The first ever female Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale died at her home aged 83 after a short illness on January 11, 2024.
Her family paid tribute to her as a ‘pioneer, trailblazer and inspiration to many’.
The trailblazing broadcaster joined Radio 1 in 1970 and went on to become its longest serving host after building a reputation for promoting new and underground music.
Annie was married twice in her life but both relationships ended in divorce, here we take a look at her relationships with Gordon Thomas and Binky Baker.
Annie Nightingale, the first ever female BBC Radio 1 DJ, died on January 11, 2024, following a ‘short illness’
Annie was married twice during her life, the first time to Welsh author Gordon Thomas (pictured)
Who was Annie Nightingale’s husband Gordon Thomas?
Annie began a relationship with married newspaper reporter, Gordon Thomas, when she was 19 years old.
The couple eloped to Brighton and later married. However, they were divorced by 1970. She referenced the split in her book, Hey Hi Hello, saying that ‘my home life had unravelled’.
Gordon was born in 1933 in Wales, but was educated in the U.S. ad Georgia’s Cairo High School.
He continued to travel the world for his career – first with a travelling fair, using his experiences to write Bed Of Nails, and then as an investigative journalist.
His work went on to mainly focus on the topic of secret intelligence, in relation to World War II, Mossad and the CIA.
Gordon died aged 84 on March 3, 2017, in Bath.
Who is Annie Nightingale’s ex-husband Binky Baker?
Annie went on to have a second husband, actor Binky Baker.
According to his IMDb page, the pair married in 1978, but they also went on to divorce.
Binky has starred in the movie Gangster No. 1 (2000) as Dodgy Geezer and also made appearances in TV shows London’s Burning, On The Up and The Bill.
Did Annie Nightingale have children?
Annie had two children – Alex and Lucy – with her first husband, Gordon.
They have stayed out of the public eye as discussed in Annie’s book.
‘There’s nothing bad – we get on great – but I’d rather not go into it – they didn’t ask to be in the public eye,’ she wrote.