Christopher Dare is a British engineer and the ex-husband of iconic BBC journalist Angela Rippon. Discover his biography, age, engineering career, marriage, divorce, personal life, and where he is now.
A closer look at the quiet, dignified life of the British engineer who stood beside one of Britain’s most celebrated broadcasters for over two decades.
Quick Facts: Christopher Dare at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Christopher Dare |
| Nationality | British |
| Date of Birth | Mid-1940s (exact date not publicly available) |
| Estimated Age (2025) | Late 70s to early 80s |
| Profession | Engineer |
| Known For | Former husband of Angela Rippon |
| Married Angela Rippon | 1967 |
| Divorced Angela Rippon | 1989 |
| Marriage Duration | 22 years |
| Children | None |
| How They Met | YMCA dance in Plymouth, 1960s |
| Current Partner | Judy |
| Current Residence | Spain |
| Relationship with Angela Post-Divorce | Amicable; stay in touch via phone and email |
| Estimated Net Worth | $500,000–$1 million (speculative) |
| Wikipedia Page | Not available |
Christopher Dare Biography: The Man Behind the Name
Christopher Dare is a British engineer whose name first entered the public consciousness not through his own professional achievements, but through his long marriage to Angela Rippon — one of Britain’s most trailblazing and respected television journalists. While Rippon became a household name across the United Kingdom, Dare quietly pursued a life defined by precision, hard work, and an almost deliberate distance from the world of cameras and celebrity.
Born in the mid-1940s, Christopher Dare grew up in Britain during the post-war era, a time when a generation of young men were drawn to practical, skilled professions such as engineering. Very little has been publicly documented about his early childhood, family background, or hometown. He has never given a public interview, maintained any social media presence, or sought to carve out an identity in the public eye — making him, in many ways, a fascinating counterpoint to the woman he once called his wife.
What is known paints a portrait of a grounded, principled individual who valued craftsmanship, personal integrity, and domestic stability. His story is one of quiet strength rather than public achievement, and it resonates precisely because it is so rare in an era that rewards visibility above all else.
Christopher Dare Age: How Old Is He?
Christopher Dare’s exact date of birth has never been confirmed in public records or media reports. Based on available information — including the year of his marriage in 1967 and accounts suggesting that both he and Angela Rippon were in their early twenties at the time — historians and biographers estimate that he was born sometime in the mid-1940s.
As of 2025, Christopher Dare is believed to be in his late seventies to early eighties. Angela Rippon herself was born on 12 October 1944, and contemporaneous accounts suggest that Dare was close to her in age. Given that he was reportedly around 22 years old when they married, a birth year of approximately 1944 to 1946 is widely accepted as a reasonable estimate.
Despite his age, reports indicate that Dare is still alive and living a full, peaceful life in retirement in Spain. His preference for privacy means that confirmed updates on his health or daily life are rarely available to the public, but Angela Rippon herself has mentioned that they remain in contact, which strongly implies he is very much present and well.
Christopher Dare Engineer: A Career Built on Skill and Discretion
Christopher Dare’s professional identity is that of an engineer — a label that, while broad, speaks to a career built on technical skill, discipline, and problem-solving. While the specific discipline of his engineering work has never been publicly confirmed (whether civil, mechanical, or otherwise), his profession is consistently referenced in every biographical account associated with his name.
He almost certainly pursued formal training in engineering during the 1960s, a period when the UK’s industrial and technical sectors were expanding rapidly. Engineering at that time offered young men not only stable employment but also a genuine sense of craft and contribution. For someone of Dare’s temperament — measured, private, uninterested in the spotlight — it was an entirely fitting career choice.
Throughout the 22 years of his marriage to Angela Rippon, Dare maintained his engineering career in the background. While Rippon was travelling across the country for broadcasts, reading the news on the BBC Nine O’Clock News, and co-hosting Eurovision, Dare was focused on his professional responsibilities in a world far removed from studio lights. Their contrasting careers — one so public, one so technical — actually created a kind of balance in their relationship, at least for a time.
The precise names of employers, the scope of his projects, or the geographic locations of his work remain undisclosed. This is entirely consistent with a man who clearly values personal privacy above public recognition. Engineers often leave behind legacies embedded in structures, systems, and institutions rather than in headlines — and Christopher Dare’s legacy is no different.
Christopher Dare and Angela Rippon Marriage: Two Decades Together
The story of Christopher Dare and Angela Rippon begins at a YMCA dance in Plymouth in the 1960s, when the two first crossed paths. Rippon was around 17 at the time, just beginning to find her footing in local broadcasting, while Dare was establishing himself in his engineering career. Their connection was apparently immediate and genuine.
The couple married in 1967, when Angela Rippon was 22 years old. It was a relatively quiet, private ceremony that reflected both of their personalities — particularly Dare’s preference for low-key living. At the time, Rippon was working in regional broadcasting and was not yet the nationally recognised figure she would become. The early years of their marriage were reportedly happy and grounded, with the couple sharing a 17th-century cottage in the picturesque Devon countryside.
Their home life was described as warm and domestic. They did not have children — something Angela Rippon has spoken about candidly over the years, noting that this was not a conscious decision but simply how things unfolded. Despite the absence of children, accounts suggest that their marriage was close-knit and mutually supportive for many years.
