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Carol Thatcher

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The Honourable
Carol Thatcher
Thatcher in 1979, meeting US presidentJimmy Carter
Born
Carol Jane Thatcher

(1953-08-15)15 August 1953(age 71)
Hammersmith,London,England
Alma materUniversity College London
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • author
  • media personality
PartnerMarco Grass
Parents
Relatives

Carol Jane Thatcher(born 15 August 1953) is an Englishjournalist,author and media personality. She is the daughter ofMargaret Thatcher,theBritish prime ministerfrom 1979 to 1990, and businessmanDenis Thatcher.

She has writtenbiographiesof both her parents and also produced a documentary about her father which contained his only public interview. She won thefifth seriesof the reality showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Early life

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Thatcher was born on 15 August 1953 atQueen Charlotte's and Chelsea HospitalinHammersmith, London.[1]She and her twin brother,Mark,were born six weeks prematurely bycaesarean section.According toMargaret Thatcher,her husbandDenis Thatcherresponded to seeing their children for the first time by saying, "My God, they look like rabbits. Put them back."[2]Thatcher's mother was selected for the constituency ofFinchleyin North London in 1958 and was elected as aMember of Parliamentin 1959.[3][4]

In 1960, Thatcher was sent toQueenswood School,a girls' boarding school nearHatfield, Hertfordshirebefore attendingSt Paul's Girls' School.[5][6]She graduated with a law degree fromUniversity College London,[6]before moving to Australia in 1977 to begin a journalism career.[5]While she was there, her mother was electedprime minister.Thatcher later said, "You need quite good shock absorbers and a sense of humour to be the prime minister's child."[5]

Journalism career

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Thatcher (left) with U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter,her mother (middle right), and First LadyRosalynn Carter(far right) in 1979

Thatcher began her career as a journalist in Australia, working on theSydney Morning Heraldfrom 1977 to 1979. She became a TV reporter atChannel Seven,also in Sydney, and later a reporter on its news morning show,11AM.On her return to Britain, she worked as a presenter forLBC,BBC Radio 4,TV-amand wrote travel articles forThe Daily Telegraph.Due to her mother's high-profile political position, many newspapers refused to publish work with herbyline.[6][7]

Her first book,Diary of an Election: with Margaret Thatcher on the campaign trail,was published in 1983. Her second book, a collaboration with tennis playerChris Evert LloydcalledLloyd on Lloyd,was released three years later. It became Thatcher's first best-seller.[7]

Later publications included a 1996 best-selling biography of her father,Below the Parapet.[7]In 2003, Thatcher produced aChannel 4documentary about him calledMarried to Maggie.Thatcher captured the only public interviewDenis Thatcherever gave; he died shortly after its release.[8]Thatcher's freelance career has included contributing articles to magazines and papers as well as television work.[9]

Reality shows

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I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

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Main article:I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British series 5)

In November 2005 Thatcher was selected to appear with a number of fellow celebrities on theITVtelevision showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!The format of the show meant that she would be forced to spend at least a week in the Australian rainforest with a minimal supply of food in basic living conditions.

She had to undergo one of the more infamous "Bushtucker Trials" during her stay in the jungle – which saw her eat jungle bugs andkangaroo testiclesas a challenge to earn food for her fellow celebrities. Ultimately, she emerged as the fifth series winner and second 'Queen of the Jungle'.[10][11]

Most Haunted

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Thatcher appeared onLiving TV'sMost Hauntedon 13 February 2007 as a celebrity guest alongside presenterYvette Fielding[12]and mediumDavid Wellsas well as Joanne Gregory to search for paranormal activity atTatton Hallin Cheshire.[citation needed]

Mummy's War

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In 2007, Carol Thatcher travelled to theFalkland Islandsand Argentina for the documentaryMummy's War,in order to explore the legacy of theFalklands War.[13][14]

The One Show

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From 2006 to 2009, Thatcher was a freelance contributor to the BBC One magazine programmeThe One Show,making filmed reports and joining the presenters and guests in the studio for discussions.

On 3 February 2009, British media reported that during the2009 Australian OpenThatcher had, in a conversation in the show'sgreen room,referred to a black tennis player, reportedlyJo-Wilfried Tsonga,as agolliwog.[15][16]According toThe Times,Thatcher called Tsonga "half-golliwog" and "the golliwogFrog".[17]PresenterAdrian Chiles,comedianJo Brand,journalists and several guests were with Thatcher when she made the remark.[18]TheBBCstated that Thatcher would not work again onThe One Showunless she made a more sincere apology.[19]Thatcher refused, saying "I stand by what I said. I wasn't going to apologise. I never meant it in a racist way. It was shorthand. I described someone's appearance colloquially—someone I happen to greatly admire."[9]

Bibliography

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— (1983).Diary of an Election: With Margaret Thatcher on the Campaign Trail.Sidgwick & Jackson.ISBN978-0283990687.

