After Dinner Speakers - Christine Hamilton
Christine Hamilton appears regularly on television and radio, on news and current affairs programmes and on entertainment and chat shows. Her repertoire includes everything from "Have I Got News for You" to "News Night" and from "Jerry Springer" to "BBC Religious Affairs".
She is in demand to speak at luncheons, dinners and gatherings of all kinds and has filled both Oxford and Cambridge Unions. She also speaks in tandem with her husband, Neil, whenever asked to do so. She is equally at home with male, female or mixed audiences, and has enlivened many a conference dinner with her charm and humour.
Christine is a practised, entertaining and witty speaker, lifting the veil on the discreet yet not-so-discreet World of Westminster and talking about her Great British Battleaxes.
Christine acquired media celebrity overnight for the forceful support she gave her husband during his high profile 1997 General Election Campaign in the Tatton constituency. The Battle of Knutsford Heath was one of the high spots of the campaign. Descriptions of her ranged from the insultingly unflattering to the admiringly adulatory. She was called everything from "The Wife from Hell" to "The Battling Lioness". Lampooned in countless articles and cartoons as a ferocious Battleaxe, she also aroused admiration in many quarters for her spirit and chutzpah. She was described by Lynda Lee Potter as having "the valour of the early Christine martyrs. With more women like her Britain would never have lost the Empire."
Inspired by her own caricature, her first book "Christine Hamiltons Bumper Book of British Battleaxes" was published in October 1997 and is now out in paperback. Light-hearted and entertaining, it is a colourful cornucopia of 33 Belligerent British Belles who have enlivened the pages of history and, more recently, the headlines of the popular press. The Battle-axes range from Queens Boadicea to Victoria, from Nancy Astor to Margaret Thatcher; from Fanny Cradock to Bessie Braddock; from Joan Collins to Ena Sharples; from Cynthia Payne to Edwina Currie and from Barbara Cartland to Barbara Woodhouse.
Christine spent her childhood in the New Forest area where her father was a GP in Ringwood. After graduating from the University of York she worked at the House of Commons for 26 years as research assistance and secretary to MPs, starting with the flamboyant Sir Gerald Nabarro (MP for South Worcestershire until he died in 1973). She worked for her husband from his election in 1983 until he lost his seat in 1997.
Still controversy dogs Christine and Neil, when they were arrested on the basis of false accusations and during the crisis were filming the famous documentary with Louis Theroux.. Christine can be seen on many TV appearances notably "Im A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here !"
