Lynn Faulds Wood

Lynn Faulds Wood is an award-winning British television presenter and journalist. She was born in Glasgow and grew up on Loch Lomondside.

Career

Lynn began her career as Actionwoman for IPC Magazines: Woman (1977–79), the Daily Mail (1979–80) then Lynn's Action Line for the Sun where 100,000 readers joined her campaign to close the world's most famous pet market Club Row^[1] and thousands of readers marched on Downing Street.^[2]

When Breakfast TV started in the early 1980s, Lynn joined TV-am as their Consumer Champion from 1983–84 then to BBC Breakfast Time from 1984 to 1986. She is most famous for turning Watchdog into a peak time BBC One series, presenting the programme from 1985 to 1993 alongside her husband John Stapleton.

In the 1990s Wood moved to ITV's World In Action where she achieved their highest audience with a programme investigating GP training in cancer symptoms, Doctor Knows Best, which had 10.2 million viewers. Her investigation into bowel cancer, "Bobby Moore & Me", got 6.5 million viewers and 28,000 letters. She also helped to create the world's first evidence-based guide to symptoms of her cancer, officially adopted by the Department of Health in 2000.

In 1990, Wood poked a little fun at herself when she guest starred on an episode of French and Saunders as herself. A comedy skit parodying Watchdog called Watch Out, with Jennifer Saunders as Wood exposing celebrity imposters called Lookee-Likeys, with Dawn French as a celebrity imposter of Maggie Philbin. Wood came on as herself calling out Saunders and French as terrible imposters and 'a poor excuse for a comedy sketch' demanding they go on 'to something funnier' than making light of her and her show, along with the real Maggie Philbin, who apparently had no idea it was a joke.

From 2003 to 2009, she was Consumer Champion on GMTV where she was threatened. During her career she was hit in the face with a Rottweiler dog lead, chased by a woman with an axe and threatened with death.

In 2006, she teamed up with presenter Esther Rantzen and series producer Rob Unsworth to present the BBC consumer investigation series Old Dogs, New Tricks. When the series was broadcast they had around 70 years of television journalism between them and an audience of 4 million.

In 2014, Wood returned to Watchdog, with a new daytime BBC One series, Watchdog Test House, which she is co-presented with Sophie Raworth.^[3]

Campaigning work

In 2002 she co-founded the European Cancer Patient Coalition which she chaired as President until 2009. She helped to set up MEPs Against Cancer and is credited with helping to get cancer on the official European Agenda. In 2009 she was invited to present the new European cancer plan – Action Against Cancer – in Brussels.

In 2010 Wood announced that she was considering entering politics by standing for the Parliament of the United Kingdom at the general election. Instead she remained as a cancer campaigner (see Bowel Cancer Information – www.bowelcancer.tv) still regularly appearing on television talking about cancer and consumer matters. She is current Chair of the British Standards Institution Consumer & Public Policy Network, President & Patron of many charities and health organisations, with an honorary doctorate for services to bowel cancer.

Personal life

Lynn has been married to journalist and television presenter John Stapleton for over 30 years. The couple currently live in St Margarets, London.^[3] She has survived both advanced bowel and skin cancer.

References

1. ↑ The Sun 'Stop This Cruelty' 09.11.81
2. ↑ The Sun 'Thousands March To Save Our Pets' 23.11.81
3. 1 2 Tom Ambrose (7 March 2014). "Watchdog returns, with St Margarets presenters taking the lead". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 8 March 2014. 

External links

• Official website