Valerie Singleton was born on 9 April 1937 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the daughter of ex-RAF wing commander Dennis Singleton OBE, later an advertising executive with J.W. Thompson, and Eileen Singleton LRAM (née Reed). She possessed a rebellious streak and was once expelled from convent school.

She studied dancing at the Arts Educational School, London, and went on to spend two years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, winning a scholarship for her first term. She began her career as an actress at the New Theatre in Bromley.

Singleton joined the BBC in 1961 as a television continuity announcer and on 3 September 1962 joined Blue Peter on BBC One, where she remained as a regular weekly presenter until 3 July 1972. In 1967, when Peter Purves joined, the “Val, John and Pete” line-up was created, often referred to as “the dream team.”

During her time on Blue Peter, Singleton presented another BBC children’s show, Val Meets The VIPs, a chat show that ran for three series during 1973–74. She then joined Nationwide in October 1973 and left in 1978 to present the BBC’s late-night news programme Tonight.

Singleton hosted a ten-year stint on the Monday-to-Friday BBC Radio 4 PM programme beginning in 1982, and eight years presenting BBC2’s The Money Programme from September 1980 to March 1988. Now 88 years old, she lives in Dorset and remains a celebrated figure in British broadcasting.