Alex Jones and Roman Kemp celebrated Gloria Hunniford's remarkable 80-year career in showbusiness during Friday's episode of The One Show. The EastEnders star Charlie Brooks also joined the hosts on the programme.
Tribute to a Northern Irish icon
At the start of the show, Alex announced: "Talking of Northern Irish icons, Gloria is celebrating an incredible 80 years in showbiz and to mark the occasion, BBC Four has a special night of programmes to enjoy this weekend." Roman added: "Yes, from presenting to performing, Gloria, well, she's done it all. So, let's remind ourselves of some of her memorable moments."
A heartfelt tribute was then played, before Gloria, now 86, said: "It's very funny actually. When you say 80 years in showbiz, that's crazy even to me! I sort of can't believe that." Reflecting on her musical beginnings, she went on: "We have a family story that I started to sing as soon as I came out of the womb."
Early career and family influence
Alex noted: "But even at six, you were in variety shows," before Gloria shared: "In those days, you [won't] remember any of this, but there was no television. And so therefore, it was all showbiz, variety. My dad was a newspaper man by day and a magician by night, and so I was fascinated even from the age of three and begged to go side [of] stage to see all the tricks."
Gloria began her career as a singer before moving into broadcasting. She worked as a production assistant at UTV in Belfast, before joining the BBC as a local radio broadcaster. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as Rip Off Britain, and her regular appearances as a panellist on Loose Women.
BBC Four tribute programmes
The line-up of BBC Four tribute programmes kicks off on Saturday (August 8) at 8pm with a documentary titled Gloria: My Life on TV. The special will see Gloria look back at her life and career, revealing what it has been like to be a woman, mother and grandmother on TV and radio for more than half a century.
She will talk about her experience as a young woman working in the male-dominated newsrooms of the era, and how she survived personal tragedies such as the loss of her daughter Caron Keating to cancer in 2004.
The One Show airs weeknights on BBC One at 7pm.
