# Caron Keating
**Caron Louisa Keating** (1962 – 13 April 2004) was a British television presenter, the daughter of the broadcaster [Gloria Hunniford](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloria-hunniford) and the BBC producer Don Keating, best remembered as a presenter of the BBC children's magazine program *Blue Peter* from 1986 to 1990.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and dates | Caron Louisa Keating; born 1962 in Fulham, London; died 13 April 2004 in Sevenoaks, Kent, aged 41[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444090/bio/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television) |
| *Blue Peter* | The show's 16th presenter, serving from 13 November 1986 to 22 January 1990[3](https://bbc.com.im/cbbc/findoutmore/bp-legacy-presenters) |
| Family | Married the showbusiness agent Russ Lindsay in 1991; two sons, Charlie (born 1994) and Gabriel Don (born 1997)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444090/bio/) |
| Education | Eight O levels and three A levels; BA Honours in English and Drama from Bristol University[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/) |
| Illness | Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, which she kept hidden from all but close family and friends for seven years[5](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews) |
| Legacy charity | The Caron Keating Foundation, registered charity number 1106160, set up by Gloria Hunniford and her sons Paul and Michael[6](https://caronkeating.org/?trk=public_post_share-update_update-text) • [7](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4010945/accounts-and-annual-returns) |
## Early life
Keating was born in Fulham, south-west London, and was a few months old when her family moved to [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland). She grew up near Hillsborough in [County Down](https://www.edgepedia.org/county-down). Her father, Don Keating, was a BBC news and current affairs producer in Belfast, and her mother was the television and radio presenter Gloria Hunniford[8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html). As a teenager she presented programs for BBC Northern Ireland, including the music show *Green Rock* and the teenage magazine program *Channel One*, on which she was given all the stunts[8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television).
At 18, with eight O levels and three A levels, she was accepted to study at Bristol University, graduating three years later with a BA Honours degree in English and Drama[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/).
## Blue Peter, 1986 to 1990
When [Peter Duncan](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-duncan-actor) left *Blue Peter* for his *Duncan Dares* series in 1986, the program had a vacancy for an action man or woman. Keating's letter asking for an audition was one of hundreds, but Biddy Baxter, the program's long-serving editor, judged her worth an interview on the strength of her stunt work on *Channel One*. In the audition she handled the script, film commentary, model-making, [radio-controlled cars](https://www.edgepedia.org/radio-controlled-car), animals and the trampoline, and the crew signaled their approval. She joined as the 16th presenter on 13 November 1986 and left on 22 January 1990[2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television) • [3](https://bbc.com.im/cbbc/findoutmore/bp-legacy-presenters).
She kept her family background quiet during the selection, so that occasional complaints of nepotism from adults carried little weight with the production team[2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television). Her assignments matched the show's stunt tradition: within days of signing her contract she was sidecar racing at 80 mph over mud, and later challenges included running barefoot under a 15-meter waterfall with the Cardiff Self-Defence Team, performing an acrobatic act hoisted 20 meters in the air with Moscow's State Circus on a Soviet expedition, diving with sharks, abseiling down Anglesey's South Stack and a 200-ft building dressed as [Snow White](https://www.edgepedia.org/snow-white), and climbing [Ben Nevis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-nevis) in a whiteout[2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html).
Her dress sense became part of her television identity. The Independent obituary described it as "shabby chic", a style that drew complaints from some viewers at first until the producer told her simply to wear what she normally did. In 1988, 69,928 viewers entered a competition to design her a special outfit; the winner, 11-year-old Jasmin Nealon, produced a butterfly-decorated hat, fluted bodice, fluffy pink net skirt and hand-painted tights, made up by the BBC costume department[2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html).
In December 1988 she interviewed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Number 10 [Downing Street](https://www.edgepedia.org/downing-street) for a *Blue Peter* item, asking about long-term British aid to Kampuchea following the show's second appeal for the country[9](https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107131).
## Later career
Keating left *Blue Peter* in 1990 because she feared being typecast[8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html). She went on to present *Top of the Pops*, the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) science program *4th Dimension*, *Wide Angle*, and the BBC1 lunchtime current affairs show *Summer Scene*, and reported from the Barcelona Olympics while hosting a radio magazine show for [BBC Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio) 5[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/). From 1992 to 1994 she fronted the BBC1 consumer program *Family Affairs* alongside her mother, and co-presented *Schofield's Quest* with [Phillip Schofield](https://www.edgepedia.org/phillip-schofield)[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/).
