When Jan Leeming received an invitation to the annual Battle of Britain Memorial Day in July 2007 she had no idea of the journey it would set her upon. After sponsoring a name on the Memorial she set about finding out more about the stranger she had been allocated.
"After a professional lifetime of interviewing and researching I was eager to find out more.... up came Rene's name on a Google search and the fact that he had written diaries during the war, which were published post-war... I am a romantic, pure and simple, and decided I would source a copy of the original diaries in French. Finding a copy in an antiquarian bibliotheque in Belgium, I sent off the very reasonable sum of 10 Euros plus postage and soon received a copy with, would you believe, a little calling card stuck inside the cover to a Monsieur and Madame Griser, thanking them and sending her best wishes from 'Madame O. Mouchotte'. What were the chances of that happening and that book ending up in my possesion? I did not realise then that I was 'on a mission' and the more delving I did, the more I discovered, and the more deeply moved I became."
In a special episode of her successful podcast Jan Leeming charts her journey to bring the story of Rene Mouchotte to television and their republication.
Jan becomes a firm favourite of TV viewers with viewing figures for the Sunday evening News being watched by over 14 million people. Following the breakdown of her marriage she begins to see Eric Steenson and tells of some of the events she was invited to:
"I remember most when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman put in an appearance. They arrived by helicopter and instead of being driven from the field... someone had organised a 'bridge' across the small stream so they could walk directly into the grounds. Sarah trotted across very daintily but Andrew slipped and fell with both legs straddling the plank. Ouch! Remembering his rudeness to me I'm ashamed to say I smiled broadly. But then so did a lot of other people! Sarah was lovely."
A change of agents ahead of a BBC Newsroom reshuffle does nothing to help her position and despite still topping polls she is given a shorter contract and told "the BBC would prefer it if I made no waves and that if I didn't 'there would be other work' for me."
She recounts her memories of colleagues and friends, (as well as journalists) Richard Baker, Paul Daniels, Anne Robinson, Esther Rantzen, Sue Lawley, Selina Scott, Robert Lindsay, Emma Thompson, Russell Harty among them.
An unexpected phone call from BBC Radio 2 takes Jan Leeming to London. "I passed the audition with flying colours and was offered a one-year contract in London. I didn't mind working on radio rather than television at all and was absolutely delighted to have a job." She recounts the rise of the 'personality' DJ in the late seventies and how Noel Edmonds delighted in trying to make her 'corpse' on air.
With Radio 2 extending its schedule to 24hrs comes the opportunity to front three shows a week - just at 2am in the morning! Considering her options, Jan returns to Australia and her great friend Michael Laurence, and meets Howard Keel.
"Our regular listeners were insomniacs, shift workers, old people and many who were simply lonely in the wee small hours of the night and listened to the radio for comfort. I feel radio is a much more intimate medium than television."
Jan Leeming continues her story. Settled in Bristol her TV series 'Women Only' goes from strength to strength, leading to a call from the BBC and a midweek move to Birmingham to present Pebble Mill.
"Marion and I took a brave pill and, feeling that there might be safety in numbers, the two of us had a meeting with Terry in which we pointed out the injustice of our salaries compared with those of the men, plus the fact that we had to run our homes and pay for accommodation in Birmingham. Mr Dobson's answer: 'Ladies, if you don't like it, there's the door.'"
She recounts some of the memorable interviews from that time. From Robert Morley to David Soul; Andy Williams to Omar Sharif; as well as her less favourite encounters with Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Charles Aznavour.
Jan Leeming's story returns to Bristol as she takes a job with HTV, presenting a 'new programme for women' - Women Only - to go out twice a week and the local evening news programme Report West.
"... in the 1970s, the jobs were all held by men. In fact, I think HTV was one of the first companies to have a female boom operator. She was a tiny dot of a girl called Patty, who had worked her way up from the HTV post room and was justifiably proud of making it into a job traditionally held by a man."
With Women Only a success, drawing top guests, and syndicated to other regions, Jan settles into life in Bristol where she meets her second husband Jeremy Gilchrist, "He spoke beautifully, with none of the mannerisms of a public schoolboy but all the clarity of diction that I love. In terms of colour, his voice would be golden brown and sexy. He also had beautiful eyes and lovely hair. The rest of him was pretty damned perfect as well!"
Jan Leeming continues the reading of her 2003 Autobiography 'Addicted to Love'. Sent out with a Uher (the old recording machines reporters used to record interviews) settles into life as a News Reporter at BBC Plymouth before an opportunity to host a new scientific programme for children - Tom Tom - arises.
"I remember the audition quite well. You were put on the spot by having to talk knowledgeably about a scientific object that had only been cursorily explained to you. Then there was one minute describing a strange blob of black wood with a hole in it and suggestions as to what it might possibly be. This was followed by a two-minute talk on a subject of your choice, with no chance to write any notes. I went into full flow about my meeting with the opal miner in the outback of Australia."
A chance road accident derails her career once more, but then comes a call from HTV with an idea for a groundbreaking TV series.
The summer of 1965 sees Jan Leeming 'chilling out in the sun on a beach with a bag of fruit and a good book' in Darling Point, Australia. She recounts the story of her romance with Hayo Niebor, a 'dark, handsome man with Lain matinee idol good looks' and theatre success in Sydney, Melbourne and Victoria. Friends from dress designer Carla Zampatti to actor Michael Laurence. Her life seemed settled, until a cruel twist of fate once again shaped her destiny.
"I am a fairly naive person in many ways, but even I could see where this one was heading. I've never been good at turning down a man with a blunt 'I don't fancy you' or 'You're not my type'. I usually soften the blow with the excuse that it's the wrong time of the month , or that I have a headache. I must have hurt Paul's ego dreadfully, because I remember saying 'I'm sorry but I really have to go home and do my washing.' I don't think any man would believe you would do your smalls at midnight. I did not get the part."
