Jill Dando was one of the most beloved broadcasters on screen in the 1990s (Image: PA)
It’s been 25 years since the beloved British journalist and presenter was murdered in what is still one of the UK’s biggest unsolved crimes.
The newsreader was amongst the famous journalists of the 80s and 90s and fronted several shows including Crimewatch, Holiday and .
But on April 26, 1999, tragedy struck the broadcaster when she was attacked by an unknown assailant outside her home in Fulham, South-West London.
The TV presenter was shot to death and sadly passed away at the young age of 37 just five months before she was due to tie the knot with her fiancé Alan Farthing.
As fans mark the milestone anniversary of the star’s passing, let’s take a look inside her successful career and tragic death.
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She soared to stardom when she transferred to national television in 1988 (Image: BBC)
TV success
Jill Wendy Dando was born to parents Jack and Winifred in the heart of Weston-super-Mare on November 9. 1961. The TV star grew up as a devout Baptist, a strong faith which she continued to follow throughout her adult years.
When she was just three years old, doctors discovered Jill had a hole in her heart and a blocked pulmonary artery which forced her to go under the knife for heart surgery in 1965.
After studying journalism at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Jill embarked on a career in broadcasting and journalism. She started out as a trainee reporter for her local weekly newspaper, the Weston Mercury, where her father and brother also worked as journalists.
Jill soon went from strength to strength, and after five years as a print journalist, she became a newsreader for Radio Devon in 1985. By 1988, the late broadcaster transferred from regional to national television and became a regular face on News until the mid 90s.
Two years before her untimely death, Jill was crowned the public broadcaster’s Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, Jill was one of the country’s most recognisable newsreaders, in addition to her work away from the bulletins, such as co-hosting the One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross.
The broadcaster was also in a long-term relationship with gynaecologist Alan Fathing. They announced their engagement in January 1999 with their wedding set to take place in September that year – five months after her murder.
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She was set to walk down the aisle to her fiance five months before her death (Image: Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
Final moments
Jill had woken up at her fiance’s home, where she was spending the majority of her time in the run up to their wedding. The star made him breakfast in bed before she left for work, and planned on heading out to a charity lunch at a swanky hotel in Mayfair.
At around 10am, she drove her blue BWM convertible to a garage on the A4, where she refilled her tank and picked up a bottle of milk. She then drove to Hammersmith in West London to visit the King’s Mall shopping centre.
At 11am, she left the mall and headed back towards Fulham. Thorough CCTV analysis showed no signs that she was being followed.
Before heading to her house, Jill went to pick up some Dover sole at Copes fishmonger on Fulham Road, which she was planning to cook for her fiance for dinner that night.
Phoen records showed she made four phone calls while she was out at the shops – calling a friend, 192 directory inquiries and her agent’s assistant.
The presenter was shot dead on her doorstep (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
She also rang a West End theatre to confirm a booking for tickets to see Abba’s musical Mamma Mia, which she’d bought for her partner as a birthday present.
The last call Jill took is said to have been at 11.23am. From the background noise heard by the caller, it’s believed Jill was still at the fishmongers. She had less than 10 minutes left to live.
After that, one of her neighbours, Richard Hughes said he heard a car alarm beep, footsteps and a “startled scream”. The presenter had been shot once in the head as she reached her front door at around 11.32am.
Vida Saunders, a resident of the quiet street in Fulham, saw Jill slimped on her doorstep in a pool of blood, still clutching her house keys in one hand.
Her neighbour callled 999 and ran to a nearby GP’s surgery to get help when she was warned that the woman was almost certainly deand and told not to touch anything.
Jill reached Charring Cross Hospital at approximately 12.30pm and resuscitationa ttempts continued until 1.05pm, when she was pronounced dead.
Barry George was wrongfully convicted of her murder in 1999 (Image: PHILIP COBURN)
Wrongful conviction
The star’s murder prompted the biggest murder inquiry conducted by the Metropolitan Police at the time, and was the country’s largest criminal investigation since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
During the murder investigation, the police turned their attention to a local man named Barry George, who lived approximately half a mile fron the presenter’s house. He had a history of stalking women, sexual offences and other antisocial and attention-seeking behaviour.
George was put under surveillance, arrested and charged with her murder on May 28, 1999. He was tried at the Old Bailey, convicted and on July 2, 2001, was sentenced to life behind bars. Concern surrounding his conviction was widespread on the baisis that the case against George appeared to be weak.
Two appeals were unsuccessful, but after discredited forensics evidence was removed from the prosecution’s case, George’s third appeal succeeded in November 2007. The original conviction was quashed and a second trial, which lasted eight weeks, ended in his acquittal on August 1, 2008. No one else has been charged with Jill’s murder.
Life after death
Jill’s funeral took place on May 21, 1999, at Clarence Park Baptist Church in Weston-super-Mare. She was buried next to her mother in the town’s Ebdon Road Cemetery.
A memorial garden, designed and built by the ‘s Ground Force team, was constructed in the town’s Grove Park and was opened on August 2, 2001. Jill’s house was reportedly up for sale during the time of Jill’s murder.
She had agreed to sell the property for £350,000 – which was nearly £100,000 more than she had bought it for in January 1994. According to sales records, the deal still went through on July 15, 1999, three months after her death.
Alan told the at the time of Jill’s death how “devastated” he was. He told the publication: “I cannot believe what has happened – I cannot understand what has happened.
“I do not think for one moment what could go through somebody’s mind when they do such a thing to a beautiful, caring and well-meaning person.” He later teamed up with Jill’s Crimewatch co-presenter Nick Ross to help raise £1.5million for an academic institute in her name.
The Jill Dando Instityte of Crime Science was founded at University College London on the second anniversary of her death. Alan found live again, nearly a decade after Jill’s murder with Dr Janet Stowell, whom he met through work. The cuople said ‘I Do’ at a small sivil ceremony in 2008. Two years later they welcomed a son.