Nick joined the BBC as a studio manager in 1979. He was a BBC Radio 4 announcer (1984 – 1985) and a BBC TV network announcer (1985 – 1986). He then moved within the Presentation department, producing trails and later working on new production systems for the new Broadcast Centre. He unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of one of Esther’s news boys in That’s Life! at the old Shepherd’s Bush TV Theatre in 1991. He did radio presenting from the Falklands and is currently the channel voice for Horse and Country TV.
…McQueen, Barry
Barry was born in Sydney, Australia in 1932. He originally studied medicine but moved into radio as a commercial announcer (1950 – 1953). For the next six years, he worked in both television and radio for ABC as a newsreader; he also presented Thursday at One (1957), Night Out at Scott’s (1958) and Happy New Year (1959). He worked on commercial TV in Melbourne (1959 – 1960) and presented Today (1960).
…Barnes, Ruth
Ruth graduated from the University of Cape Town. She was a regular contributor to The Tom Robinson Show (BBC Radio 6 Music, 2009 – 2012) and she presented The Other Woman (Amazing Radio, 2011 – 2015). Ruth was a continuity announcer for BBC One and BBC Two (March 2011 – 2015 and 2017); and since January 2018, she has been heard on BBC Four. In 2014, she began presenting documentaries on BBC Radio 4. And in 2016, she became director of Chalk and Blade, a podcast production company.
…Whitfield, Ashleigh
Ashleigh was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1980. She graduated from the University of Sunderland. In 2001, she won a radio competition to be the traffic and travel reporter at Century FM.
…Cowan, Barry
Barry Cowan was one of the leading faces of BBC Northern Ireland news and current affairs during the worst of The Troubles in the 1970s and 1980s. He was much-respected by broadcast colleagues and by politicians. Born in Coleraine, County Derry/Londonderry, Barry was educated at Ballymena Academy and graduated in physics from Queen’s University, Belfast. His broadcasting career began in the early 1970s with the BBC, where he was a studio manager. But the man who would eventually become a formidable on-air talent quickly moved into reporting and presenting. In 1974, he became the main anchor on BBC Northern Ireland’s flagship current affairs/news programme, Scene Around Six.
…Gentry, Sarah
Sarah graduated from the Oxford School of Drama in 1991 and after years of living out of a bag as a touring actor, she went into stage management in the West End on The Buddy Holly Story. However, her need to perform came calling again and she landed the job as a BBC TV continuity announcer (April 1999 – November 2010). She was primarily a BBC Two voice but occasionally turned up on BBC One. She could also be heard on BBC Radio 5 Live promotions. She was the launch voice of BBC Knowledge (June 1999).
…Gray, Gavin
Gavin was a senior news editor for BBC News. He also made brief on-screen appearances reading the news. In March 1957, Donald Baverstock, editor of the current affairs TV programme Tonight, introduced a short news summary within the programme, transmitted from Egton House (where BBC Radio 1 was housed for many years) and read by a senior duty news editor. Gray read the first news summary on 22nd March 1957. It turned out to be a short-lived experiment and Gray read the final (in-programme) news summary on 21st August 1957.
…Coverdale, Frances
Frances was born in London. She is a former newspaper journalist.
…Courtie, Simeon
Simeon was born in Swindon and grew up in Liverpool. His father was a vicar. He left school in 1986, aged 16, and became a City & Guilds-qualified mechanical and electrical engineer, completing a four-year apprenticeship at Timsons, a printing press manufacturer in Kettering. During this time, he joined the local hospital radio station KHBA and started volunteering at BBC Radio Northampton. In 1990, he began a full-time broadcasting career as a radio car reporter and presenter at BBC Radio Northampton.
…Everard, Martin
Martin’s first on-air role was as a relief announcer with BBC Northern Ireland in the 1960s. From there he moved to London and gradually moved up through the ranks of TV presentation, before moving into programme production. He took some time out from his BBC job to participate in the British America’s Cup Challenge (Lionheart) (1979 – 1980).
…Ward-Lewis, Colin
Colin was born in Lambeth in 1939. He is a former actor and a former member of the National Youth Theatre. Michael Croft (who founded the NYT in 1956) was an English master at Colin’s old school. Colin was working at the De Lane Lea Studios in 1963 when the BBC gave the go-ahead for BBC Two and a friend, Michael Wood said he should apply.
…Empringham, Brian
Brian was briefly a BBC TV network announcer (1971 – 1972). He was also an announcer on BBC Radio 4 (1971 – 1974) and BBC External Services/World Service (1978 – 1998).
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