A blue plaque commemorating Jill Dando has been unveiled at the Weston-super-Mare newspaper offices where she launched her journalism career. At just 18 years old, Jill began as a trainee reporter at the Weston Mercury shortly after finishing school at Worle.
The historic building at 32 Waterloo Street — once home to the town’s local newspaper from 1885 until its closure in 2021 — has since been transformed into council offices by Weston-super-Mare Town Council. The council funded the plaque, which was officially unveiled on Friday, December 12, to celebrate Jill’s lasting impact.
The event also highlighted the expansion of the Good News Rooms project, an initiative inspired by Jill Dando that started in Somerset in 2011. The program trains children to work with professional journalists to uncover and share positive news stories. Since its inception, it has grown throughout the UK and even reached Malawi. Recently, Heron’s Moor School in Weston-super-Mare joined this inspiring project.
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Mayor Martin Williams praised Jill’s influence, stating, “Jill Dando was a phenomenal role model for our town and for journalists everywhere. It is a fitting and living legacy that Good News Rooms, in her memory and style, are now launching across Weston-super-Mare and beyond.”
After five formative years at the Weston Mercury, Jill Dando moved to the BBC, where she became a celebrated presenter on flagship news programs, breakfast television, and Crimewatch. Tragically, she was murdered outside her Fulham home in 1999, in one of Britain’s most high-profile unsolved cases.
The preservation of the Weston Mercury building underscores the town’s respect for its journalistic heritage and the indelible mark Jill Dando left on the profession. Visitors are welcome to see the blue plaque inside the building, a testament to her enduring legacy.