4th May, 1999
THE man in the black leatherjacket looked as tough as they come but as he handed a bunch
of flowers to the young police officer, he was too choked to speak. White with grief, he
turned on his heel and strode off into the spring sunshine.
The bouquets began arriving at Jill Dando's house in Fulham, west London, soon after news
of the television presenter's murder was announced by a stunned BBC colleague on Monday.
By yesterday afternoon, there were 40 or 50 of them propped up against the railings of a
neighbour's house in Gowan Avenue, the quiet suburban street where she was gunned down
like a Mafioso.
Some of the flowers were from neighbours and friends, but most were from people who knew
her only as a reassuring presence in their living rooms, bringing them the news, the
latest unsolved crime or a new holiday destination. They had never met Jill Dando, but
they mourned her all the same.
Something similar happened 20 months ago. The outpouring of grief is quieter this time.
Yet the comparisons are irresistible and were spelt out in a note pinned to a bunch of
pink carnations. "We have lost another English Rose," it read.
Ms Dando may not have occupied the same place in the nation's affections as Diana,
Princess of Wales, but she was treasured by the viewers of Middle England. And the
parallels between the two women are uncanny. Both were blonde, both embodied something
quintessentially English and both met a violent death in their mid-thirties, at a time
when they had just found love and had everything to look forward to. The bouquets laid in
memory of Ms Dando evoked the vast carpet of flowers that took root a few miles away,
outside the gates of Kensington Palace.
And, as if the echoes of that extraordinary late summer of 1997 were not loud enough,
people queued up to sign condolence books at the BBC's headquarters in west London and at
its studios in Plymouth, where Ms Dando had her first job in television.
Yesterday the cream facade of her three-bedroomed house was obscured by a white police
tarpaulin and its wrought iron gates had been removed for forensic examination. So the
floral tributes had to be placed across the road.
Some of the bouquets were accompanied by handwritten messages. "To Jill Dando, in
memory of a nation's sweetheart, from Bob, an admirer," read one. "Dear Jill, we
only met briefly but I shall never forget your smile," wrote a fan called George.
Another note stated, simply: "It's so wrong."
Gowan Avenue and the surrounding streets presented an image of suburban tranquillity
yesterday - mothers pushing their babies' pushchairs, bursts of blossom in the trees, the
murmur of a radio from inside a house where builders toiled. Not the kind of place where
young women are shot in the head on a Monday morning.
The sense of disbelief was palpable among the people who stood in huddles outside the
security cordon, watching the police come and go. "It's so desperately sad, such a
waste," said a grey-haired woman in a blazer and plaid skirt.
Scenes of crime officers conducted a fingertip search of Ms Dando's house and peered over
neighbouring rooftops from a hydraulic lift. Police also scoured drains around the area
and searched the banks of the River Thames at low tide.
Just before midday, a taxi drew up and the driver got out, clutching a bunch of roses,
lilies and freesias. They had been given to him, together with a £20 note, by a
scruffily-dressed young man who hailed him outside Victoria Station and told him:
"Please, take them to Jill Dando's house."
Tony Blair, Prime Minister
A spokesman for the Prime Minister has said Mr Blair is "deeply
shocked", and having met her both professionally and socially, found her
"totally charming and highly talented".
Nigel Dando, brother to Jill
"A huge, huge shock ... a tragic end to a life that
was full of promise"
Nigel Dando
speaks about his sister.
BBC Director General Sir John Birt
"Everyone at the BBC is devastated. She was a
much-loved colleague. But we are conscious not just of our own great sorrow, but of all of
those viewers who learned to love her"
Jennie Bond
On receiving news of her death, Jennie Bond, a long term
friend and colleague went on air to announce the news in a special report: "It
was a completely horrible thing to have to do, dreadful to have to do that. I have never
seen the BBC newsroom in a more sombre state. The news was coming in as we were on air,
but we did not know if Jill was injured or dead. Quite a lot of people were in
tears, everyone was shocked, Jill was enormously loved."
Nick Ross
"She was everything one could want in a colleague and
friend. I am finding it very difficult to talk about Jill in the past tense."
Jason Owen
God sent us an angel and he named her Jill.
Rest in Peace.
Mark Cooper
Jill was a bright glowing star in the BBC and on our
TV sets at home.
Rest in peace
.
Phill C.
So sorry for what has happened. My thoughts are with
you.
Messages from
the public
