Edgar had a brief stint as a continuity announcer with Ulster Television in the early 1970s before heading around the corner to the BBC and taking on a similar TV role there.
…Lydiate, Dean
Dean is a BBC TV network announcer (1999 – present). In addition to domestic presentation, he was also the voice of the BBC’s international channel, BBC Prime (dates TBC) broadcasting to Europe, Russia, Africa, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He has also appeared on two other BBC Worldwide channels (2004 – TBC): BBC Prime (Asia) and BBC Japan.
Christie, Bob
Bob started off as an announcer with Scottish TV. He later joined the BBC Scotland announcing team in the mid-1970s and clocked up more than 25 years’ service before he retired in 2000. Like most of the other announcers of his generation, he regularly read the Scottish News summaries in-vision until 1988. In his last few years with the BBC, Bob tended to work on radio rather than TV.
Weston, Colin
Colin was born in London. He left school and joined the press and PR department of ABC Studios in Teddington and stayed for four years. After they lost their ITV franchise, he applied for various announcer jobs across the ITV network.
…Woods, Peter
Peter was born in Romford, Essex. He began in print journalism writing for the Yorkshire Post, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, with only a break for military service as a commissioned officer in the Royal Horse Guards.
…Glover, John
John was a BBC TV network announcer for 21 years (1964 – 1985), including a period as a senior network announcer (February 1982 to 1985). He died in November 1985.
Hall, James
James as a BBC Wales TV continuity director/ announcer (mid-1990s – TBC).
Lithgoe, Lynette
Lynette started her television career as an in-vision announcer at Granada Television. She then moved to the BBC in the East Midlands as a presenter (1989) and later became a national BBC TV newsreader (February 1990 – October 1991), mostly on weekend bulletins and for BBC Two’s News View. She also presented the charity appeal programme Lifeline in the late-1980s. She left to join BBC World as a newsreader in 1991.
…Armour, Downie
Downie was a BBC TV national weather forecaster (1956 – 1958). He died in 1979.
Austin, Wendy
Wendy joined BBC Northern Ireland in November 1976, fresh from her presenting duties on Downtown Radio. She joined the commercial radio station earlier in 1976, following four years as a newspaper journalist: initially with the East Antrim Times (1972 – 1974) and then the Belfast Telegraph (1974 – 1976). Wendy’s BBC career began as a TV reporter but by the 1980s, she was also presenting on Scene Around Six and later, Inside Ulster. She co-presented the BBC NI opt-outs during Children in Need and was also the face of a local supermarket chain’s advertising campaign in the 1980s.
As well as appearing on screen, Wendy was also involved with BBC Radio Ulster’s breakfast programme Good Morning Ulster, from the early 1980s. Since the late-1980s, Wendy has mostly stayed with radio. She has been one of the main presenters on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster and between 1988 and 1998, she presented nationally on BBC Radio 4, on programmes such as PM, Pick of the Week and Woman’s Hour. However, she did pop up on TV screens occasionally – she took over from former colleague Sean Rafferty as presenter of The DIY Show.
…Ford, Anna
Anna joined Granada TV in 1974 for a job on the company’s news desk. She was a presenter on BBC TV’s Man Alive and Tomorrow’s World (1977). She was a newscaster with ITN (March 1978 – March 1981), and also their medical correspondent in 1980. She left ITN to help set up TV-am, as one of the original ‘Famous Five’, but left in April 1983 after a bitter boardroom battle shortly after the company’s on-air debut.
She was a BBC TV newsreader from February 1989, working mainly on the Six o’Clock News, with occasional appearances on the One o’Clock News. She was a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today (1993 – 1998). She became the main anchor of the relaunched BBC TV One o’Clock News programme, from May 1999.
Anna retired from news presenting in April 2006.
Edwards, Ben
Ben was a BBC TV network announcer (1994 – 1996). He then moved to an announcing role at Channel 4 (1996 – c. 1998).