Jaye Walton, longtime host of morning television in Adelaide, has died at the age of 88.
With a background in modelling, Walton hosted Touch Of Elegance from 1968 through to 1980. The show, screened each weekday morning on SAS10, was a first for Adelaide television with its mix of fashion and lifestyle segments, interviews and advertorials. Touch Of Elegance became the go-to place for any celebrity or performer visiting Adelaide.
Although the title always alluded to something classy the premise came undone on a few occasions. The guest appearance of Barry Humphries as the gross and ill-mannered Sir Les Patterson and the impromptu sight of Dame Edna Everage falling backwards off a couch no doubt gave Adelaide’s austere housewife audience more than they bargained for.
Walton left the show in 1980 and later presented a magazine program, Thai-Oz Talk, for Thailand’s national television. The show was also relayed via the Thai Global Network and shown on Adelaide’s community TV.
She also took on a role with the Thailand tourism authority, producing promotional films which led to her making a series of documentaries with the Thai royal family.
Walton was appointed Thai honorary consul-general for South Australian and the Northern Territory, a title she kept until her death, and was awarded with a medal of the Royal White Elephant for her services to charity in Thailand.
Source: The Advertiser
