Judith Chalmers

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Judith Chalmers
OBE
Born (1935-10-10) 10 October 1935 (age 90)
Gatley, Cheshire, England
OccupationTelevision presenter
Years active1948–2017
Spouse
​
(m. 1964)​
Children2, including Mark Durden-Smith

Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935)[1] is an English retired television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme Wish You Were Here...? from 1974 to 2003.[2]

Early life

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Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire.[3] Her father was an architect and her mother a medical secretary.[4] She had a sister, Sandra Chalmers. Both siblings were educated at Withington Girls' School, an independent day school in Fallowfield near Withington, Manchester.[5]

Career

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Chalmers began broadcasting for the BBC when she was only 13, after being selected for BBC Northern Children's Hour by producer Trevor Hill.[6] Her younger sister Sandra, who was later editor of Woman's Hour, also performed on Children's Hour.[7] Chalmers presented many programmes from Manchester, including Children's Television Club which later metamorphosed into Blue Peter based in London.[8] She spent some time at secretarial college in Manchester in the early 1950s.[9]

In the 1960s, Chalmers presented two major BBC radio programmes: Family Favourites and Woman's Hour.[10][2] She also appeared as the original Susan in The Clitheroe Kid, and was a foil for Ken Dodd in his radio show.[11][12] Chalmers presented ballroom dancing competition programme Come Dancing for the BBC from 1961 to 1965.[2]

During the 1970s, Chalmers regularly presented ITV's daytime magazine programme Good Afternoon and its successors, which included Afternoon Plus and A Plus.[13] She started presenting ITV's holiday programme Wish You Were Here? in 1974 and continued in this role until 2003, initially working alongside Chris Kelly, and later with John Carter.[2]

In the 1980s Chalmers was a regular host of the Miss World contest on ITV, also presenting the associated UK beauty pageants such as Miss United Kingdom and the British Beauty Championships.[14] Chalmers presented BBC Radio 2's mid-morning show from 1990 to 1992, taking over from Ken Bruce, who took over the show again following Chalmers's departure from the station in 1992.[2]

In 2001, Chalmers appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.[15] She took part in an episode of the BBC Two series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, with her son Mark, in 2013.[16]

Her television appearances in later years have been limited to short spots on chat show programmes such as Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Graham Norton's chat shows.[17][18][19] In 2017, Chalmers took part in Channel 5's Celebrity Taste of Italy.[2]

In 2022, at the age of 86, Chalmers was appointed Heathrow Express's new chief smile officer.[20]

Personal life

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Chalmers has been married to sports commentator Neil Durden-Smith since 1964.[21] The couple live in north London and have two children, including television presenter Mark Durden-Smith.[22] Chalmers has six grandchildren.[23]

Chalmers was appointed an OBE in 1994.[2]

References

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  4. ^ Sandra Chalmers Obituary in The Times p 56, 27 February 2015
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  7. ^ Sue McGregor "Sandra Chalmers obituary", The Guardian, 9 February 2015
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Miss Judith Chalmers, OBE Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Debretts.com. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  16. ^ "TV presenter Judith Chalmers battles under the hammer at Stroud Auction Rooms", Stroud News & Journal, 15 July 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
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