Throughout the 1970s, as Rippon’s career launched into the stratosphere — becoming Britain’s first female journalist to permanently present national BBC television news in 1975, appearing in the iconic Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1976, and hosting Eurovision in 1977 — Dare remained steadfastly in the background. He was, by all accounts, a steady and supportive presence during the most demanding period of her professional life.
Christopher Dare Divorce from Angela Rippon: The End of 22 Years
In 1989, after 22 years of marriage, Christopher Dare and Angela Rippon divorced. The split was a significant personal moment for both parties, yet it was handled with the same discretion and dignity that had characterised their relationship throughout. Neither publicly blamed the other, and neither sought to turn their separation into tabloid fodder.
The precise reasons for their divorce have never been fully disclosed. What has been shared, largely through Angela Rippon’s own interviews over the years, suggests that the strain of public life played a meaningful role. Dare, who had always valued privacy and a quieter existence, reportedly found it increasingly difficult to navigate the relentless media attention that came with being the husband of one of the UK’s most famous broadcasters.
As Rippon’s profile continued to grow through the 1980s — with television specials, radio programmes, quiz show hosting, and high-profile national events — the demands on their private life became considerable. For a man who had chosen engineering over entertainment, the world his wife inhabited grew more distant from his own values and preferences. The divergence was not dramatic or bitter; it was, by all indications, simply a slow and honest recognition that their paths had grown apart.
Angela Rippon has spoken about the divorce in measured, reflective terms over the years. She has acknowledged that it was a stressful period in her life but has consistently emphasised the mutual respect that defined both the marriage and its ending. She has never expressed bitterness toward Dare, and her public comments about him have always been warm and considered.
Christopher Dare Personal Life: Privacy as a Philosophy
Christopher Dare’s personal life, both during and after his marriage to Angela Rippon, has been characterised above all by a commitment to privacy. In an era of increasing transparency and social media oversharing, Dare represents a quietly radical approach: the belief that a life can be meaningful, full, and dignified without any public documentation whatsoever.
During his marriage, the couple lived in a 17th-century Devon cottage, away from the bustle of London’s media world. This domestic choice speaks volumes. While his wife was presenting the national news to millions of viewers each evening, Dare was tending to a private life rooted in the English countryside. There is something deeply human about that contrast — and something very intentional about it.
Post-divorce, Dare rebuilt his personal life with equal care and deliberateness. He found a new partner, Judy, and the two settled in Spain. Angela Rippon has mentioned in interviews that Judy sometimes passes on messages, once noting that Dare was redecorating his home — a small, touching detail that underscores the ordinary, contented nature of his post-marriage life. He is not bitter. He is not hiding. He is simply living, privately and happily, on his own terms.
The contrast between Dare’s post-divorce life and Rippon’s is striking. While Rippon continued her media career deep into her seventies and beyond — co-presenting Rip Off Britain, appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, and remaining a fixture on British television — Dare retreated entirely from public view. Neither path is wrong. They simply reflect two very different people who shared two extraordinary decades together.
Christopher Dare Where Is He Now: Life in Spain
As of the most recent reports available, Christopher Dare is living in Spain with his partner, Judy. He relocated there following his divorce from Angela Rippon in 1989 and has remained there since, enjoying what appears to be a peaceful retirement far from the British media landscape.
Spain’s lifestyle — its warmth, slower pace, and relative anonymity for British expatriates — seems perfectly suited to Dare’s temperament. He has made no public appearances, given no interviews, and left no digital footprint. In an age when almost everyone is searchable, Dare’s near-total absence from the internet is itself a kind of achievement.
Angela Rippon has confirmed that the two remain in contact through phone calls and emails, exchanging updates in a friendly and cordial manner. This ongoing connection — not romantic, but genuinely warm — speaks to the enduring respect between two people who shared a significant chapter of their lives. Dare has not remarried Rippon, nor has he sought to re-enter public life in any capacity. He appears entirely content with where he is and who he has become.
His current life, by all reasonable accounts, is one of comfortable retirement, personal satisfaction, and the quiet dignity of a man who has always known exactly what he values. There are no confirmed details about his health, his daily routines, or his social circle — and that, one suspects, is precisely how Christopher Dare prefers it.
More Read
Christopher Dare’s Legacy: The Quiet Figure Behind the Spotlight
Christopher Dare will never have a Wikipedia page that chronicles his professional achievements or a documentary celebrating his life’s work. His name will always appear in relation to Angela Rippon’s rather than independently. And yet, his story carries a real and resonant meaning for those who take the time to consider it.
He represents something increasingly rare: a person connected to enormous fame who chose, consistently and deliberately, not to exploit that connection. He was never a celebrity spouse seeking media attention, never a bitter ex seeking revenge through tabloid revelations, and never a self-promoter trading on a famous name. He was simply a man — a British engineer — who fell in love, built a life, experienced loss, and rebuilt himself with grace.
Angela Rippon, for her part, has always spoken of Dare with fondness. His steady, grounding presence during the most demanding years of her career was clearly important to her, even if the relationship ultimately could not endure the pressures placed upon it. The fact that they remain in contact decades after their divorce says everything about the quality of the human relationship that existed — and still exists — between them.
In a culture that increasingly rewards loudness, visibility, and self-promotion, Christopher Dare’s quiet, dignified life stands as a reminder that some of the most meaningful stories belong to people who never sought to tell them. His biography is incomplete by design — and that, perhaps, is its most eloquent statement of all.
