Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Who Killed Jill Dando?’ delving deep into the case of this renowned titular television personality’s brutal homicide on April 26, 1999, we honestly get a docuseries unlike any other. After all, it carefully comprises not just archival footage but also exclusive interviews to really highlight the many unanswered questions surrounding her shooting at her literal Fulham doorstep. Amongst those to thus help navigate the same was actually this 37-year-old’s former boyfriend Bob Wheaton — so now, if you simply wish to learn more about him, we’ve got the details for you.
Who is Bob Wheaton?
It was reportedly back when Bob was merely a young boy that he first developed an intense passion for the field of journalism, only for it to continue expanding as the years gradually passed by. His determination as well as hard work hence played a significant role in helping him make a name for himself by the 1980s — he was successfully serving as a Producer/Program Editor at BBC. In fact, this divorced father of one was running the 6 o’clock News by 1989, which is when he first came across rising presenter Jill Dando and quickly fell in love despite their 14-year age difference.
“I can remember,” Bob candidly stated in the original production, referring to his first impression of his future girlfriend. “There I was, sitting at my desk, ready to get the ‘6 O’clock News’ of the day prepared. And there on BBC ‘Breakfast Time’ was Jill. I hadn’t seen her before. She had a very good face for television. Her voice, beautiful, a classless English voice. She was a total natural. She shone and I knew she was going to go places.” However, he did assert that because how one looks on television does matter, he swiftly told her she needed to change her province-like, regional-girl aesthetics to ensure a long career run with minimal issues.
Bob continued, Jill subsequently made her “hair right. She lost a lot of weight. Her diction was perfect. She had a charm about the way she presented the news. People regarded her as the girl next door who was giving them the authority of BBC News. It was a good package.” This duo thus grew closer and soon became romantically involved, but a few individuals have since described the situation as “difficult” because the BBC executive allegedly “controlling.” Though he unabashedly clarified in the documentary, “All sorts of men will be regarded as controlling because men are… especially tough editors are tough sometimes. But controlling in a way which is detrimental to the relationship or the person, not at all.”
Nevertheless, Bob and Jill parted ways for good in late 1996 due to their drastically different/busy schedules; while the former remained in office, the latter was traveling the world for BBC ‘Holiday.’ This, combined with the fact she’d once given him more than £30-35,000 to help purchase an estate by the river, is why he was briefly considered a suspect following her April 1999 homicide. Yet alas, none of it mattered as the police promptly confirmed this former couple had actually remained on amicable terms; plus, the money was a gift rather than a loan since they were living together at the time and Jill merely wanted to contribute to his mortgage.
Where is Bob Wheaton Now?
From what we can tell, Bob managed to continue with his career in BBC broadcasting for years before ultimately deciding to evolve into a consultant as well as a writer to stay in the industry he loves. He actually spent a total of 3 decades serving as a Producer/Editor for either ‘6 O’clock News,’ ‘Breakfast News,’ ‘Breakfast With Frost,’ or BBC World, and now he’s merely affiliated with BBC News, Guardian Media Group, Kuwait broadcasting, plus Indian broadcasting. We should mention that one of the primary motives for this Englishman to continue working, in his own words, is that he had to remain impartial while he was an employee, but now he’s “free to take a view & express it, regularly.”
