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On Thursday, January 11, 2024, the star radio and TV broadcaster, Annie Nightingale, passed away after a brief illness. Nightingale was the first female presenter on BBC radio (in 1970) and its longest-serving broadcaster. She also worked as a presenter at BBC TV’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, where she worked for 11 years.
Nightingale lived a full life and passed away at the age of 83. As somebody who highlighted gender bias in the radio industry and became the first woman in Britain to be awarded her own radio show, she was deeply passionate about women's desires to become DJs and broadcasters. She also compiled three music albums: Annie on One (1996), Y4k (2007), and Masterpiece (2015).
Apart from TV and radio, Annie Nightingale also authored two books, both of them autobiographies, Chase the Fade (1981) and Wicked Speed (1999).
During her lifetime, the radio broadcaster was married twice, once to author Gordon Thomas and later to actor Binky Baker. Both of her marriages ended in divorce. Annie Nightingale also had two children, Alex and Lucy, from her first marriage.
Gordon Thomas: Annie Nightingale’s first husband and the father of her children
Gordon Thomas was born in Wales in 1933 and grew up to be a renowned British author and investigative journalist. He has authored 53 books globally, including Secret Wars, Gideon’s Spies, and The Pope’s Jews. Gordon was also the cousin of the poet Dylan Thomas.
Thomas also contributed to the Japanese news magazine Facta and narrated and wrote The Spy Machine, a documentary for Channel 4. He has also won two Mark Twain Society Awards for Reporting Excellence and an International Television Award from the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo, among others.
Gordon married Annie when the latter was 19. The couple had two children, Alex and Lucy. However, Nightingale’s marriage lasted only 11 years, with the couple getting divorced in 1970.
Gordon Thomas passed away on March 3, 2017, at the age of 84, at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.
Binky Baker:Gangster No.1 actor and Nightingale’s second husband
Eight years after parting ways with her first husband, Annie Nightingale found love with actor Binky Baker, and the two got married in 1978. Baker starred in the 2000 movie Gangster No. 1, playing the character of Dodgy Geezer in it. The actor was also seen in TV shows such as London’s Burning, On the Up, and The Bill.
Nightingale’s marriage to Baker also ended in a divorce. The two didn’t have any children together.
‘Legend’: Nightingale’s fans and friends react to news of her death
The news of Annie Nightingale’s death created a sensation on the internet as her friends and fans took to X, reminiscing about what an icon she had been and praying for her soul to rest in peace.
Adam Dowling, a presenter at BBC Radio for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, shared some of Nightingale's clips at the start and end of his show on January 11 as a tribute to the "pioneering titan" of his game.
Toyah Willcox, the celebrated singer and actress, also shared a series of pictures of Nightingale, calling her "groundbreaking in every way."
The public admired Nightingale, as evidenced by the reactions above. Many people were upset to learn about her passing.
