Jill Dando was the golden girl of British broadcasting. Whatever she did, she was the consummate professional. She had worked on BBC radio and television, as a journalist, as a news anchor, as a personality. The programmes she presented were popular and rated highly. She was the girl next door who'd made good and become a TV star. She was attractive, intelligent and popular with her colleagues. And shortly after 1 p.m. on Monday, April 26th, 1999, she died from a single gunshot wound to the head in an ambulance on the way to London's Charing Cross hospital.
I met Jill a number of times, at work and with mutual friends. She was great company, with a terrific sense of humour. BBC Director General John Birt summed it up when he said that your heart lifted when you spent time with her. Writing this from New Zealand, it's even harder to come to terms with the fact that she's been killed.
She was shot at close range by an assailant outside her home in south-west London, in broad daylight. At the time of writing, it's too early to tell what the motive may have been. In the past, Jill had become concerned after she was targeted by a stalker. She was also the presenter of a high-profile crime programme, "Crimewatch," which has an enviable crime clear-up rate of one in three cases.
There's been intense media speculation in the immediate aftermath of Jill's murder that she may have been targeted because of her involvement with "Crimewatch." The nature of the shooting has led to rumours that she was the victim of a professional hit-man, and police are trawling back through old editions of the programme to try and find possible clues to someone who may have borne her a grudge.
There is no sense to a killing like this. Though I knew Jill only as an acquaintance, I feel an intense sense of loss and dismay. The Queen and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, have both expressed their shock and sadness at her murder. The BBC's web site has received thousands of e-mailed tributes from distressed viewers. Friends I've spoken to who worked with Jill at the BBC are utterly devastated at their loss. She had everything to live for - she was due to get married later this year; her career was going from strength to strength. She's on the cover of the current edition of the
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