When she was two, her parents decided to emigrate to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and were obliged to take Fran and her 4 year old brother, Tony with them. Four years later they all returned, clutching a further brother, baby Nick.
The family residence was set up in Highcliffe, Dorset - a seaside village about 10 miles east of Bournemouth, where Fran attended the local Convent. Unsure what to do after 'A' levels - but quite certain that, whatever it was, it could not include physics or chemistry - Fran opted for a 2-year Bi-Lingual Secretarial Course at the Polytechnic of Central London (now Westminster University!).
After several years working in London and Bournemouth as a non-bi-lingual secretary (jobs with French shorthand were hard to find), in 1980 Fran approached the embryonic independent local radio station in Bournemouth - 2CR. The interview, conducted on packing cases amidst concrete dust and cheery whistling studio-builders, resulted in Fran accepting a job as a Technical Operator. Despite her father's initial misgivings ( "But darling, you can't even put a plug on"), Fran made her mark operating the studio equipment (technically known as "driving the desk") for presenters who couldn't, and for the commercial producer, who was jolly busy producing.
After two years, Fran became official assistant to the Jolly Busy Commercial Producer - a job which involved a great deal of creative writing and producing and was enormous fun. Another two years, and Fran moved on again - this time to programme presentation. She presented every sort of programme at every imaginable time of the day and night.
The programmes included straightforward breakfast shows, the lunchtime show with guest interviews, live cookery in the radio kitchen (almost choking to death over a pan of boiling vinegar on one occasion), outside broadcasts from venues and events all over the area, a humourous look-back at the week, a sort of "down-your-way" type programme featuring "characters" with tales to tell from villages all over Hampshire and Dorset, and a late evening show with nightly phone-ins.
Slowly the programme policy changed to one of largely music, and Fran looked around for a new challenge - which turned out to be BBC Radio 2.
In September 1990 she joined the band of merry announcers. Four years later she sold her flat in Bournemouth and committed herself to an eye-watering mortgage by purchasing a very small flat in central London.
Frequent forays continue to be made to the south coast, as Fran's parents still live around Highcliffe. And there's always her constant chum, Alan, who lives in Poole. Fran's brothers turned out well. Tony is a computer consultant in Reading and Nick is a Financial Controller in London.
Fran is indebted to them both for their (still) endless and merciless teasing from a very early age which has gone some way towards preparing her for the merciless teasing she now receives regularly during her efforts to work efficiently with Mr Wogan.
all copy taken from the Wogan shrine