Veteran BBC broadcaster Cooke falls and misses show

Date: October 20 2003

Veteran 94-year-old British-born presenter Alistair Cooke was unable
to broadcast his Letter from America show this week after suffering a
fall, the BBC said yesterday.

"I can confirm that he did have a slight fall on Thursday," a BBC
spokesman said.

"He's okay, he's just having a rest at home for the next few days and
then he'll be bright and back up for the next broadcast," the
spokesman said.

Cooke was not taken to hospital after the fall, the spokesman said.

Cooke, who lives in New York, has presented Letter from America, a
weekly review of events in the United States, since 1946 and has been
with the world's largest public broadcaster for over 66 years.

The presenter addressed the United States Congress on its 200th
anniversary and in 1991 received a special award for his contribution
to Anglo-American relations.

AFP