Valerie Singleton

[2] She studied dancing at the Arts Educational School, London, and at the age of twelve, appeared as a young dancer in Cinderella at the Finsbury Park Empire.

[3] When Singleton was 16, she danced in Aladdin at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, with Stanley Baxter playing Wishee Washee, and she was also a young singer in the Ovaltineys.

She went on to spend two years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, winning a scholarship for her first term, and she began her career as an actress at the New Theatre in Bromley.

[4] For several years Singleton pursued her acting career, including Nest of Robins, a No 1 Tour starring Jessie Mathews and Sonnie Hale.

Initially each edition focused on European capital cities, but later covered islands and the homes of well-known historic figures.

Just a few weeks later, producer Edward Barnes wrote to tell her that as she was no longer associated with the show in any genuine sense, they were replacing her as the presenter of the Special Assignment series.

[10] The programme continued to repeat items featuring Singleton for many years and she returned for a final series of the Special Assignment spin-off in 1981 reporting on the Yukon and Niagara Rivers.

[15] She made a brief return to Nationwide in the summer of 1983, presenting a series of films looking at people forced to leave their homeland and settle in Britain.

While hosting PM, Singleton admitted she had a difficult relationship with co-presenter Hugh Sykes and threw a cup of water in his face while live on air.

She made a one-off return to PM on 29 February 2016 to co-present a special "Leap Day" programme, alongside Eddie Mair.

In the late 1990s, she presented 12 episodes of Playback for the History Channel, a programme that asked well-known figures about events that have influenced the course of their lives.