Penny Spence dead: Award-winning TV presenter dies as tributes pour in

Australian TV presenter Penny Spence has passed away at 83. Penny was the first female newsreader in Australia's history. Her cause of death remains unconfirmed.

Penny, who rose to fame in the late 1960s as one of the first women to read the news on TV in Australia, died earlier this month.

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia shared the sombre news on social media, stating: "We're saddened to hear of the passing of Penny Spence, a trailblazer in Australian television. Spence was part of a pioneering group of women who were the first women to read television news in Australia."

Fiona Dear, Nine's Director of News and Current Affairs, paid tribute to Spence's groundbreaking career in a statement to Mediaweek: "Penny was a trailblazer for women in our industry, laying the path for countless women in television. With two Logies awarded to her, she was one of the country's most high profile news presenters for decades, and was one of the icons who made 9News 'still the one'. Her legacy lives on in TV newsrooms across the country and we send our condolences to her family."

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Before her time on Channel Nine, Penny fronted a women's current affairs programme on TCN9 – Channel Nine's broadcasting station.

The Channel Nine icon became a household name in the late 1960s, presenting the afternoon news bulletin in New South Wales, while Brian Henderson took on the evening slot.

Spencer's remarkable career was recognised with a Logie Award for Most Popular Female Personality in NSW in 1969, reports the Express. As tributes pour in, one individual reminisced: "I remember Penny as one of the best executives involved in children's television in the 1980s. Vale." Another simply expressed: "Very sad to hear this."

After her stint at Channel Nine, Spencer took on a behind-the-scenes role, overseeing children's programming at the Nine Network.

She later held the position of Executive Producer for the European Broadcasting Union's children's unit and was in charge of the popular 1985 Ray Meagher mini-series Colour in the Creek.

The TV star then took her talents overseas as she became the Executive Producer of the European Broadcasting Union’s children's unit and was at the helm of the popular 1985 series Colour in the Creek.

Spencer also had a hand in several successful films such as Shipmates (1987), Sovereign Hill (1990), Hinkler: The Aviator (1990), and The Water Trolley (1988), which earned an International Emmy nomination.

Her works live on as a selection of her produced works have been archived by the NFSA (National Film and Sound Archive of Australia).

She was previously married to Channel Nine's musical director Geoff Harvey, who passed away in 2019, and is survived by her daughters Eugenie and Charlotte.

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