Dame Jenni Murray is stepping down from Woman’s Hour, after 33 years presenting the show.
During her time on the series, she’s interviewed key female figures including Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Bette Davis and Margaret Atwood.
“I’ve spent nearly half my life with Woman’s Hour and it’s been a privilege and delight to inform, educate and entertain a loyal and growing audience of women and men,” she said.
“Saying goodbye will be very hard to do, but it’s time to move on.”
She’s the longest-serving presenter in the show’s 74-year history.
“For more than three decades, Jenni has been an unmistakeable and warm voice that has interviewed many of the most well-known women in the world, and helped illuminate issues that matter. The radio airwaves won’t be the same without her,” said BBC Director General Tony Hall.
Born in Barnsley in 1950, she went to Barnsley Girls High School, before studying French and Drama at the University of Hull. Her broadcast career began in local radio in Bristol, before moving to London and presenting Newsnight on BBC Two and Today on Radio 4. She joined Woman’s Hour in 1987.
She continues to share her time between the North and South, with a flat in London and a farmhouse in the Peak District. Murray, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, is a non-executive director of The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1999 she was made an OBE for radio broadcasting, and in 2011 she received a damehood.
“I want to thank her for her wonderful commitment to Woman’s Hour, to Radio 4 in general, and for the passion she has shown for the topics explored during her time on the programme,” said Mohit Bakaya, Controller of Radio 4.
Dame Jenni Murray’s final show will be broadcast on 1st October.
