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Newsreader Carol Barnes seriously ill after 'stroke'

04/03/2008

Former ITN newsreader Carol Barnes is seriously ill in hospital, her agent has said.

The 63-year-old, who presented the flagship News at Ten bulletin for a number of years, was admitted to the Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton at the weekend after reportedly suffering a stroke.

In a statement, Knight Ayton Management, which represents Barnes, said: "Carol Barnes is seriously ill, and is being cared for at the Royal Sussex County hospital.

"Her son James and close friends have asked for their privacy to be respected."

The newsreader's condition has not been confirmed publicly by hospital staff but the Daily Mirror newspaper reported she has suffered a stroke.

Barnes joined ITN in 1976 after working as a teacher and was a reporter before going on to present the broadcaster's main news bulletins from 1982 until 1989.

She left ITN but rejoined as one of the main anchors for the ITN news channel's coverage of the Iraq war in 1991.

Barnes had a lengthy relationship with former government minister Denis McShane and their 24-year-old daughter Clare died after a skydiving accident in 2004.

Barnes later married ITN cameraman Nigel Thornton with whom she had two children. The pair were divorced in 1999.