Wha's like us... Romana D'Annunzio

Published on Saturday 27 June 2009 19:44

IT seems to be a well-worn path these days. A Blue Peter presenter serves his or her time messing around with sticky-back plastic and hibernating tortoises and then, freed from the long shadow of Biddy Baxter, tries to make a go of it as a C-list celebrity. There are reality TV shows to be endured, maybe a series on an obscure satellite channel, maybe a scantily-clad photo-shoot for a lads' mag. All so predictable and depressingly tawdry.

Which is why it was a joy last week to see former Blue Peter presenter Romana D'Annunzio – who was on the show from 1996 to 1998 – occupy the newspaper headlines for a truly commendable reason. The 37-year-old from Edinburgh graduated from Glasgow University with a teaching qualification, and she intends to take up a probationary post in Edinburgh in the autumn.

D'Annunzio is to be congratulated for deciding a career instilling learning into the young is the more honourable path. She, and all the other new entrants into the teaching profession, carry with them our very best for the future.