Angela Rippon says age is just a number: ‘You only have one go at life, so get as much out of it as you can’

Angela Rippon says she has had to fight tooth and nail to be where she is today and, despite being due to turn 80 next year, has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

The trailblazing broadcaster has never been one to let her gender or age define her, making history in 1975 as the first female journalist to regularly read the national news on the BBC. Since then, she has gone on to become one of Britain’s best-loved broadcasters.

Reflecting on her impressive career in the April issue of Prima magazine, Rippon said: “If I’d gone in acting like the tea girl, maybe it would have been different, but I’d worked in the studio, I’d done stints in Northern Ireland and I’d covered the oil crisis from Norway and Sweden – I’d proven I could do the job. There were very few women in the newsroom back then, but I didn’t let that bother me. I just held my own.

“When I was in my 50s, John Birt, the then-director general of the BBC, said, ‘Angela, you’ve had your day; it’s time to make room for the young women coming behind you.’ Well, that was 28 years ago – and I’m still here! Young women are indeed coming up behind me, and I love it. I’m thrilled to see so many female broadcasters now reading the news, filming it, producing and editing it.”

And when it comes to age, the Devon-born star insists it really is just a number.

She explained to the publication: “I’ve met people at 92 who still have the enthusiasm for life of a 30-year-old – and I’ve met 30-year-olds who, frankly, have one foot in the grave! The way I see it, you only have one go at life, so get as much out of it as you can, whatever you do.”

The April 2023 issue of Prima is now on sale. To read more from the interview, visit www.prima.co.uk/angela-rippon/.