My Weekly Designer Celebrates Golden Anniversary!

By Allison Hay

Dorothy Andrews

Congratulations to our design editor, Dorothy Andrews, as she celebrates being DC Thomson’s longest serving employee – an incredible 50 years with the company! From her early days in Jackie mag, to her current role in My Weekly, she’s had quite a journey…

After leaving school on a Friday, Dorothy had only one weekend off before joining DC Thomson’s art department in 1971, quickly followed by a move to teenage magazine Jackie. As a Jackie reader, it was surreal for Dorothy to be working on her favourite magazine.

One of Dorothy’s early bosses on Jackie was journalist and broadcaster Nina Myskow. Nina was the first female editor at DC Thomson and played a vital role in bringing Dorothy out of her shell. Upon discovering that Dorothy could tap dance, Nina encouraged her to dance in front of a TV monitor outside a fashion department store one lunchtime, which Dorothy claims cured her shyness.

Dorothy, Marilyn, Sandy, Nina and Alison in the office

Dorothy said: “It’s hard to believe but I was painfully shy when I started in this trendy office and found it quite daunting from meeting celebrities to being part of a team when the magazine sold over a million copies a week in 1973.

Not long after I started Nina asked if I’d like to meet Elton John. She took me to a great concert, then backstage to meet him. I also narrowly missed out on getting a lift home in his Rolls Royce.

Of all the memories Dorothy has shared with us, there’s one that stood out for her.

“Meeting David Essex was like a dream come true. I saw his concert then back to the Angus Hotel to meet him. The shyness kicked in so I didn’t actually say anything, but I did share a plate of chips with him which is my claim to fame.”

So many changes over the years…

When Dorothy joined the art department there were no computers – the tools of the trade were a drawing board with card held on with drawing pins, an em’s-ruler, scalpel, rapidograph, cow gum (liquid wax) and a spatula to stick the type and images onto the page. This was the case up until Dorothy’s time with Classic Stitches, an embroidery and craft magazine, in 1994. However, Dorothy says that while the tools may have changed, creative ideas are still the lifeblood of the company.

Some of the titles Dorothy has worked on

Dorothy has worked on eight magazines during her career including classics such as Blue Jeans and Annabel, but one of her career highlights was her role in the launch of Looking Great magazine in 1987.

My proudest moment was seeing my idea for a fitness magazine come to life. I was involved with every aspect, from concept through to content and design. It was exciting to see it looking great on the newsstands.

“Only two of us worked on the magazine, designer and editorial. We used to go down to London to do interviews and photo sessions, come back, put the magazine together and then go down six weeks later and do it all again. Dolph Lundgren, Swedish actor and Martial Artist, was at Pineapple studios working out while we were visiting, so I asked him if he would mind doing an interview and photos session, which he did.”

Nina and Dorothy met up recently at Jackie The Musical

Her current position, as design editor on My Weekly, has been her longest-serving role.

“There have been so many highlights over the last 21 years on My Weekly, including working on photoshoots for fashion, cookery and My Weekly covers. One of my favourites, though, was the My Weekly holiday in 2019 where I had the chance to meet some of our lovely readers while taking part in dance classes and cocktail making masterclasses – really good fun!”

Dorothy added, “It has been a real joy to work at DC Thomson my whole career. I’ve worked with a lot of talented designers, picture researchers, editors and editorial over the years and I’ve enjoyed every minute and continue to do so.”