![\"Gloria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2.82066728.jpg\")
Gloria Hunniford at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards in 2025 (Jonathan Brady\/PA)<\/p>\nThe 86-year-old\u2019s long and varied career has seen her host chat shows and current affairs, lifestyle and consumer rights programmes.<\/p>\n
She was awarded the Freedom of the City of London at the city\u2019s Guildhall on Thursday in recognition of her \u201coutstanding contribution to entertainment and campaigning work as a breast cancer charity ambassador\u201d.<\/p>\n
As well as her TV work, she is known for setting up the Caron Keating Foundation in memory of her daughter, who died from breast cancer in 2004.<\/p>\n
Born in Portadown, Northern Ireland, in 1982 Hunniford became the first woman to have her own daily radio show on BBC Radio 2.<\/p>\n
She presented it continuously for 13 years, before going on to become one of the first female broadcasters to host her own TV chat show.<\/p>\n
Her many TV credits include\u00a0Pebble Mill At One,\u00a0Good Evening Ulster,\u00a0The Travelling Picture Show,\u00a0Rip-Off Britain,\u00a0Loose Women, Strictly Come Dancing, This Morning,\u00a0The One Show, Piers Morgan\u2019s Life Stories, This Is Your Life, and\u00a0The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n
She was awarded an OBE for services to cancer charities through breast screening services and cancer support in 2017.<\/p>\n
Her autobiography, My Life, was published a year later.<\/p>\n
Speaking after Thursday\u2019s ceremony, Hunniford said: \u201cThis has been an extremely special and memorable day for me and my family.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of my most treasured moments in broadcasting have taken place in this city, so I am delighted and humbled to have received the Freedom of the City of London.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria Hunniford at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards in 2025 (Jonathan Brady\/PA)<\/p>\n
Hunniford said she began her career aged just six, when she sang as a child performer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSinging from that tender age led me to a career in broadcasting, which I was given back in 1969 at the beginning of the Troubles,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, that experience led to being given yet another wonderful broadcasting opportunity with BBC Radio 2, which I did daily for 13 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelevision followed, from my own chat show, ITV\u2019s Sunday Sunday, to Heaven And Earth, Rip Off Britain, and Loose Women.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunniford took part in the BBC\u2019s Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, where she was partnered by professional dancer Darren Bennett and eliminated in the third week.<\/p>\n
She lost her husband of more than 20 years, Stephen Way, in 2024 and said he had left \u201cthe most enormous void, not only in my life\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last year, she took part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer.<\/p>\n
City of London Corporation policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: \u201cA consummate professional on our screens and airwaves, millions of us have been entertained, informed, and moved by Gloria Hunniford over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a pleasure for my colleagues to welcome Gloria to Guildhall for her admission into the Freedom today.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Gloria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2.33265955.jpg\")
Gloria Hunniford after being made an OBE (Jonathan Brady\/PA)<\/p>\n
Alderman Vincent Keaveny said: \u201cAs Governor of The Honourable The Irish Society, the City of London\u2019s historic link with Ulster, and now a cross-community charity in Northern Ireland, it is a real pleasure to nominate Gloria for the Freedom of the City of London.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has been a wonderful representative of Northern Ireland on TV and radio for many years, bringing much joy and happiness into the lives of her audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer work for cancer charities was honoured with her OBE, but that work continues and it is right that we also celebrate it today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Gloria, for all that you have given us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vince Dignam, business performance and transport group manager at the City of London Corporation, said: \u201cGloria has been a part of our lives as a household name and TV personality for years and she is undoubtedly a national treasure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to know Gloria through her charity work and she has been a true inspiration in raising vital funds for cancer charities and supporting one of my charities personally by attending events.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud to nominate this amazing lady for the Freedom of the City of London \u2013 it is very much deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the City of London\u2019s ancient traditions, the Freedom is believed to have begun in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade.<\/p>\n
As well as being nominated for, or applying for, the Freedom, it is also offered by the City of London Corporation to individuals as a way of paying tribute to their outstanding contribution to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement.<\/p>\n
Recent recipients include actor Ray Winstone and City of London Police Special Constable and TV presenter, Penny Lancaster.<\/p>\n
Hunniford was also awarded the freedom of her County Armagh home borough in Northern Ireland in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 86-year-old\u2019s long and varied career has seen her host chat shows and current affairs, lifestyle and consumer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-192374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}