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Fiona MacDonald (television presenter)

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Fiona McDonald
Born(1957-05-27)27 May 1957
Blackall, Queensland, Australia
Died3 October 2024(2024-10-03) (aged 67)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationTelevision presenter
FamilyJacki MacDonald (sister)

Fiona Frances MacDonald (27 May 1957 – 3 October 2024)[1] was an Australian television presenter.

Life and career

MacDonald was raised on a cattle property in the outback town of Blackall, Queensland.[2] She had two sisters, Kylie and Jacki MacDonald, the latter also a television presenter.[3]

MacDonald appeared on local television in Queensland before going on to national programs such as children's show Wombat and the local version of British game show It's a Knockout.[2][4] While hosting Wombat, she was featured in the "A Day in the Life" series by The Australian Women's Weekly.[5] After leaving It's a Knockout, MacDonald became a wine expert.[2] She also was writer and co-editor of the student newspaper Woroni in the 1990s.[6][7][8]

Personal life and death

She married in the 1990s and had two sons.[2][3]

MacDonald was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in November 2021. She undertook a drive around Australia with her sister, Kylie Thynne, in mid-2023 to raise funds for research into the disease,[9] and talked about her experience with it in an October 2023 episode of Australian Story. She died on 3 October 2024, at the age of 67.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ "MacDonald, Fiona Frances". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Former children's TV host Fiona MacDonald dies aged 67 after motor neurone disease diagnosis". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Cain, Sian (3 October 2024). "Fiona MacDonald, It's a Knockout and Wombat host, dies aged 67 after MND diagnosis". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Taylor, Beth. "It's a Knockout". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. ^ Maxfield, Liane (9 June 1982). "A day in the life of Fiona MacDonald". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 49, no. 51. Peter Ford, photographer. Australia. p. 80. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "THE NAKED GUN 2 1/2 THE SMELL OF FEAR". Woroni. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 September 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "the underworld oracle Fiona's Despair and Woroni's Chaos: Yep, the Oracle's Back". Woroni. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 May 1991. p. 3. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Roving Rogues". Woroni. Vol. 44, , no. 1. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 February 1992. p. 33. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  9. ^ Hornery, Andrew (8 July 2023). "She was an afternoon TV star for a generation of kids. Now she's asking for their help". The Sydney Morning Herald.


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