Edward Downes Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his long working relationship with the BBC Philharmonic and for working with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra. Within the field of opera, he was particularly known as a conductor of Verdi. He and his wife, Lady (Joan) Downes, committed assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland on 10 July 2009, an event that received significant media
Katherine Downes Katherine Downes Katherine 'Kat' Downes (born 1982-3) is an award-winning English television presenter who currently works on the BBC News Channel and BBC Breakfast, specialising in sports coverage. In 2009, Downes was working at BBC South East for which she won Best Newcomer at the Royal Television Society Southern Centre Awards in 2010. Downes joined the BBC Sport team in 2012 when it moved to Salford. She had previously worked as a reporter and occasional presenter on BBC South East Today, as well as reporting on a variety of news stories as a correspondent for BBC Breakfast and the BBC