Helen McDermott

Helen was always destined for a show business career – but it could just as easily have been in music, theatre or even ballet. She had training as a ballet dancer and made her first professional appearance at the age of 12 with the Royal Festival Ballet, followed by summer seasons and pantomime, including a season with Tommy Trinder at Plymouth.

Her first job in broadcasting was in radio for the BBC in Plymouth. She then became a television announcer, first with Westward TV, before heading east in 1979 to become a firm favourite on Anglia Television. At Anglia, Helen combined the role of continuity announcer with newsreading on the nightly news magazine show, About Anglia.

From early 1988 until late 2001 she was one of the regular presenters of Anglia News, and her friendly, easy-going style endeared her to thousands of viewers across Norfolk. Later came A Date with Helen, which took her the length and breadth of the region, as did Boot Sale Challenge.

Another TV series she presented was the auction-based That’s Your Lot. It was so successful that a second series was produced. Then Helen tried her hand at various occupations such as florist, croupier, army recruit, photographer, zoo-keeper, and so on for another TV series called Just the job.

Helen's broadcasting career has now come full circle, as she returns to BBC local radio. "It's good to be back home," she says.