Who is Anne Diamond and why is she not on GB News today?
ANNE Diamond is a much-loved TV presenter who rose to fame in the eighties.
Here’s what we know about her life and career so far.
Who is Anne Diamond?
Born on September 8, 1954, Anne Diamond is a journalist and TV presenter.
She first worked as a reporter on BBC West in Bristol before moving on to ATV – ITV’s Midlands regional channel.
It was after ATV became Central Television in 1982 that Anne was first paired with Nick Owen – a partnership that would define both presenters’ careers.
But a lengthy dispute over the launch of the channel led Anne to rejoin the BBC as a reporter and afternoon newsreader.
However, it was not long until the Diamond/Owen partnership got off and running in 1983 when the pair were poached by TV-am – the first breakfast-time broadcaster.
After a brief separation in 1990 when Diamond left the show, the pair were reunited to front Good Morning With Anne And Nick on the BBC until 1994.
Why is Anne Diamond not on GB News?
It has been reported that Anne is not on GB News at the moment due to contracting coronavirus.
It is not known when she will return to the show.
What happened to Anne Diamond’s son?
Anne’s son Sebastian died from sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS in 1991.
Since then Anne has fronted the Back to Sleep campaign, which has worked to raise awareness among parents to place their young babies on their backs when being put to sleep.
Cot death is a tragic illness that causes young babies to die unexpectedly in their sleep.
The exact cause of the disease is unknown, and can only be identified after the baby has died and all other causes of death have been ruled out.
Some possible factors include the position the baby sleeps in, with the recommendation that babies under one are placed flat on their back to sleep.
The heart breaking disease is responsible for 80 per cent of all sudden fatalities in young babies.
The Lullaby Trust says putting babies to sleep on their back and people not smoking around them are the single most significant factors in preventing cot death, .
It said in 1989 there were 1,545 SIDS cases in the UK. This fell to 647 in 1992, the year after the Back to Sleep campaign launched.
In 2014 there were only 212 unexplained infant deaths.
As such, Anne was the first non-medic to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
When did Anne Diamond get a gastric band fitted?
The divorced mum-of-four battled with her weight and appeared on the Celebrity Fit Club in 2006 after she hit 15 stone.
There was outrage however, when it was discovered that she’d had a gastric band fitted and she was forced to quit the show.
However she explained that she went on the show because despite the operation in Belgium, she wasn’t losing weight.
The surgery which involves the size of the stomach being reduced with an adjustable band around it, means that patients should lose weight as they feel full more quickly.
Subsequent surgeons discovered that Anne’s band had been fitted in the wrong place and she felt no restriction and carried out revision surgery.
The Loose Women panellist has gone on to lose weight, but has been candid about the fact that it is not an easy answer to weight loss and that it has had some major downsides.
She has said she has lost her “love of food”, but can’t have the band removed because she fears she would put the weight back on.
Which shows has Anne Diamond presented?
After finding fame on the BBC, Anne has gone on to appear on multiple other shows.
In 2002, Diamond took part in the second series of Celebrity Big Brother, but became the second person to be evicted.
From 2003, Anne was a panellist and stand in presenter on The Wright Stuff and from 2018 on its successor Jeremy Vine.
She has been a regular on radio and has appeared as a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Anne is a regular reviewer of the newspapers for Sky News on Sunday mornings.
In 2022, Diamond joined the GB News team to host the weekend breakfast show alongside Stephen Dixon.