Broadcasting icon Dame Jenni Murray dies aged 75
Murray received a damehood in recognition of her contribution to broadcasting in 2011
Journalist and long-time broadcaster Jenni Murray has died at the age of 75.
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Murray received a damehood in recognition of her contribution to broadcasting in 2011.
Dame Jenni hosted the BBC's Woman's Hour for more than 30 years, becoming the longest-serving host in the programme's industry, before stepping down in 2020.
She interviewed some of the world's leading female figures, including prime minister Margaret Thatcher, author Margaret Atwood and former secretary of state and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
Dame Jenni has been remembered as a “broadcasting icon” who leaves behind “an indelible legacy on generations of listeners”.
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Talent management firm Knight Ayton called her “a true professional and pioneer” who “interviewed every prime minister of the last 30 years”.
They added: “She was as comfortable with high-powered politicians as with the grieving parents of Madeleine McCann, and the first Hollywood star she encountered was Bette Davis.”
Dame Jenni was awarded an OBE in 1999 before being made a dame in 2011 in recognition of her contribution to broadcasting.
Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “This is incredibly sad news and our thoughts are with all of Dame Jenni’s family and friends. Dame Jenni was, simply put, a broadcasting icon.
“Throughout her three ground-breaking decades on Woman’s Hour, Jenni created a safe space for her audience thanks to her warmth, intelligence and courage.
“We shall all miss her terribly. Her legacy endures in the countless conversations she started, the many issues she championed and the lives she touched.”
During her tenure on Woman’s Hour, Dame Jenni interviewed high-profile figures such as Barbara Castle, Bette Davis and Monica Lewinsky.
She also interviewed Anna Politkovskaya, Kate McCann, Toni Morrison, Wangari Maathai, Benazir Bhutto, Dame Judi Dench, Saoirse Ronan and Joan Baez, who sang Diamonds And Rust in the studio especially for the host.
She signed off her final episode of Woman’s Hour in October 2020 with Helen Reddy’s feminist anthem I Am Woman.
Born in Barnsley, Dame Jenni joined BBC Radio Bristol in 1973 and went on to report and present for BBC TV’s South Today.
In 1983, she joined Newsnight before moving to Radio 4 for the Today programme.