Tom was born in Norwich. He began his career as a newspaper journalist on the Eastern Evening News and when Anglia TV opened, he worked on in-house commercials and even had a small role in one of their dramas. He compered a weekly live pop show, Beat on the Border, from Border TV in Carlisle and returned years later to the ITV regional company as an announcer/newsreader.
…King, Martin
Martin was a former actor, whose distinctive, rich voice was heard as an announcer, first at Southern TV (1973) and then for 16 years on network BBC Television (1973 – 1989).
…Buchan, Josephine
Josephine was born in London in 1955. She presented various programmes for the BBC, including: Take Two (BBC One, 1984 – 1985); Pebble Mill at One (BBC One, 1984 – 1986); Rock Around the Clock (BBC Two, 25th August 1984); A Song for Christmas (BBC One, 1985). She was a reporter for Did You See…? (BBC Two, 1985) and Off the Record (BBC Two, 1985), and guest-supported on Best of Brass (BBC Two, 1986). She also appeared on Canned Carrot (BBC One, 1990).
…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.
…McGavin, John
Also known as John McGavin Gordon. John was an ABC and ATV London announcer in the 1950s, but had an ambition to become an actor and went to drama school.
…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).
…Aziz, Khalid
Professor Khalid Aziz LVO, DL, FRSA was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1953. His broadcasting career began at the BBC as a producer at BBC Radio Leicester (1969). He soon moved into TV reporting on the BBC’s Look North (1977 – 1979) and then became its youngest presenter (1979 – 1981), at the age of 24. On 28th March 2008, he joined former presenter Sue Wilkins, along with current presenters Harry Gration and Christa Ackroyd for the programme’s 40th anniversary edition from the National Media Museum.
…Redfern, Barrie
Barrie was born in Rotherham. He started out as a student broadcaster, before moving to BBC Local Radio.
…Myers, John
John was born in Carlisle. He was a familiar face on Border TV (1980s), as a continuity announcer and programme presenter. However, it was in that other broadcast medium – radio – where John truly shone. He was a leading figure in the radio industry, with an association with many stations. He also penned a number of reports on radio – for the government and the BBC.
…Bryans, Lynda
Lynda’s first foray into the world of broadcasting came in 1981, when she took up a role as a copy typist for Ulster Television. In the early days of her television career, Lynda spent a brief period as a television announcer with BBC Northern Ireland (c. 1987). She went on to become one of the regular presenters of the BBC’s local news programme in Northern Ireland, Inside Ulster (1986 – 1994).
…Chalmers, Judith
Judith was born in Stockport, Cheshire. She began broadcasting for the BBC when she was only 13, after being selected for BBC Northern Children’s Hour by producer Trevor Hill.
…Stevens, Julie
Julie is an actress and former ABC contract artist. She was a great children’s favourite on both Play School (1964 – 1978) and Play Away (1971 – 1979) and is remembered for her zany appearances.
…Hobley, McDonald
McDonald was born in Stanley, Falkland Islands. He began his acting career in repertory theatre, under the stage names Val Blanchard and Robert Blanchard, using his mother’s maiden name.
…Malcolm, Mary
Mary was bought up in Poltalloch, Argyll and was the granddaughter of Victorian socialite Lillie Langley, mistress of King Edward VII.
…Thomas, Guy
Guy was born in May 1931. He was invited to join Television Wales and West (TWW) in 1959 as the first newsreader/interviewer at their newly opened Bristol studio before becoming anchorman of the nightly news magazine TWW Reports, covering Wales and the West Country.
…Shaw, Clem
Born Clement Murphy-Shaw, he sold antiques and cars before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
…Carlton, Amanda
Amanda has voiced English language audio courses (e.g. Linguaphone, Pearsons, Hugo, Longmans, de Agostini) since 1986. From 1988, she voiced trails for Anglia TV, Living, Granada Plus, Disney and TVS. Amanda got an attachment as a BBC TV network announcer (1988 – 1990) and was one of the voices on BBC TV’s Points of View (1987 – 1990). She also voiced BBC TV programme trails (1991).
…Hill, Alex
Alex joined the Met Office in 1974 as an observer at Glasgow Airport and after training as a forecaster, he worked as an operational aviation forecaster at various defence sites and airports.
