Magenta Devine

Magenta Devine (born Kim Taylor;^[3][4] 4 November 1957 – 6 March 2019)^[1] was a British television presenter,^[3] journalist^[5] and music promoter^[6] best known for presenting the travel programme Rough Guide and youth programme Reportage on BBC2 in the 1990s.^[7][1] She later presented Young, Gifted and Broke for ITV.^[2][1]

Magenta Devine
Born	Kim Taylor (1957-11-04)4 November 1957[1] Hemel Hempstead, England[1]
Died	6 March 2019(2019-03-06) (aged 61)[1] London, England
Occupation(s)	Television presenter and journalist
Years active	1986–2019
Notable credit(s)	Network 7, Rough Guide, Reportage, Young, Gifted and Broke[1][2]

Career

Devine originally worked for Tony Brainsby, a publicist for Queen, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake.^[8] While still living with boyfriend (ex-Generation X bassist) Tony James, she became the music promoter for James's new band Sigue Sigue Sputnik.^[9] She began her television career in 1986 as a presenter of BBC Wales's pop music show Juice.^[10] Following her breakup with James, producer Janet Street-Porter booked Devine to be a presenter on Channel 4's youth programme Network 7.^[1][9][11] She then moved after Street-Porter to BBC2 to present DEF II, of which Rough Guide was a feature before it became a separate programme.^[1][9]

Devine appeared on Richard & Judy in 2004, and on Extreme Celebrity Detox in 2005.^[5] Her voice-over work included advertisements for Peugeot, Motorola, Toyota, and Sea France.^[12] In 2006, Devine fronted an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) campaign that urged consumers in the travel market to book with a member of Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).^[13] In 2001, she narrated a BBC Four programme, The New Romantics – A Fine Romance, on the New Romantic movement.^[2][14]

Apart from being a television presenter, she also was UN Goodwill Ambassador in 1998, and campaigned for women's rights.^[5]

Later life and death

Devine sought treatment in the 1990s for heroin addiction and depression.^[1][9] In 2003, she was declared bankrupt by London's High Court.^[12]

Devine died on 6 March 2019, after a short illness for which she was undergoing treatment at a central London hospital. She was 61 years old.^[9]

Television programmes

• BBC Wales's pop music show Juice, presenter^[10]
• Channel 4's youth programme Network 7 (1987)^{[1][2][9][11]}
• BBC2's DEF II^[1][15]
• BBC2's Rough Guides to the World^{[1][2][9][13]}
• BBC2's Reportage (1988—94)^{[16][better source needed]}
• Young, Gifted and Broke ITV documentary series^[1][2][9]
• This Morning with Richard & Judy (1996) interviewee^[2]
• Extreme Celebrity Detox (2005)^[2][5]
• BBC Four programme The New Romantics – A Fine Romance (2001) on the New Romantic movement as narrator^[2][14]
• Big Mouth (2005), an aftershow of Big Brother, as guest panellist^[2][5]