Helen Rollason facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helen Rollason MBE
Helen Rollason circa 1993
Born	Helen Frances Grindley (1956-03-11)11 March 1956 London, England, United Kingdom
Died	9 August 1999(1999-08-09) (aged 43) Brentwood, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Journalist, presenter, newsreader
Notable credit(s)	Grandstand Newsround BBC Six O'Clock News

Helen Frances Rollason MBE (born Grindley; 11 March 1956 – 9 August 1999) was a British sports journalist and television presenter. In 1990, she became the first female presenter of the BBC's popular sports programme, Grandstand. She also regularly presented Sport on Friday and the children's show Newsround during the 1980s.

Born in London, Helen first studied to become a PE teacher before starting her career in radio in 1980. She later worked for Channel 4, helping to bring American football to British TV. She also covered big events like the 1987 World Student Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics. Her work on Grandstand was very popular, leading to many other sports presenting jobs in the 1990s.

Helen covered major events like the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also became a strong supporter of disability sports, helping to make them more visible and change how people saw them. She presented sports news for BBC News and was named Sports Presenter of the Year in 1996.

In 1997, Helen was diagnosed with colon cancer. She bravely fought the disease for two years. A 1998 documentary, Hope for Helen, showed her treatment and gained her a lot of public support. She continued working throughout her illness. Shortly before she passed away, she received an MBE honour in 1999. After her death, the BBC created an award in her memory. A cancer charity was also started in her name. Helen's career helped open doors for other women in sports broadcasting, like Sue Barker and Gabby Logan.

Early Life and Education

Helen Grindley was born in London on 11 March 1956. She was adopted when she was nine months old. She grew up in Northamptonshire and Bath as the middle of three children. Her father was an engineer who later taught at Bath College. Her mother was a biology teacher.

Helen went to Bath High School for Girls. She loved sports from a young age. She was a member of Bath Athletics Club and played hockey for Somerset. Even though she wanted to work in broadcasting, her school advisors suggested teaching.

After school, she studied at the University of Brighton's Chelsea College of Physical Education in Eastbourne. She was Vice-President of the Students Union there. During her second year, she spent a term as an exchange student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She graduated in 1977.

Helen then became a PE teacher. She taught secondary school students for three years. She worked at Henry Beaufort School in Winchester, Hampshire, and later as a supply teacher in Essex. While teaching, she met John Rollason, who was also a teacher. They married in 1980. Their daughter, Nikki, was born in 1983.

Starting a Broadcasting Career

Helen still dreamed of a career in broadcasting. She tried out for BBC Wales and BBC South but wasn't successful. In 1980, she took a holiday job as a volunteer presenter at Basildon Community Radio. She saw an advertisement and offered to help.

A year later, she joined Essex Radio as a sports reporter. She later became the station's deputy sports editor. Three years after that, she became a producer-director for Cheerleader Productions. This company made sports content for Channel 4. She helped cover events like the 1984 Davis Cup and Super Bowl XIX in 1985. She also worked on the US Masters and US Open golf tournaments.

After a bit more than a year, Helen left Cheerleader to focus on being a presenter. She became a freelance reporter. She covered the 1987 World Student Games from Zagreb for Thames Television. Then she presented the 1988 World Junior Athletics championships from Sudbury, Ontario for Channel 4. In 1988, she also covered the Summer Olympics in Seoul for ITV.

In the mid-1980s, Helen joined the team of the BBC children's news programme, Newsround. Her goal was to increase its sports coverage. She presented many stories on topics like gymnastics and female jockeys. She also presented Newsround Extra, which looked at specific issues in more detail. One memorable programme was a report on the street children of Bogotá. This story deeply affected her, and she cried on screen.

Becoming a Sports Presenter

In 1990, Helen Rollason joined BBC Sport. She made history as the first female presenter of Grandstand. Her down-to-earth style quickly made her a favourite with viewers. This led to her having a regular presenting role on BBC Two's Sport on Friday and many other sports shows.

Her work for the BBC included covering the Wimbledon Championships. She also reported from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She covered the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia.

Helen was a strong supporter of disability sports. She helped change how the public and media saw these events, especially with her coverage of the 1996 Summer Paralympics. Britain's Olympic team had not done very well that year. Helen encouraged viewers and the media to support what she called the "real" Olympics. Jane Swan of the British Paralympic Association said Helen's support helped change the image of the Paralympics. Before Helen, these events were often seen as documentaries about disability. Helen made people see them as true sport.