…Bacon, Jim
Jim was born in Suffolk. He was employed by the Met Office from 1968 until 1986. His career started in East Anglia at RAF stations in 1968. He later moved to Bracknell for a few years as a programmer on the Met Office supercomputer.
…Speake, Michael
Michael was born in Shrewsbury. His first broadcasting experience was with pirate radio and later, BBC Radio including being the Midland link for Family Favourites.
…Hammond, John
John was born in Bosham, West Sussex, the son of a farmer. After taking an interest in the weather from the age of four, he studied geography at the University of Salford, followed by meteorology at the University of Birmingham.
…Bower, Stephanie
Stephanie was born in Dundee and went to the University of Glasgow. She initially worked in TV magazines in Glasgow (1996 – 1997) before moving into broadcasting with Granada Sky Broadcasting (1997 – 1999) as an announcer. She moved to a similar role with BBC TV network in 1999. Her time at the BBC included an attachment to BBC London 94.9 (October 2001 – May 2002). She then remained on the BBC TV continuity team until 2006.
…Hailes, Anne
Anne has been working in the media all her working life. She began her broadcasting career with BBC Northern Ireland in the 1980s, contributing to radio programmes, before establishing her own sixty-minute weekly magazine, At Home with Anne Hailes. She was also involved in programmes for the BBC World Service.
…Peters, Andi
Born in Chelsea to Vincentian parents, Andi initially presented CITV’s Free Time (16th September – 23rd December 1988) and briefly provided the continuity links on CITV in summer 1988.
…Ball, Johnny
Johnny made major contributions to children’s TV over 25 years including Play School (545 editions, 1967 – 1984, and occasional appearances until 1987) and Play Away (1972 to 1980), during which time he was the principle comedy writer for the show.
…West, Laurie
Laurence John Thomas West, the son of a sailor, was brought up in Portsmouth. His ambition was to join the Navy, but when he applied as a boy he was told he was “a few days too old”. Instead, in 1924, he joined the RAF as an aircraft apprentice and was posted to RAF Cranwell as a coppersmith, an occupation which earned him the nickname ‘Knocker West’. In 1933, he applied for pilot training and was soon flying a wide variety of aircraft.
…Baker, Trevor
Trevor was always affectionately known as Trevor ‘The Weather’ Baker.
…Neville, Mike
Mike began his career as a newspaper journalist. He would later move into acting before joining Tyne Tees TV first as an announcer then as a reporter (1962 – 1964). He then switched to the ‘other side’ to present the BBC TV’s Look North programme from Newcastle for a staggering 32 years. He also became quite well-known nationally for his regular appearances on BBC TV’s Nationwide in the 1970s. In 1989, Neville was caught by TV prankster Noel Edmonds with a ‘Gotcha’ on his BBC One programme Noel’s Saturday Roadshow. He was tricked into thinking he was filling seven minutes of airtime because there was a technical fault.
…Kyle, Redvers
Redvers is regarded as one of ITV’s announcing greats. He was born in Germiston, South Africa and named after General Sir Redvers Buller, British military commander in the Anglo-Boer War. He began his broadcasting career as a student at Johannesburg University, where he presented for SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation).
…Scott, Jack
Jack was a popular BBC TV forecaster (17th May 1969 – 4th May 1983) and for many years was the senior forecaster. He also presented forecasts on BBC Radio. He was a Met Office employee (1941 – 1983), working on RAF stations (1941 – 1968).
…Young, Muriel
Muriel was born in Bishop Middleham, near Sedgefield, Co Durham. On leaving school, she worked briefly as a librarian. She attended art college, before deciding to embark on a career as an actress. She joined a repertory theatre in Henley-on-Thames, where her uncle was directing. She subsequently performed at the Gateway Theatre, London and the Theatre Royal in Chatham. Trying to get into the film industry, she did modelling for advertising agencies, including promoting products such as toothpaste. She also studied to be a dental nurse and used her artistic talents to paint glassware. Starting out as an actress, she starred with Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall in The Constant Husband (1955) and also featured in The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) in a segment featuring The Mikado.
