University recognises BBC presenter for broadcasting career

A well-known BBC radio presenter has been awarded an honorary degree by the University of Reading.

Fiona Talkington, one of BBC Radio 3’s longest serving presenters, received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in a ceremony on Wednesday 6 December.

Talkington is best known as the co-founder and presenter of BBC Radio 3's award-winning Late Junction programme, which for 20 years brought unfamiliar musical genres to eager listeners. She has also hosted live broadcasts from the Proms and other concert halls, in addition to appearances on BBC Radio 4 and 6 Music. She currently hosts Afternoon Concert on BBC Radio 3.

Beyond the studio, Talkington has spent more than two decades cultivating relationships between the art scenes in Norway and the UK. Her efforts led to a three-year programme called Conexions, which organised concert exchanges between the two countries. For her services to Norwegian arts, Talkington received the prestigious Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in 2009. 

Talkington has long been involved with the University. She grew up near to campus and sang with the Reading University Opera Society while still a school pupil. She is also a graduate of the MA programme in the Department of English Literature and worked as a concert organiser in the former Department of Music.

Talkington remains devoted to her hometown of Reading and still lives close to campus. She has long supported refugee advocacy groups in Reading through fundraising and using storytelling to uplift marginalised voices. Most recently, she completed a Master's degree in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. She now uses her skills and own lived experience of neuropathic pain to help others learn more about this topic.

Professor Gail Marshall, Head of School of Literature and Languages, said: “In honouring Fiona with this degree, we not only recognise her incredibly distinguished career as a broadcaster, but her life-long work in building bridges between peoples and cultural traditions, and between arts and science, to our great mutual benefit.”