Like Sarah McIntyre I spent yesterday hoping that the lack of confirmation on either the BBC or the Guardian might mean that the reports of Babette Cole’s death amounted to fake news. She has been such a considerable figure in the world of children’s books it seemed strange that news sites were not picking up on the unexpected event. The single news report I found was on itv.com and the only sources quoted were two tweets.
When I explored Facebook I discovered that the news had begun spreading at the very start of the day and emanated from her West country friends in the horse community. It was still theoretically possible, as Sarah McIntyre says, and especially given Babette’s character, that the story was being spread to see how easily people could be taken in.
There is still, as far as I can see (as 09:45 this morning) no mention of her death on either the Guardian news site or the BBC, which seems odd, although her Wikipedia page has been updated with the date of death.
ACHUKA will link to the formal obituaries as soon as they begin appearing.