Update Note: Carol Barnes Sadly Missed. Sat 8 March
I wish I wasn’t writing to update this. Very sadly the tradgic news was announced today that Carol has died at the tender age of 63. My thoughts go to her family. Rest in peace Carol.
The Original Blog: Carol Barnes Get Well Soon
Having been filming hard for two days, I’ve only just heard that Carol Barnes is in a very serious condition in intensive care. To be honest I’ve a tear in my eye, and as there’s little any of us can do I thought it’d be cathartic for me if I wrote a public note on why I think Carol is wonderful.
I first met her back in 2000 on the Simply Money TV channel where I got my start as Money Saving Expert. When Angela Rippon was away, Carol would come in as the main presenter. As well as being very talented, she was also a kind, funny, witty woman who was a great laugh behind the scenes. We always had a good time, and she was the life and soul of the party, enlivening any do.
When Simply Money ended, we kept in touch for a while. I remember talking to her once about my ambition back then to “get money saving onto This Morning”. She told me she thought it a great idea, and an important topic that needed wider coverage.
Without telling me, as she knew some of the senior folks there, she wrote a letter to the programme extolling my virtues and those of the subject matter, something unheard of in the industry. I only found out about it later. It was actually a year or two later I ended up as the regular expert on the show, but this generosity of spirit is why, I suspect, there are many people around the UK with fingers crossed for her to get better soon.