She also covered other disability sporting events. These included the 1990 World Disabled Championships and the 1991 Blind Golfers' Championships. She also presented sports news for BBC Breakfast News. In 1996, she was named the Television and Radio Industries Sports Presenter of the Year.

Illness and Legacy

Helen started feeling unwell in 1996 while working in the US. She was covering the Olympic and Paralympic Games there. In August 1997, she was diagnosed with cancer of the colon. Doctors told her it had also spread to her liver. She was initially given only three months to live. However, she bravely fought the disease for much longer.

She had chemotherapy treatments. She also used other therapies and a special diet to help her condition. The cancer later spread to her lungs. Helen continued to work throughout her illness. She said her work kept her going during her treatment. "I stay working because I love it," she said. "I feel best on the days when I'm busy. I'd far rather work than hang around the house."

She presented sports news for BBC News. She also wrote a weekly column about her illness for the Sunday Mirror Magazine. She worked on a book about her experiences, hoping it would help others. She said the determination of the many disabled athletes she knew gave her strength to fight her illness.

In October 1998, the BBC aired a special documentary called Hope for Helen. It followed her treatment. The film showed her courage and earned her much public support. In December 1998, her colleagues honoured her during the BBC's Sports Review of the Year. This made Helen feel a mix of surprise, embarrassment, and warmth.

In April 1999, the BBC announced that Helen would present an in-depth sports preview for the Friday edition of the Six O'Clock News. She started this role in May. Her last appearance on screen was on 18 June.

Helen was awarded an MBE in the 1999 Birthday Honours. This was for her services to broadcasting and charities. In July 1999, she attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The Queen presented her with the honour. Helen said, "I cried when I received the news. I don't feel I deserve it, but I'm very thrilled that so many women are coming through in sport broadcasting now." Also in July, she received an honorary degree from the University of Brighton. It was presented to her at home because she was too ill to attend the ceremony. Shortly before that, she received an award for courage at the 1999 Pride of Britain Awards.

Helen became very involved in charity work. She raised £5 million for a cancer wing at North Middlesex Hospital. This wing was named in her honour. She passed away on 9 August 1999, at the age of 43, in Brentwood, Essex. On 17 August, a service was held for Helen. Friends and colleagues attended. Later that month, the BBC aired Helen Rollason: The Bravest Fight. This documentary featured tributes from her friends and colleagues. Her autobiography, Life's Too Short, was published after her death in 2000.

Helen's Impact and Awards

As the first female presenter of Grandstand, Helen Rollason was a pioneer in British sports broadcasting. This industry was mostly male at the time. She set an example that allowed other women to follow. Presenters like Sue Barker, Hazel Irvine, and Gabby Logan followed in Helen's footsteps. Gabby Logan joined ITV as their first female sports presenter in the late 1990s. She co-hosted the football show On the Ball. Gabby Logan said Helen would be "an icon for young girls who want to go into that field because she showed what could be done."

On 4 November 1999, the BBC created the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award. This award is given at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony. It honours "outstanding achievement in the face of adversity." The first person to receive it was horse trainer Jenny Pitman, who also battled cancer.

Other people who have received the Helen Rollason Award include:

• Yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur in 2001 for sailing around the world the fastest.
• Footballer Geoff Thomas in 2005. He raised over £150,000 for charity by cycling after his own fight with leukemia.
• The competitors of the first Invictus Games in 2014. This is a sports event for sick and injured service personnel.
• Ben Smith in 2016, who completed 401 marathons in 401 days to support anti-bullying charities.

The Sunday Times also created the Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration. This is part of their Sportswomen of the Year Awards. Jenny Pitman was the first to receive this award in 1999. Other winners include:

• Student Joanna Gardiner in 2007 for her work with Football for Peace. This charity coaches children from Jewish and Palestinian communities in Israel.
• Claire Lomas in 2012. She completed the 2012 London Marathon with a robotic suit after being paralysed.
• Mel Woodards in 2014. She started a local football league for children.

The Helen Rollason Cancer Charity was set up in her name in 1999. The charity funds and runs three cancer support centres in Essex, Hertfordshire, and London. Lord Coe, who knew Helen from her radio days, is the charity's patron. The first Helen Rollason Cancer Care Centre opened in Chelmsford, Essex, in April 2002. In 2011, a new research centre named after Helen opened at Chelmsford's Broomfield Hospital. It offers treatment as part of clinical trials for new cancer therapies.

In April 2006, Brentwood Borough Council announced that a new housing development would include a road named Rollason Way in her memory. Also, eleven apartment blocks in the development were named after people connected to Helen or winners of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.