Caron Keating
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Caron Keating (October 5 1962 – April 13 2004) was a television presenter. She is most well-known for presenting the BBC children's television magazine programme Blue Peter from November 13 1986 to January 22 1990.
Life
Keating's career began in her native Northern Ireland where she presented Greenrock, a music programme, but her big break undoubtedly came when was selected to join the Blue Peter team. Keating brought a new, "trendy" image to the programme, and was extremely popular with both male and female viewers because of her looks and fashion-conscious image. She appeared on the programme alongside Janet Ellis, Peter Duncan, Yvette Fielding, John Leslie and Mark Curry. Highlights of her Blue Peter career included a trip to Moscow in 1987 when perestroika was still in its fledging stages, swimming with sharks, abseiling down skyscrapers and standing strapped to the top of a light aircraft whilst it performed aerial acrobatics.
Keating went on to present several other programmes including This Morning before being diagnosed with cancer in 1997.
Born in Fulham and raised in Northern Ireland, she was the daughter of television presenter Gloria Hunniford and BBC producer Don Keating. She died aged 41 from breast cancer on April 13, 2004 at her mother's house in Sevenoaks, Kent. She had two boys, Charlie and Gabriel, and was married to Russ Lindsay.
The Caron Keating Foundation
Set up in Keating's memory, The Caron Keating Foundation is a fund raising partnership set up to raise money to offer financial support to professional carers, complimentary healing practitioners and support groups dealing with cancer patients, as well as individuals and families who are affected by the disease. It will also financially help a number of cancer charities with their ongoing quest for prevention, early detection and hopefully ultimate cure.
External links
- The Caron Keating Foundation official site (http://www.caronkeating.org)
- Caron Keating presenter biography (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/bluepeter/presenters/keating.shtml)
- Blue Peter's Caron Keating dies (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3625457.stm) - BBC obituary