In 1993 she became entertainment correspondent on the regional news program *London Tonight*, leaving in July 1994 for the birth of her first son, Charlie. She returned that October with the live early-evening features show *After 5*, which she presented for two and a half years until December 1996, when she left to have her second child, Gabriel, and made the BBC1 documentary series *Routes and Rhythms* about music and religion[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/).
The sources date her *This Morning* work differently. The Guardian obituary says she returned to television in 1996, presenting ITV's *This Morning* when [Richard Madeley](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-madeley) and [Judy Finnigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/judy-finnigan) were away[2](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television), while the family foundation's biography says she began presenting the program with Richard Madeley and Phillip Schofield in January 1998, alongside the ITV consumer show *We Can Work It Out*[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/).
In December 1999 she took a sabbatical because of her recurring illness and moved with her family to Fowey in Cornwall. She returned briefly in September 2001 to present the ITV prime-time entertainment program *Rich and Famous* on Friday nights, which included an interview with George and Alex Best at their home in County Down[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html).
## Illness and death
Keating was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, the year her father died suddenly of a heart attack, a few days before the birth of her second son. She experienced post-natal depression, panic attacks and anxiety around this period and took a year-long break from television[5](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html). She kept the illness hidden from all but her close family and friends; the former *Blue Peter* presenter Mark Curry said everyone respected her wish for privacy[5](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews).
In December 2001 she moved with her husband and sons to Byron Bay, Australia, and received treatment for breast cancer in Switzerland before returning to Britain in her final days[4](https://caronkeating.org/biography/) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html). She died on 13 April 2004, aged 41, at her mother's home in [Sevenoaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/sevenoaks), Kent, surrounded by her family[5](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews). She was buried on 20 April 2004 in the graveyard of St Peter's Church in the grounds of [Hever Castle](https://www.edgepedia.org/hever-castle)[10](https://www.h2g2.com/edited_entry/A2726200). Her grandmother May Hunniford had also died of breast cancer[5](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews).
## The Caron Keating Foundation
After her death, Gloria Hunniford and her sons Paul and Michael set up the Caron Keating Foundation, a fundraising charity that supports cancer charities, hospices and the people who use them across the United Kingdom[6](https://caronkeating.org/?trk=public_post_share-update_update-text). Registered as charity number 1106160, it reports annually to the Charity Commission[7](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4010945/accounts-and-annual-returns).
Its grants go to hospices, patient support services and research projects. In the 2023 to 2024 financial year it paid £189,800 in grants across the country, including £42,000 for a Variety Sunshine Coach and £25,000 for Action Cancer in Northern Ireland, along with many smaller awards of £1,000 to £5,000 for hospice services, biopsy equipment, counseling and family support[11](https://caronkeating.org/beneficiaries/). A recurring beneficiary is the charity Hope for Tomorrow, which runs "Caron's Mobile Cancer Unit", a mobile treatment unit serving Kent that the foundation has supported with grants including £15,000 for the East Kent unit[11](https://caronkeating.org/beneficiaries/). Gloria Hunniford continues to fundraise for the foundation through events such as the Strictly Tea Dance[11](https://caronkeating.org/beneficiaries/).
## References
1. [Caron Keating – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444090/bio/)
2. [Caron Keating – Obituary by Biddy Baxter, The Guardian, 14 April 2004](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/15/guardianobituaries.television)
3. [History of the Blue Peter presenters, CBBC](https://bbc.com.im/cbbc/findoutmore/bp-legacy-presenters)
4. [Caron Keating Foundation – Biography](https://caronkeating.org/biography/)
5. [Farewell to Caron, The Guardian, 15 April 2004](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/15/broadcasting.uknews)
6. [The Caron Keating Foundation – About](https://caronkeating.org/?trk=public_post_share-update_update-text)
7. [The Caron Keating Foundation, Charity Commission register, charity number 1106160](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4010945/accounts-and-annual-returns)
8. [Caron Keating – Obituary by Anthony Hayward, The Independent, 14 April 2004](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/caron-keating-549761.html)
9. [TV Interview for BBC1 Blue Peter, Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 16 December 1988](https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107131)
10. [Caron Keating – TV Presenter, h2g2 Edited Entry](https://www.h2g2.com/edited_entry/A2726200)
11. [Caron Keating Foundation – Beneficiaries, Charities we have helped](https://caronkeating.org/beneficiaries/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Television presenters and hosts › Lifestyle and property presenters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license