Friends and family have paid tribute to former newsreader Carol Barnes, who died of a stroke on Saturday.
The 63-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit in Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital last week. She never regained consciousness.
Her former partner, Labour MP Denis MacShane, said Carol had been "full of life" and "the youngest 63-year-old that I knew".
In an emotional tribute, the popular journalist's son James said his mum was "a beautiful, kind and delicate person - a person loved by many and whom I am desperately proud to call my mother.
"I will always love her and she will forever be in my heart," he added.
The newsreader first came to public attention in 1976, when she joined ITN. In a career spanning 30 years, she presented several major news programmes for the broadcaster, including the flagship News At Ten. In 1994, she was voted Newscaster Of The Year.
"She was such a natural TV presenter, a natural reporter," remembered her former colleague, Sir Trevor McDonald. Fellow news presenter Alastair Stewart added that the bubbly blonde had been "just a lovely, generous and delightful person".
Carol married award-winning cameraman Nigel Thompson in 1981 – the day after she covered the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. They divorced in 1999.In January, Carol presented Saving Ed Mitchell, a documentary about her former colleague. It was the beginning of her plans to return to TV regularly. She had been absent for several years following the death of her daughter, Clare, in 2004.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
