Today there are as many women newsreaders as there are men – maybe more. But go back 40 years and just a fab foursome of females – among their many male counterparts – anchored the flagship news bulletins on ITV and BBC. Jan Leeming was one of them.
“I was no newcomer to news when I was hired by the BBC in 1980,”’ she tells us. “I trained as an actress but my TV news career started in Australia in the 1963 when I became the first female newsreader there.
Watch Jan in action back in 1982
“I’d moved to Oz from the UK in the early Sixties. A personal tragedy sent me scuttling back to Britain and, knowing I’d had experience as a newsreader, my agent sent me for an audition with Granada TV and I got the job. Later, I went on to co-present and report for HTV West’s Nightly News programme.”
How was it joining the ‘Boys’ Club’ that was then BBC News?
“Not easy,” she replies. “There was still a residual antipathy to women in news in those days despite the fact that I’d been a reporter, newsreader and had 15 years’ experience working in TV.
“I’d always get nervous before going on air. By the Eighties, we had Autocue and if I was lucky I’d see the whole Autocue roll before the news bulletin and also most of the footage. But often, I had to ‘wing it’, though. We all flew by the seat of our pants.”
These days we have 24 hours rolling, hi-tec news coverage but for Jan, it seems that less is more.
“I have to be honest and say that I only watch the TV news occasionally,” she admits. “Most of it is upsetting and a constant diet of bad news is not good for anyone.
Here's Jan with her son.
“I do listen to the Radio News on Classic FM and I take The Week magazine which gives a short rundown of world news. That is enough for me. I preferred it when we just gave the news. We didn’t express personal views, or turn to a reporter in Azerbaijan or wherever and talk about it.
“There was no ticker tape across the screen or desks behind us. I have a photo of myself covering the Iranian embassy siege. Just me and a grotty desk with wires hanging out underneath. But we still got the job done.”
Jan has spent the past couple of decades undertaking mainly corporate work. She’s also appeared on popular TV shows such as I’m a Celebrity, The Real Marigold Hotel and Through The Keyhole. And she has an idea for a TV series herself.
“I have been working on a project for several years but it is extremely hard to get anything commissioned these days,” she says. “An individual can no longer approach a Commissioning Editor personally, they must go through a mediating production company. I’d love to tell you about my idea but it would be an easy one to appropriate so I’m keeping Mum!
“All I will say is it is a combination of history and beauty. Personally, I feel that most companies play safe and stay with winning formulas until they pass their sell-by date. Few are prepared to venture above the parapet.”
Here's Jan back in 1969 when she was working on TV show 'Tom Tom'
Right now, Jan, who’s been married five times – “I’m a great romantic,” she says – and has one son, is promoting Bloom for Brooke, a new charity fundraiser encouraging people to show off their gardens while raising money for working horses, donkeys and mules in the developing world. Jan is passionate about animal welfare and has supported Brooke for a number of years.
“I always have loved gardening,” she smiles. “Even as a small child my father gave me a tiny patch of garden to tend to. Until the last few years there hasn’t been the time to devote to a garden. My current one is walled, small and manageable and lockdown gave me the opportunity to lavish time and attention on it.”
To find out more about the Bloom for Brooke campaign visit www.thebrooke.org
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