Television Personality. Popular British television host who was brutally murdered on the front porch of her home in an upscale West London suburb. She is best remembered for her work in hosting "Crimewatch, UK", the BBC show along the lines of "America's Most Wanted." Ironically, at the end of most programs, she would remind her audience that most people in Britain never experience a crime. After graduation from Worle Comprehensive School and the Broadoak Sixth Form Centre, she worked as a journalist for the Weston Mercury Newspaper, and after five years, moved to Radio Devon where she presented the breakfast news program. Soon thereafter, she moved into television, presenting the regional news program, "Spotlight South West." In 1988, she moved to London to continue her career with BBC Television, working on the "Summer Holiday" and "Holiday" shows. In 1995, she was selected to work on "Crimewatch, UK," a popular BBC show styled after the American television show, "America's Most Wanted." She was considered by many as having a wholesome, girl-next-door, type of personality, which gained her a large following of viewers, and many considered her the next "Golden Girl of Television." She was engaged to Alan Farthing, a gynecologist who lived in nearby Chiswick, and they had set their marriage for September. At the time of her death, she was just finished moving into her fiancé's home and often returned to her own house to collect the mail. She was attempting to unlock her front door when a man suddenly grabbed her arm, put a 9mm pistol to the side of her head and fired once. She was instantly killed. After a year of searching, the police arrested Barry George (aka Barry Bursala), who was tried for the crime, convicted, subsequently tried again and acquitted. Further investigation into George indicated that he lived just down the street from Dando, had brutalized his wife to the point where she left him, and was obsessed with Princess Diana (whom Dando resembled). Dando has been honored since her death with a cancer hospice named in her honor, and the establishment of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, the world's first institute devoted specifically to the study of crime, for the purpose of finding ways to reduce crime.