Libby Purves OBE

Libby Purves is the daughter of a travelling diplomat and she was educated in a variety of countries.  These include Israel, Bangkok, France, Johannesburg, Tunbridge Wells and at St Anne’s College Oxford. At St Anne’s she obtained a first class honours degree in English Language and Literature.

Leaving university in 1971 Libby worked  in a variety of roles for the BBC before becoming the first female broadcaster on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 1976.

Passionate about her experiences of working in such a male-dominated industry in the 70s her delivery is entertaining but always with a serious message.   Libby has a fabulously motivating style of speaking and encourages her audience to break stereotypes and overcome adversity like she did.

An esteemed author Libby has published over 20 novels, between 1982 and 2017. Her onstage wit and expert understanding of topics make her perfect for a wide range of events, whether as a celebrity feature, event host, after dinner or keynote speaker. Libby’s expert topics range from education to theatre, with a passion for securing the future of the next generation.

A regular columnist for ‘The Times’ Libby writes for many other publications including ‘Woman and Home’, ‘Yachting Monthly’ and the ‘Daily Mail’. Furthermore, she was awarded the O.B.E. for her services to journalism in 1999 and was Columnist of the Year in the same year. She accidentally edited ‘The Tatler’ for 6 months in 1982.

As a novelist she has written books on childcare and family life, as well as best selling novels. She has published her auto-biography and a memoir on radio. Libby is married to the broadcaster Paul Heiney and they had two children. Tragically their son Nicholas died by suicide in 2006 at the age of 23.