
''BBC North West Tonight'' (known as ''BBC North West Today'' during daytime) is the BBC's regional television news programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. Produced by BBC North West, the programme broadcasts from the BBC's ...
''.
[''You and Yours'' webpage](_blank)
BBC site She has also presented ''
File on 4
''File on 4'' is a current-affairs radio programme produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. First broadcast from Manchester in 1977, it is produced in Salford by the BBC's Radio Current Affairs department. It has won more than forty aw ...
''. Robinson became a reporter on the
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 ...
''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* The current day and calendar date
** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone
* Now, the time that is perceived directly, present
* The current, present era
Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' programme in 1995,
and briefly was a presenter, but was reportedly 'passed over' because of her Liverpool accent, an accusation the BBC has denied, and
Sarah Montague
Sarah Anne Louise Montague, Lady Brooke (born 8 February 1966),''Who's who'' is a British journalist and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 current affairs programme ''The World at One''. For 18 years, prior to April 2018, she was a regular presenter ...
was appointed.
Robinson joined ''
You and Yours
''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News.
History
''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...
'', but continues to present documentaries on social issues, an area she previously tackled as a ''Today'' reporter. In 2007 Robinson revisited the
Norris Green
Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census.
History
Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's dev ...
housing estate in Liverpool, where she spent most of her formative years, for a radio documentary, examining problems the area faced. Robinson has also written for the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' and ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspapers.
On 9 January 2018, Robinson was removed for the day as ''You and Yours'' presenter as she had tweeted support for
Carrie Gracie
Carrie Gracie (born 1962)Ben Dowel"Carrie Gracie profile: Award-winning journalist with years at World Service" theguardian.com, 12 May 2009 is a Scottish journalist and newsreader best known as having been China Editor for BBC News.
She resign ...
, the BBC's former China editor, who resigned from the post. The BBC said that allowing Robinson to broadcast on equal pay would break the corporation's impartiality rules.
References
1957 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
BBC newsreaders and journalists
Journalists from Liverpool
Radio presenters from Liverpool
English people of Irish descent
BBC North West newsreaders and journalists
People from Norris Green
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