Jill Anderson

So sorry to hear this morning that Jill Anderson – BBC Radio Three announcer – has died from cancer. I first met her when she was a student at the Royal College of Music in the 1970s and we both sang for Denys Darlow in the Tilford Bach Festival Choir.  I last saw her at Martha Knight’s funeral – which I’m surprised to realize was in 2008, thirteen years ago! – where she contributed a reading, but we kept in touch with occasional e-mails. However, as is so often the case, despite living quite close to each other in north London, we never got round to accepting her open invitation to tea, and now it’s too late (and we no longer live in London).

She was an excellent announcer – always preferring the old-fashioned term to the currently-fashionable ‘presenter’ – and unlike so many over-excitable, personality-conscious broadcasters on the air today – displayed a calm, authoritative, but friendly approach, which I’m sure had many grateful admirers. She was also an excellent player and teacher of the clarinet, and a thoroughly nice person.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory.