Thatcher (left) with U.S. President Jimmy Carter, her mother (middle right), and First Lady Rosalynn Carter (far right) in 1979
Thatcher began her career as a journalist in Australia, working on the Sydney Morning Herald from 1977 to 1979. She became a TV reporter at Channel Seven, also in Sydney, and later a reporter on its news morning show, 11AM. On her return to Britain, she worked as a presenter for LBC, BBC Radio 4, TV-am and wrote travel articles for The Daily Telegraph. Due to her mother's high-profile political position, many newspapers refused to publish work with her byline.[6][7]
Her first book, Diary of an Election: with Margaret Thatcher on the campaign trail, was published in 1983. Her second book, a collaboration with tennis player Chris Evert Lloyd called Lloyd on Lloyd, was released three years later. It became Thatcher's first best-seller.[7]
Later publications included a 1996 best-selling biography of her father, Below the Parapet.[7] In 2003, Thatcher produced a Channel 4 documentary about him called Married to Maggie. Thatcher captured the only public interview Denis Thatcher ever gave; he died shortly after its release.[8] Thatcher's freelance career has included contributing articles to magazines and papers as well as television work.[9]
In November 2005 Thatcher was selected to appear with a number of fellow celebrities on the ITV television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! The format of the show meant that she would be forced to spend at least a week in the Australian rainforest with a minimal supply of food in basic living conditions.
She had to undergo one of the more infamous "Bushtucker Trials" during her stay in the jungle – which saw her eat jungle bugs and kangaroo testicles as a challenge to earn food for her fellow celebrities. Ultimately, she emerged as the fifth series winner and second 'Queen of the Jungle'.[10][11]
In 2007, Carol Thatcher travelled to the Falkland Islands and Argentina for the documentary Mummy's War, in order to explore the legacy of the Falklands War.[13][14]
The One Show
From 2006 to 2009, Thatcher was a freelance contributor to the BBC One magazine programme The One Show, making filmed reports and joining the presenters and guests in the studio for discussions.
On 3 February 2009, British media reported that during the 2009 Australian Open Thatcher had, in a conversation in the show's green room, referred to a black tennis player, reportedly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as a golliwog.[15][16] According to The Times, Thatcher called Tsonga "half-golliwog" and "the golliwog Frog".[17] Presenter Adrian Chiles, comedian Jo Brand, journalists and several guests were with Thatcher when she made the remark.[18] The BBC stated that Thatcher would not work again on The One Show unless she made a more sincere apology.[19] Thatcher refused, saying "I stand by what I said. I wasn't going to apologise. I never meant it in a racist way. It was shorthand. I described someone's appearance colloquially—someone I happen to greatly admire."[9]
Bibliography
— (1983). Diary of an Election: With Margaret Thatcher on the Campaign Trail. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN978-0283990687.
— (1996). Below the Parapet: The Biography of Denis Thatcher. HarperCollins. ISBN978-0002556057.
— (2008). Swim on Part in the Goldfish Bowl: A Memoir. Headline Review. ISBN978-0755317066.
Personal life
Thatcher had a relationship with Jonathan Aitken, which ended in 1979.[20] As this happened just after the Conservatives won the general election, Aitken's breaking up with Thatcher is alleged to have been the reason for his being bypassed for a ministerial career; Thatcher's mother, the Prime Minister at the time, reportedly told cabinet colleagues that she was "damned" if she was going to give a job to a man "who had made Carol cry".[2][21]
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