She was one of the first female reporters to work for ITN, and was part of a team which won the broadcaster a Royal Television Society Award in 1994 for their coverage of the death of Labour Party leader John Smith.
[2] Thirkettle began her career in journalism as a trainee researcher with Associated Rediffusion in 1965 and as a researcher for Radio Caroline,[2] before moving into print journalism, first joining the Daily Mail and later working for The Sunday Times as property correspondent and a business writer in 1969.
[3] Along with Carol Barnes, Sarah Cullen and Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Thirkettle was one of the first female reporters to be seen on the broadcaster.
[5] During her career with the broadcaster, Thirkettle reported on more than 1,500 stories, including the famine in Ethiopia, Richard Branson's trans-oceanic ballooning and the artistic talent of autistic boy Stephen Wiltshire.
[3] Away from television Thirkettle wrote short stories and studied natural history, politics and foreign affairs.