Wendy Austin

Last updated

Wendy Elizabeth Austin Hewitt
Wendy austin.jpg
Born
Wendy Elizabeth Austin

(1951-11-19) November 19, 1951 (age 72)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation Television presenter

Wendy Elizabeth Austin Hewitt MBE (born November 19, 1951) [1] is a former BBC journalist and broadcaster in BBC Northern Ireland, and former presenter of BBC Radio Ulster's current affairs programme Talkback.

Contents

Biography

Austin began her career in journalism at The Belfast Telegraph , leaving in 1976 to join the fledgling Downtown Radio, and later that year moving to the BBC where she was a television reporter before moving into radio presentation.

From 1981 she was involved in the breakfast time Good Morning Ulster reporting and presenting, before moving to the newly created Breakfast Time on BBC TV. Other radio shows followed - Morning Extra and Wendy After Lunch, before a move to BBCR4 in London, presenting PM Woman's Hour and The Exchange. She returned to present GMU in the early 1990s. [2] On one occasion on Good Morning Ulster while interviewing former Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader John Taylor she objected to what she perceived as his patronising style and stated "I am not your dear girl." [3] In 2009 she began to present the lunchtime Talk Back on Radio Ulster, then in 2015 launched the station's Inside Business programme.

In 2005 Wendy Austin was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt), University of Ulster, "for her contribution to broadcasting". She was named the Northern Ireland Radio Broadcaster of the year in the CIPR Awards 2006. Austin was Chairperson of the Arts and Business NI Advisory Committee and a UK Trustee of the charity. Wendy was awarded an MBE in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

It was announced in 2019 that Austin would retire from the corporation in 2020 after nearly 44 years with the BBC. [4] However she later returned to the BBC in September 2021 to present BBC One Northern Ireland's new monthly programme Crime NI, in partnership with Crimestoppers UK, alongside Dearbhail McDonald. The series, which also offered regular crime prevention and traffic safety advice, ended in April 2022.

Personal life

Austin married Translink chairman Frank Hewitt in 2003 in Banbridge, County Down. She was previously married to Peter Hutchinson, with whom she had three children, Niall, Kerry and Clare. She lives in Dromore, County Down. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Northern Ireland</span> Main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland

BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Hunniford</span> Northern Irish television presenter

Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE is a British television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer from Portadown, Northern Ireland. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as Rip Off Britain, and her regular appearances as a panellist on Loose Women. She has been a regular reporter on This Morning and The One Show. She also had a singing career between the 1960s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Theological College</span> College in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Council for Training in Ministry. It has been responsible for training people for ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and also runs courses open to the wider public, including distance learning courses offered through BibleMesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Nolan</span> Northern Irish radio and television presenter

Stephen Raymond Nolan is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland.

<i>Talkback</i> (radio programme)

Talkback is BBC Radio Ulster's award-winning daily political and current-affairs phone-in programme, currently presented by William Crawley. It was launched on 8 September 1986 and runs from Monday to Friday, from just after the midday news to 1:30 pm.

Maxine Mawhinney is a former newsreader on BBC News, the BBC's 24-hour rolling news channel.

Good Morning Ulster is the flagship Northern Irish radio breakfast news programme BBC Radio Ulster, broadcast weekdays from 6:30am to 9am and produced by BBC News Northern Ireland.

Andrea Catherine Catherwood is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist.

Jane Morrice is a Northern Irish politician and journalist who helped architect the Good Friday Agreement. She is the former Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, former Head of the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland and former reporter for BBC Belfast. Morrice was Vice President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2019 until 2020 when Brexit forced the United Kingdom out of the European Union. Morrice served two terms as Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission and was a prominent member of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition until it ceased to exist in 2006.

Roisin McAuley is a BBC Radio Ulster and currently presents Sunday Sequence.

Linda McAuley is a presenter for the BBC Radio Ulster consumer advice programme On Your Behalf.

Kerry McLean, born in Ballymoney, is a broadcaster with BBC Radio Ulster. She was educated at Dalriada School, Ballymoney, La Sainte Union, Southampton, University College, London, where she studied French, Education and English Literature, and Psychology at Ulster University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil McCrea</span>

Basil McCrea is a former Northern Irish politician. He was the party leader of NI21 from 2013 until it disbanded in 2016. He was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2007 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Lenaghan</span> British broadcaster (died 2022)

Kim Lenaghan was a Northern Irish freelance radio and television broadcaster, writer and critic who was based in Belfast and worked mainly in the fields of the visual and cinematic arts, music and cuisine culture. She was best known as the presenter of BBC Radio Ulster's weekend mornings. and the Sunday lunchtime radio food programme The Foodie as well as the holiday seasonal programmes Festive Feast and Kim's Twinkly Christmas. She previously presented BBC Radio Ulster's This New Day, Arts Extra and the BBC Northern Ireland TV programmes, Country Times and Good Dog, Bad Dog.

Jamie Bryson is a Northern Irish loyalist activist who originally attracted media attention as a leading figure in the Belfast City Hall flag protests. He is the author of four books and is the editor of Unionist Voice, a monthly unionist newsletter and online site. He also runs a consultancy business focusing on loyalist public relations, legal work and advocacy.

Events from the year 2021 in Northern Ireland.

Denise Weston Austin (1925–1997), colloquially known as the Elephant Angel, was a Northern Irish zookeeper known for keeping Sheila, an elephant calf from the Belfast Zoo, in her backyard during World War II. She was also known for being the first female zookeeper to work at the Belfast Zoo.

Events from the year 2022 in Northern Ireland.

Malachai O'Hara is a Northern Irish politician, activist and community worker who has been the leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since August 2022, having previously served as deputy leader from 2019 to 2022. O'Hara was a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA from 2019, until 2023. In 2024 he was elected unopposed to Seanad Éireann, in a by-election to the Administrative Panel.

Events from the year 2023 in Northern Ireland.

References

  1. "Wendy Austin: 'My brother David died from AIDS. It was the worst time ever'". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  2. "Dunseith Leaves Talkback In Reshuffle", 4NI.co.uk, 11 August 2009
  3. Audrey Watson "Wendy is our Morning Star", Belfast Telegraph, 1 June 2009
  4. "'Trailblazer' Wendy Austin bids farewell to BBC". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  5. "Wendy Austin: 'My brother David died from AIDS. It was the worst time ever'". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 9 May 2022.