Lloyd, Chris Evert;Lloyd, John(1986). — (ed.).Lloyd on Lloyd.Beaufort Books.ISBN978-0825303746.

— (1996).Below the Parapet: The Biography of Denis Thatcher.HarperCollins.ISBN978-0002556057.

— (2008).Swim on Part in the Goldfish Bowl: A Memoir.Headline Review.ISBN978-0755317066.

Personal life

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Thatcher had a relationship withJonathan Aitken,which ended in 1979.[20]As this happened just after the Conservatives won thegeneral election,Aitken's breaking up with Thatcher is alleged to have been the reason for his being bypassed for a ministerial career; Thatcher's mother, the Prime Minister at the time, reportedly told cabinet colleagues that she was "damned" if she was going to give a job to a man "who had made Carol cry".[2][21]

Thatcher lives with ski instructor Marco Grass inKlosters-Serneus,Switzerland.[22][23]

References

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  1. ^Campbell, John (2012).The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher: From Grocer's Daughter to Iron Lady.Random House. p. 26.ISBN978-1-4481-3067-2.
  2. ^abGillian Bowditch"Oh Carol, why are we so in love with you?"The Scotsman,7 December 2005; Retrieved 8 February 2009
  3. ^"No. 41842".The London Gazette.13 October 1959. p. 6433.
  4. ^"Biography".Margaret Thatcher Foundation.Retrieved9 December2007.
  5. ^abcLangley, William (30 August 2008)."Carol Thatcher, daughter of the revolution".The Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group.Retrieved25 June2009.
  6. ^abcHoggard, Liz (27 November 2005)."Queen of the jungle".The Guardian.
  7. ^abcThatcher, Carol (25 September 2006)."Carol Thatcher: My Life in Media".The Independent.Retrieved25 June2009.
  8. ^Thatcher, Carol (2002–2003).Married to Maggie.Central Books.ISBN1904734049.
  9. ^abBryony Gordon (3 June 2009)."Carol Thatcher: Life in my mother's shadow".The Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group. Archived fromthe originalon 6 June 2009.Retrieved25 June2009.
  10. ^Robin Stummer"Carol Thatcher: 'I partly blame Mark for Mummy's anguish'"Archived1 December 2007 at theWayback Machine;The Independent,11 December 2005; Retrieved 7 February 2009
  11. ^Busk-Cowley, Mark (2014).I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!: The Inside Story.Bantam Press.p. 207.ISBN978-0593073483.
  12. ^"Today's satellite, cable & digital".The Independent.p. 69.Retrieved26 September2022.
  13. ^Evans, Mary; Morgan, Clive (29 March 2007)."Today's Highlights".The Daily Telegraph.p. 35.
  14. ^"Choices".The Independent.25 March 2007. p. 124.
  15. ^"Thatcher axed by BBC's One Show".BBC News.4 February 2009.Retrieved15 November2010.
  16. ^Singh, Anita (4 February 2009)."Carol Thatcher 'golliwog' jibe referred to black tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga".The Telegraph.Retrieved15 November2010.
  17. ^Patrick FosterCarol Thatcher's golliwog remarks ‘made eyes roll in the green room’Times Online, 6 February 2009Archived15 June 2011 at theWayback Machine
  18. ^"BBC defends action over Thatcher".BBC News.5 February 2009.Retrieved1 April2010.
  19. ^Pierce, Andrew (5 February 2009)."Carol Thatcher golliwog row: behind the doors of the Green Room".The Telegraph.Retrieved15 November2010.
  20. ^Francis Elliott"Lady Thatcher's friends hit back at 'betrayal of family secrets'",The Independent,28 May 2006; Retrieved 7 February 2009
  21. ^"UK Politics: Jonathan Aitken – a 'swashbuckling' life",BBC News, 7 December 1998; Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  22. ^"Carol Thatcher to be accompanied by 'on-off' boyfriend at Baroness Thatcher's funeral".The Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group. 9 April 2013.Retrieved19 August2017.
  23. ^"The great Margaret Thatcher fire sale".NZ Herald.Retrieved29 December2022.
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Preceded by I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
Winner & Queen of The Jungle
2005 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carol_Thatcher&oldid=1245924948"