The Honourable

Carol Thatcher
Thatcher in 1979, meeting US president Jimmy Carter
Born
Carol Jane Thatcher

(1953-08-15) 15 August 1953
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 English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher.

She has written biographies of both her parents and also produced a documentary about her father which contained his only public interview. She won the fifth series of the reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Early life

Thatcher was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, London,[1] on 15 August 1953. She and her twin brother, Mark, were born six weeks prematurely by C-section. According to Margaret Thatcher, her husband Denis Thatcher responded 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 of Finchley in North London in 1958 and was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1959.[3][4]

In 1960, Thatcher was sent to Queenswood School, a girls' boarding school near Hatfield, Hertfordshire,[5] before attending St Paul's Girls' School.[6] She graduated with a law degree from University College London,[6] before moving to Australia in 1977 to begin a journalism career.[5] While she was there, her mother was elected prime 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

Thatcher (left) with U.S. President Jimmy Carter, her mother (middle right), and First Lady Rosalynn Carter (far right) in 1979

Thatcher began her career as a journalist in Australia, working on the Sydney Morning Herald from 1977 to 1979. She became a TV reporter at Channel Seven, also in Sydney, and later a reporter on its news morning show, 11AM. On her return to Britain, she worked as a presenter for LBC, BBC Radio 4, TV-am and wrote travel articles for The Daily Telegraph. Due to her mother's high-profile political position, many newspapers refused to publish work with her byline.[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 player Chris Evert Lloyd called Lloyd 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 a Channel 4 documentary about him called Married to Maggie. Thatcher captured the only public interview Denis Thatcher ever 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

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

In November 2005 Thatcher was selected to appear with a number of fellow celebrities on the ITV television show I'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 and kangaroo testicles as 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

Thatcher appeared on Living TV's Most Haunted on 13 February 2007 as a celebrity guest alongside presenter Yvette Fielding[12] and medium David Wells as well as Joanne Gregory to search for paranormal activity at Tatton Hall in Cheshire.

Mummy's War

In 2007, Carol Thatcher travelled to the Falkland Islands and Argentina for the documentary Mummy's War, in order to explore the legacy of the Falklands War.[13][14] She received a positive reception from the pro-British islanders who regard her mother as a heroine. Her reception in Argentina provoked protests and demonstrations (including the cry "Your mother is a war criminal!"). During her stay in Argentina, she met a group of mothers who lost their sons during the conflict.

The One Show

From 2006 to 2009, Thatcher was a freelance contributor to the BBC One magazine programme The 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 the 2009 Australian Open Thatcher had, in a conversation in the show's green room, referred to a black[15] tennis player, reportedly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as a golliwog.[16] According to The Times, Thatcher called Tsonga "half-golliwog" and "the golliwog Frog".[17] Presenter Adrian Chiles, comedian Jo Brand, journalists and several guests[18] were with Thatcher when she made the remark. The BBC stated that Thatcher would not work again on The One Show unless 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

— (1983). Diary of an Election: With Margaret Thatcher on the Campaign Trail. ISBN 978-0283990687.

Lloyd, Chris Evert; Lloyd, John (1986). — (ed.). Lloyd on Lloyd. ISBN 978-0825303746.

— (1996). Below the Parapet: The Biography of Denis Thatcher. ISBN 978-0002556057.

— (2008). Swim on Part in the Goldfish Bowl: A Memoir. ISBN 978-0755317066.

Personal life

Thatcher had a relationship with Jonathan Aitken, which ended in 1979.[20] As this happened just after the Conservatives won the general 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 in Klosters-Serneus, Switzerland.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ Campbell, John (2012). The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher: From Grocer's Daughter to Iron Lady. Random House. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4481-3067-2.
  2. 1 2 Gillian 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. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 Langley, William (30 August 2008). "Carol Thatcher, daughter of the revolution". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 Hoggard, Liz (27 November 2005). "Queen of the jungle". The Guardian.
  7. 1 2 3 Thatcher, Carol (25 September 2006). "Carol Thatcher: My Life in Media". The Independent. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  8. ↑ Thatcher, Carol (2002–2003). Married to Maggie. Central Books. ISBN 1904734049.
  9. 1 2 Bryony Gordon (3 June 2009). "Carol Thatcher: Life in my mother's shadow". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  10. ↑ Robin Stummer "Carol Thatcher: 'I partly blame Mark for Mummy's anguish'" Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback 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. ISBN 978-0593073483.
  12. ↑ "Today's satellite, cable & digital". The Independent. p. 69. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  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. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  16. ↑ Singh, Anita (4 February 2009). "Carol Thatcher 'golliwog' jibe referred to black tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  17. ↑ Patrick Foster Carol Thatcher's golliwog remarks ‘made eyes roll in the green room’ Times Online, 6 February 2009 Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ "BBC defends action over Thatcher". BBC News. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  19. ↑ Pierce, Andrew (5 February 2009). "Carol Thatcher golliwog row: behind the doors of the Green Room". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  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. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  23. ↑ "The great Margaret Thatcher fire sale". NZ Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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