Ex-Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross dedicates CBE to Jill Dando Institute
The journalist is recognised for services to broadcasting, charity and crime prevention.
Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross said he is “delighted” to have been made a CBE as he dedicated the honour to the crime science institute founded in memory of his late colleague Jill Dando.
The broadcaster, 73, was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting, charity and crime prevention.
Ross, whose screen credits also include Sixty Minutes, Watchdog and Breakfast Time, said his 50-year career had “all been a bit of a privilege”.
He has been chairman, president, trustee or patron of a large number of charities including the heritage-focused Kensington Society and Prisoners Abroad.
Ross told the PA news agency: “Obviously I am delighted. The citation is really for three different things – broadcasting, charity work and for crime prevention – but the truth is it has all been a bit of a privilege really.
“Broadcasting is an honour in itself. It is a fantastic career to have. The charity initiatives flow directly out of that.
“My work in road safety for example came directly because of the first documentary I produced about what we called the biggest epidemic of our times.
“I realised just how much you can do to reduce road accidents – and indeed we brought the death toll down in this country from over 6,000 to well under 2,000 every year.
“That led to an interest in fire safety and how we reduce the number of people in social housing being killed and injured.
“My radio and TV journalism led to an interest in evidence-based policy and science and healthcare.”
After his Crimewatch co-presenter Dando was murdered in 1999, Ross started a campaign to commemorate her, leading to the creation of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at University College London, which has developed a multi-disciplinary approach to crime prevention.
Ross said: “The death of my co-presenter Jill Dando led to the idea of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science in honour of her, which is at University College London, one of the best universities in the world, and it is now being copied around the world – and actually this is its 20th anniversary, so in some ways this is an honour for them too.”
