Anne Diamond facts for kids

Anne Margaret Diamond (born 8 September 1954) is a British journalist and TV presenter. She is also known for her work helping children's health. Currently, she hosts the weekend breakfast show on GB News with Stephen Dixon. She used to present popular shows like Good Morning Britain for TV-am and Good Morning with Anne and Nick for BBC One with Nick Owen. In 2023, she was honored with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her important work in children's health. She is the first person who isn't a doctor to receive the College Medal from the Royal College of Paediatrics.

In 1991, Anne's third son, Sebastian, sadly died from something called "cot death." After this, Anne Diamond bravely started a campaign to find out more about cot death and help prevent it. This campaign, which she helped create, is believed to have greatly reduced the number of cot deaths in the UK. It went from over 2,000 a year to about 300.

She has also worked for many radio stations like LBC, Radio Oxford, and BBC London. Anne is a regular writer for different newspapers in the UK. Since 2003, she has often appeared on Channel 5's discussion shows, including The Wright Stuff and its newer version, Jeremy Vine.

Early Life and Start in Media

Anne Diamond was born on 8 September 1954 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. She grew up in Malvern, Worcestershire. She went to Worcester Grammar School for Girls.

Before becoming a journalist, Anne worked at a Butlins holiday camp as a "redcoat" (an entertainer) and helped clean chalets. She then started her journalism career working for local newspapers like the Bridgwater Mercury and the Bournemouth Evening Echo.

Television Career

Anne Diamond began her television journey at BBC West in Bristol. In 1979, she moved to ATV Today as a reporter and newsreader. When ATV became Central Television in 1982, she was chosen to present the new Central News with Nick Owen.

On 6 June 1983, Anne joined TV-am, a breakfast television station. The new program director, Greg Dyke, was looking for new presenters. Nick Owen suggested Anne, and she joined the station six weeks later.

Anne left TV-am in 1990 to work on TV Weekly, a show she had presented since 1989. This program showed what happened behind the scenes of TV shows and interviewed famous people. Anne then teamed up with Nick Owen again to present the BBC daytime show Good Morning with Anne and Nick. This show ran for four years, from 1992 to 1996.

In 2002, Anne took part in the second series of Celebrity Big Brother. She was the second person to leave the house.

From 2003, Anne became a regular guest and sometimes a stand-in presenter on The Wright Stuff. She continued this role on its follow-up show, Jeremy Vine, from 2018. Once, a caller on the show thought Anne was a fish and chip shop owner and tried to order food from her!

In 2008, Anne helped create her own jewellery line, which she sold on the shopping channel QVC. She also joined ITV's chat show Loose Women as a regular guest in 2016. She left the show in 2018 to focus on being the main stand-in presenter for Jeremy Vine. In 2018, she appeared in Channel 5's show Costa Del Celebrity.

Anne used to review newspapers for Sky News on Sunday mornings. In 2022, she joined GB News to host the weekend breakfast show with Stephen Dixon.

Radio Career

In the late 1990s, Anne presented the breakfast show on the London radio station LBC. She worked with presenters like Nicholas Lloyd and Tommy Boyd. After presenting her own lunchtime show for a few months in 1999, she left the station.

In October 2004, Anne joined BBC Radio Oxford, where she presented the weekday breakfast program. She left BBC Radio Oxford on 17 March 2006. While there, she started "Diamond's Dieting Buddies," a plan where she and listeners who wanted to lose weight supported each other.

Anne also presented the mid-morning program on BBC Radio Berkshire. She kept a regular blog on the BBC website until 2015.

Pantomime Appearances

Anne Diamond has also performed in pantomimes. In 2005, she played the Wicked Queen in Snow White in Stoke-on-Trent. She said she really enjoyed being part of the show.

Campaigning for Children's Health

Cot Death Awareness

Anne Diamond became very involved in raising awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also known as "cot death." This happened after her son Sebastian died from SIDS in 1991 when he was just three months old. She led a campaign called "Back to Sleep," which taught parents to make sure babies slept on their backs. Since this campaign, the number of SIDS cases in the United Kingdom has dropped significantly. It went from over 2,000 cases per year to around 300. This big drop is believed to be thanks to the "Back to Sleep" campaign. Anne Diamond was given the Gold Medal of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. This was a special honor because it was the only time it had been given to someone who wasn't a doctor.

Anne also spoke out about a cot death storyline in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She felt the way it was shown was not sensitive enough.

The charity FSID (Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) named Anne Diamond as their Anniversary Patron for their 40th anniversary in 2011.

Speaking Out for Privacy

Anne Diamond has often been in stories in British newspapers since the mid-1980s. On 28 November 2011, she gave evidence at the Leveson Inquiry. This was an official investigation into the practices of the press. She talked about how journalists had sometimes intruded into her private life.

Honours and Awards

Anne Diamond was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours. This award was given to her for her important work in public health and charity.

She is also the first person who is not a doctor to receive the Gold Medal from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Personal Life

Anne Diamond married Mike Hollingsworth in 1989. They had five children together. Their third child, Sebastian, sadly died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when he was three months old. Anne and Mike later divorced in 1999.

Anne Diamond enjoys building model railways as a hobby.

In June 2023, Anne shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of her treatment, she had a double mastectomy and was undergoing "intensive radiotherapy".