Dame Jenni Murray: a tribute from her Saga family
The journalist, columnist and podcast host was a much-loved member of the magazine team and the Saga community.
The journalist, columnist and podcast host was a much-loved member of the magazine team and the Saga community.
Broadcasting legend Dame Jenni Murray, who has died at the age of 75, was an integral and much-loved part of the Saga family and we will miss her enormously.
Her monthly column in Saga Magazine generated a huge postbag in its five years – a reflection of her unerring ability to cover subjects that readers really cared about. And in taking the helm of our podcast, Experience is Everything last November, Jenni reminded us all what a powerhouse she was in the broadcast studio: fearless and incisive, yet warm and thoughtful in her interviewing style – just as she had been in her 33 years hosting Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4.
She could also be very surprising. I will never forget her column on joining the Mile High Club at the age of 30 after a whirlwind few weeks with a dashing man in New York. I nearly choked on my cup of tea when I first read it. Like so much of her writing for us, this piece was picked up by the national press, giving the magazine valuable publicity and bringing us more readers.
Whether she was writing on the sorry state of dentistry or the postal service, the endless annoyance of having three different pairs of glasses or her recent experience of lying on a hospital trolley while waiting for a bed, Jenni’s column was a must-read. Many readers told us that they always turned to it first when the magazine arrived through their letterbox or on the app.
When we first discussed launching a Saga Magazine podcast last year, we needed a host with the right experience, but also empathy and that certain “magic” behind the microphone.
I first started considering Jenni after watching her captivate a packed theatre on Saga’s cruise ship Spirit of Discovery. There was a long queue to greet her at the end of her talk and so many guests told me how thrilled they were to hear her voice again. “It's like meeting the Queen!” one fan told me excitedly.
Jenni loved doing the podcast, telling us it was “good to be back where I feel at home”. She formed a strong bond with the magazine’s news editor, Kate Randall, her studio “minder”, and she recently wrote in the Daily Mail about how much she enjoyed being part of the team.
In many ways, Jenni was destined to be a broadcasting star. Born in Barnsley in 1950, to Alvin and Winifred Bailey, she was sent to elocution lessons as a child to smooth out her Yorkshire accent. She attended Barnsley Girls’ High School before going to the University of Hull, where she studied French and drama. Jenni was desperate to join the BBC, and started as a copytaker, then producer and presenter at BBC Radio Bristol. Television followed, at BBC South, then Newsnight.
She quickly established herself as a formidable broadcaster with a gift for combining empathy with incisive questioning. Her voice – once described as the most beautiful on radio – was honeyed and smooth but woe betide anyone who thought she would be a soft touch in interviews.
It was at Woman’s Hour, after she was made full-time presenter in 1987, where she really shone brightest. No subject was off limits for Jenni. From politics and health to culture, relationships and social change, she was known for her ability to draw out deeply personal stories while holding those in power to account. In 2006, Jenni announced to listeners that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and, while the prognosis was good, she took time off for treatment before returning in 2007.
She was very open about her diagnosis and always tried to use her profile to raise awareness of causes close to her heart. In recognition of her services to broadcasting and the promotion of women’s issues, she was appointed a Dame in 2011.
Jenni was great company and a brilliant raconteur. I have particularly happy memories of a very long Sunday lunch we had on the cruise when she regaled me with hilarious stories about her extraordinary career at the BBC. She loved cruising and was thrilled to be made Godmother of two of our river ships, Spirit of the Danube and Spirit of the Rhine.
I feel very lucky to have met this broadcasting icon and everyone at Saga Magazine will treasure their memories of working with her. Although work played a huge role in her life, Jenni was a dedicated mother to her two sons, and last September she got to fulfil a lifelong dream and visit Pompeii with them, telling us she could never thank them enough for taking her.
Jenni shared her North London home with her two beloved chihuahuas, Minnie and Maggie, as well as her cats, who would often leave her with scratches, due to their playful nature. She is also survived by her husband David; the couple no longer lived together but remained good friends who talked often.
The whole team will miss Jenni enormously and we send our heartfelt condolences to her family and many friends.
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