Former Watchdog host Lynn Faulds Wood dies aged 72
Former BBC Watchdog presenter and journalist Lynn Faulds Wood has died at the age of 72.
A statement from her family said she died peacefully on Friday, "having suffered a massive stroke last night and a subsequent bleed on the brain".
The cancer campaigner was best known for hosting the consumer investigation programme from 1985 to 1993, alongside her husband John Stapleton.
She was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer while working the show.
TV presenter and journalist Dame Esther Rantzen said: "I have known Lynn for many years. We made a series together which was huge fun but also very hard hitting, because she was such an impressive and courageous consumer journalist.
"She fought for the rights of vulnerable people doggedly and determinedly and she is a huge loss to journalism and to her friends and family. We are all devastated at this news."
BBC Newsreader Sophie Raworth described Faulds Wood as "the most wonderful, generous, kind friend", while fellow broadcasters Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty also paid glowing tributes.
I have known Lynn since I was 14. She inspired me to become a journalist. She has lived next door to my parents for decades. She has been the most wonderful, generous, kind friend to me and my family for such a long time. Can’t believe she has gone. https://t.co/hJEeup5OEQ— sophieraworth (@sophieraworth) April 24, 2020
Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the inimitable @LynnFauldsWood Go well Lynn. RIP.— Emma Kennedy (@EmmaKennedy) April 24, 2020
Oh how sad. Groundbreaking journalism on bowel cancer all those years ago. Sympathies to John and family.— Shelagh Fogarty (@ShelaghFogarty) April 24, 2020
Journalist and media commentator Roy Greenslade added he was "saddened to hear of the death of one of the nicest people I ever worked with," describing her as "a brilliant consumer writer."
Faulds Wood, who was born in Glasgow and grew up near Loch Lomondside, began her career working on stories and campaigns for newspapers including the Daily Mail and The Sun.
She then moved into breakfast TV, before helping to turn Watchdog into a primetime BBC One series.
Her investigations on the ITV show World In Action helped to create the world's first evidence-based guide to symptoms of her cancer.
In 1990, she appeared in an episode of French and Saunders as herself.
In the mid-noughties she teamed up with Rantzen to present the BBC consumer investigation series Old Dogs, New Tricks, before returning to Watchdog's new daytime series Watchdog Test House, alongside Raworth.
In 2016, Faulds Woods rejected an MBE, saying the honours system needs to be dragged "into the 21st Century".
The activist said she would be a "hypocrite" to accept the award for her work on consumer safety.
Her nomination came after she chaired a government independent review into the UK's system for the recall of dangerous products which she feared had been "kicked into the long grass".
She later called on the government to do more to protect consumers from faulty products that can cause fires, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.
Her husband and son Nick were at her bedside when she died.
