Annie Webster
Born: November 3, 1944;
Died February 27, 2025
Annie Webster, who has died aged 80, was a former BBC Radio Scotland presenter who fronted The Annie Webster Show which followed Good Morning Scotland in the early 1990s. It made an immediate impact when it was launched. One headline read: “Radio Scotland has a controversial new voice.”
The show was pacy, racy and fun. It was easily digestible and perfect for the New Zealander’s bright, intelligent, quick-witted delivery.
Her engaging personality was infectious and rubbed off on her guests and her hard-working production team that included Gary Robertson, Karen Mackenzie and Judith Mackay.
“Annie was an absolute hoot to work with, in a class of her own,” said Karen. “She was funny and stylish. She would say the unsayable and was wonderfully inappropriate.”
The programme slot had previously been home to Eddie Mair, then Karen Clark, but Ms Webster made it her own. It was packed with fascinating features including Labour MP Tony Benn reading letters he wrote to historical figures, off-the-wall sketches and interviews with worldwide contributors.
There was also live music. The Scottish Tenors, the show’s own version of Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras, appeared, prompting the Duke of Buccleuch to phone in asking if they would appear at one of his garden parties.
Annie was inquisitive and with an ability to connect with people and make them feel at ease. But her curiosity could rankle her bosses. In a discussion on naturism and male arousal, Annie suggested “Men usually have more difficulty keeping it up than keeping it down.” And interviewing an astronaut on future holidays in space, she asked “Is it true that sex lasts longer up there?”
BBC Scotland decided it was time for a reshuffle. When the show was axed, outraged listeners wanted to know the name of the “numpty executive” who got rid of “the delightful, articulate, intelligent and humorous Annie Webster”.
Annie returned to London where she had stints at Viva, a radio station launched by Lynne Franks, the PR strategist believed to be the inspiration behind the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, and BBC Radio 5Live.
Moving between major cities, even countries, was always part of Annie’s life. Her father was in the colonial service. As a child she remembers Pacific postings with pirates, crocodiles and flamingos for company in Fiji and the Gambia. At 19 she married a trade union official in New Zealand against the wishes of her parents, managed a rock band, ran a night club to promote new musical talent, and was active in protests against the Vietnam war and the apartheid regime in South Africa.
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The couple had two sons, Ben (now Jesse) and Jeremy, but the marriage didn’t last, and having established herself in news journalism Annie decided to move across the Tasman. “There were two main hurdles for me in Australia,” she recounted, “being a Kiwi and being a woman.” But she overcame the prejudices and found work, winning radio awards, hosting a TV chat show, and even co-writing a hit song for Crystal Gayle.
New York then beckoned. Annie didn’t have a job to go to, but she had a typewriter. The arts, theatre and fashion would provide all that was needed. She interviewed glamorous models, celebrity actors, theatre directors and business moguls in her own inimitable style. Her articles were snapped up by quality, international magazines.
Next stop was London as a newsreader at LBC/IRN (Independent Radio News) where she met Scottish reporter Andy Stenton. After one “date” in 1990 they didn’t see each other for six months. He was in Iraq covering the Gulf War. When he returned, they moved to Glasgow and both worked at the BBC. After The Annie Webster Show was scrapped they spent the next three decades travelling between New Zealand and the UK to live, work and get married.
But seven years ago, while soaking up the sun in her Auckland garden, Annie decided to up sticks one last time back to Scotland. Annie loved Glasgow, its people, arts and culture. She would always find interesting people to talk to, so it was no surprise she volunteered for the Woodlands Community at its anti-racism library.
And she was enamoured with Glasgow Women’s library, the only museum in the UK dedicated to women’s lives, histories and achievements. She helped organise projects and provided encouragement to younger members. Her own name is now displayed on a special wall dedicated to inspirational women.
In one of her last texts, she wrote: “Something I’ve learned is that every single connection – even the most fleeting – leaves its own precise indelible mark. All these marks make us who we are.”
Diagnosed with terminal cancer at Christmas, Annie called it “a new adventure”, donated her body to medical research “so our future doctors can have a dig around” and thanked staff in the NHS, at the Beatson Cancer Centre and Marie Curie Hospice for “making me laugh in my final days”.
ANDY STENTON
At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact garry.scott@heraldandtimes.co.uk
