Born Gordon Allan in Manchester, David is a broadcaster with over 50 years’ experience and, for people of a certain generation, is a very recognisable voice. Certainly one of the great broadcast voices of all time.
…Aspel, Michael
Michael was born in London. He was evacuated during World War II, for four-and-a-half years, to Chard in Somerset. He worked as a tea boy at William Collins publishers and completed his National Service in the ranks of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (1951 – 1953).
…Mandell, Barbara
Born Allada Barbara Grenville-Wells in London, Barbara moved with her family to South Africa in 1924. She followed her late father into journalism and worked for the Rand Daily Mail, where he had been deputy editor.
…Bertram, Trish
Born in Royston, Herts, Trish started out as a stage manager in the theatre and was the longest-serving female TV announcer in the UK. She announced live for LWT, ITV, Channel 5, BBC World, BSB Galaxy, Super Channel, TVS, Westcountry TV and The Family Channel.
…Brinton, Tim
Tim was educated at Summer Fields, Eton and went to the University of Geneva. After National Service, he trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama and in the early 1950s he joined the BBC as a radio announcer.
…Westwood, Stephen
Stephen was a Carlton TV (London) announcer (1997 – TBC). He also covered the ITV Nighttime service.
Hayden-Smith, Andrew
Andrew is a former CBBC presenter. He’s currently an announcer on ITV.
Badawi, Zeinab
Zeinab’s broadcasting career began as an ITN newscaster, working on Channel 4 News (1989 – 1998). She also presented on the ITV Morning News in the 1990s and on the Channel 4 Daily in 1990.
In 1998, she joined the BBC and spent five years working on live political programmes based at Westminster. She then moved to radio, where she presented The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4 and Newshour on the BBC World Service.
In April 2005, Zeinab was announced as the new presenter of BBC Four’s news programme, The World. The programme – also broadcast on BBC World News – was rebranded as World News Today in May 2007. She continued to present the programme until 2013.
…Bower, Colin
Colin was a continuity announcer for ABC Television, TWW (Television Wales and the West) in 1958, and one of the first announcers and newsreaders on Anglia Television from its launch in 1959. During his time at the Norwich-based station, Colin also interviewed for news programmes and was a quizmaster. After leaving Anglia in 1964, Colin worked as an announcer/newsreader for the overseas service of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and later that year moved to Tyne Tees TV in Newcastle as a continuity announcer and newscaster. As a freelance newsreader, announcer, presenter and quizmaster between 1967 and 1975, Colin worked for several ITV stations, including Westward Television, Grampian and Border. He also worked for the BBC in Bristol, Southampton and London.
…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.
…Arnold, Andrea
Andrea was one of the presenters of children’s show No.73 (ITV).
…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.