Maureen Duval, former model and daytime TV presenter, has died in Sydney after a long illness.
A Miss Australia entrant in the 1950s — as Miss NSW — and successful model in the 1960s, Duval went on to be a brand ambassador for department store David Jones for 16 years.
In an era where daytime TV was distinctly local, from 1978 to 1988 she was the host of TEN10‘s Good Morning Sydney.
Years later she was part of the celebrity panel for the Foxtel reinvention of Beauty And The Beast, working alongside ‘beast’ Stan Zemanek.
Foxtel executive Brian Walsh has paid tribute to his former colleague:
“I had the great pleasure of working with her at Channel Ten in the 1980s when she hosted Good Morning Sydney and later, at Foxtel, she was one of my first choices to re-launch the panel talk show Beauty And The Beast.
“Maureen was the moral compass of the series and always delivered sober and sensible advice in what was often, a bunker of heated debate.
“Class never goes out of style and Maureen Duval certainly never did. That will be her legacy.”
Network Ten programming chief Beverley McGarvey also issued a statement to pay tribute:
“Maureen was a pioneer of the Australian television industry and had a long association with Ten, including many years as the host of Good Morning Sydney. She was the consummate professional and paved the way for many other television hosts. Our thoughts are with Maureen’s family at this very sad time. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.”
Maureen Duval is survived by husband Patrick, four children and 10 grand-children.
Source: SMH
