Gary Burgess

Gary Burgess (13 November 1975 – 1 January 2022) was a British broadcaster and journalist, latterly in the Channel Islands where his freelance work on regional television, local radio and a newspaper led him to become known as a community champion who shared openly about his experiences of cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. He was named 'Community Champion of the Year' in the Jersey Evening Post 2021 Pride of Jersey awards.

Gary Burgess
Born(1975-11-13)13 November 1975
Bury, England
Died1 January 2022(2022-01-01) (aged 46)[1]
St Helier, Jersey
Known for
Spouse
Alan Burgess
​
(m. 2018)​

Early life and education

Gary Burgess was born in Bury, Greater Manchester[2] on 13 November 1975. At age six, he moved with his family to South Africa due to his father's job.[3] He returned to England at age ten to live in Blackpool, where his grandparents lived. He attended Montgomery High School where he joined their high school radio station 'MHR'. He presented a one-hour golden oldies show at 7 a.m., a one-hour pop programme during the lunch hour and a ten-minute news bulletin. This gave him the desire to have a career in the media.[2]

Career

After leaving school at age 17 he started his broadcasting career in 1992, making cups of tea from 1 a.m. until 7 a.m. during the overnight show[2] at Blackpool's new station Radio Wave 96.5.[4] After his shift there, he worked during the day at a call centre. Still age 17, he went on to host his own show. A few years later he got a job as a journalist in the station's newsroom, and went on to host the afternoon show, the breakfast show, and then became programme controller.[2] He set the world record for the longest breakfast show, broadcasting for 76 hours and raising tens of thousands of pounds for a new local cancer facility.[2]

He also worked at Wire FM in Warrington,[5] at Q96 in Renfrewshire, at Liverpool's Juice FM[5] and as group programme controller for UTV's radio stations in the north of England.[6]

His first stint in the Channel Islands was in Guernsey, joining the island's only commercial radio station Island FM in 2003 as breakfast presenter and programme director, having instantly "fallen in love" with the island.[2]

He returned to Guernsey in January 2008, initially with no job to go to, but within a few weeks had joined BBC Radio Guernsey to cover their afternoon show, and within a month had been appointed as host of their breakfast show.[2][7]

Burgess made the move to ITV Channel Television's Guernsey office in 2011, and to their Jersey office in March 2012 where he began producing the nightly 6pm news programme.[8][9] He was a finalist in the Royal Television Society Southern Awards in 2021.[10]

He returned to commercial radio in 2018, joining the presenting line-up at Channel 103.[4] He also wrote regular columns for the Jersey Evening Post.[4]

On 23 September 2021 he was named 'Community Champion of the Year' in the Pride of Jersey Awards in recognition of his journalistic work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey.[11][12]

Personal life

Gary married his long-term partner Alan in 2018, becoming the first same-sex couple in Jersey to convert a civil partnership to a marriage after the island legalised same-sex marriage.[13] They had held an unofficial wedding ceremony in March, before the law came into effect.[14]

Illness and death

In 1999 when he was aged 23, Burgess was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread to his chest and lungs, receiving three months of chemotherapy. In 2014 the cancer had returned to his lungs and in 2015 he had parts of his right lung removed. He underwent further surgery in August 2016 to remove cancerous tissue between his heart and windpipe.[15] He went on to become a figure head for campaigns by cancer charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK.[16]

In 2016 Burgess began to suffer from exhaustion, brain fog, headaches and nausea. In January 2017 he was signed off work for 18 months and was eventually diagnosed as having myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.[15] He set up a blog to share his experiences of living with the condition,[17] and confessed to having suicidal thoughts.[2]

In October 2019, a CT scan showed five inoperable tumours between his lungs and around his trachea and oesophagus, requiring salvage therapy.[18]

On 3 November 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burgess was told in a video call with his oncology consultant in Southampton that his cancer was terminal with no treatment available, and that he would have six to twelve months to live.[19] He retired from broadcasting in August 2021 to focus on his health and wellbeing.[9] Shortly after his final ITV report and radio show, he was awarded a Silver Seal by Jersey's Bailiff, Timothy Le Cocq, in recognition of his contribution to island life.[20]

Burgess had been open about his experience of cancer through a blog, newspaper articles and television interviews[21] and sought to address a taboo about death.[2]

He died from cancer on 1 January 2022 at Jersey Hospice Care, at the age of 46.[3][7]

References
  1. Watson, Alex (1 January 2022). "Broadcaster Gary Burgess dies". Channel 103. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. Burgess, Gary. "Gary Burgess - Wave, Wire, Q96, UTV, BBC Guernsey, ITV, Channel 103". Radio Moments - Conversations (Interview). Retrieved 7 January 2022 – via AudioBoom.
  3. "Journalist Gary Burgess dies aged 46". ITV News. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. Watson, Alex; Heath, Giulia (2 January 2022). "Broadcaster Gary Burgess Dies". Soleil Radio. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. "BBC and commercial radio presenter Gary Burgess has died aged 46". Radio Today. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. Burgess, Gary (5 September 2021). "A love letter to commercial radio". Radio Today. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  7. "Channel Islands broadcaster Gary Burgess dies aged 46". BBC News. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. Burgess, Gary (5 August 2021). "Gary Burgess: Time to say goodbye". ITV News. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  9. "ITV Channel Television bids farewell to Gary Burgess as he retires". ITV News. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  10. "RTS Southern Awards 2021". Royal Television Society. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  11. "Gary wins a Pride of Jersey award". ITV News. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022 – via Facebook.
  12. "Pride of Jersey Awards celebrate extraordinary islanders". ITV News. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. Shennan, Rhona (2 January 2022). "'Truly brilliant' ITV journalist Gary Burgess has died age 46". National World. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  14. "Couple become first in Jersey to convert civil partnership to marriage". ITV News. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. Burgess, Gary (20 July 2017). "Desperate for a diagnosis". Zonked Club. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  16. "Gary Burgess' charitable work across the Channel Islands". ITV News. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  17. "Gary Burgess: How I've learnt to live with an invisible illness". ITV News. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  18. Burgess, Gary (23 November 2019). "About Me". Gary’s Chemo Diary. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  19. Burgess, Gary (4 November 2020). "Life and death". Gary’s Chemo Diary. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  20. Jeune, James (22 August 2021). "Bailiff's Silver Seal for Gary Burgess". Jersey Evening Post. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  21. Heath, Richard (4 January 2021). "An Inspiration To Many". Jersey Evening Post.
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