…Colvile, Charles
Charles was born into a naval family, in Rochester, Kent. He was educated at Westminster School and joined the BBC as a finance clerk in January 1975. The following year came his ‘lucky break’ when he applied for a job as clerk to Radio 4’s The World at One and PM programmes and ended up presenting a sports round-up on the Saturday edition of PM. His first broadcast was 24th April 24 1976 and he was, in his own words “appalling”!
…Pitts, Valerie
Valerie was an actress. She was RADA-trained (1955 – 1957) and worked in the theatre initially.
…Brook, Peter
Peter had a very distinctive, deep, rich voice. He was an announcer at Southern TV (1969 – 1971) and a newsreader for BBC Norwich’s Look East.
…Hayes, Geoffrey
Geoffrey was born in Stockport and attended drama school in Manchester. For generations of pre-school viewers, he was the popular presenter known to viewers as ‘Geoffrey’. He appeared in over 1,000 editions of Thames TV’s long-running children’s series Rainbow (1973 – 1991). He joined after the original presenter, actor/writer David Cook, decided to leave to concentrate on other work. He tipped off Hayes, having performed alongside him in repertory theatre. Geoffrey would remain with the show for the next two decades. He also wrote for the programme and appeared on The Sooty Show (ITV, 1977) and Altogether (ITV, 1981).
…Mitchell, Leslie
Leslie was a BBC radio announcer (1934 – 1936) and was the first BBC TV in-vision announcer, based at Alexandra Palace (1936 – 1938). During the war, he was a regular narrator for the British Movietone News newsreel, shown in cinemas across the UK. When BBC Television opened up again after World War II, he was preoccupied with prospects in the film business. He became an interviewer on BBC TV’s Picture Parade (1946 and 1948 – 1951) and also presented Come Dancing (1950).
…Finighan, Adrian
Adrian is a Welsh journalist. He joined the BBC in 1988, working in local radio as a reporter and producer.
…McCaskill, Ian
Ian was born John Robertson McCaskill in Glasgow. His national service took him into the RAF and in 1959, he joined the Meteorological Corps. He left in 1961 to join the Met Office and later postings included Prestwick Airport, Malta and the Manchester Weather Centre.
…Akua, Nana
Nana was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in July 1971 (as Nana Akua Amotemaa-Appiah), after her parents came over from Ghana in the 1960s. She relocated to the US with her parents, aged 11, but would later return to the UK and study business and finance at university.
…Parkin, Leonard
Born in Thurnscoe, West Riding of Yorkshire, Leonard began his career as a reporter on the Wakefield Express series of weekly papers, then Yorkshire Observer, Bradford Telegraph and Argus and Yorkshire Evening Post. He was one of the BBC’s early television news reporters in the BBC News division (1954 – 1960) and was later BBC Radio News Canada correspondent (1960 – 1965) and Washington correspondent (1963 – 1965). In November 1963, as deputy correspondent in Washington, his Radio Newsreel report on the assassination of John F. Kennedy proved to be an historic recording. He also worked as a reporter on BBC TV’s Panorama (1965 – 1967). He was involved in coverage of five general elections: BBC reporter (1966); ITN reporter (1970, February 1974, 1983) and ITN presenter 1979.
…King, Susan
Susan presented various BBC TV children’s series during the 1970s: Country Search (BBC One, 1975 – 1977); Play It Again… (BBC One, 1975); BBC Manchester’s The Sunday Gang (BBC One, 1976); Horses Galore (BBC One, 1977 – 1979); BBC Manchester’s sports series Stopwatch (BBC One, 1978 – 1980). She was also a guest on All-Star Record Breakers (BBC One, 1975 – 1980), a panellist on Star Turn (BBC One, 1976, 1977 and 1979), and a reporter on We’re Going Places (BBC One, 1979).
…Chell, Carol
Carol was born in 1941. An actress, she studied drama at The Royal Academy of Music and was a qualified teacher who presented many schools series for Granada TV and Central TV including: The Messengers and Enough to Eat.
…Lewis, Anthony
Anthony was born in Leeds. He began acting at the age of nine, with roles in television shows including Heartbeat (1994), Cracker (1995), The Detectives (1995) and A Touch of Frost (1996).
…Jaque, Natalie
Natalie gained a degree in journalism with distinction and then backpacked around the world for a while (before the days of e-mail, iPad or mobile phone). She worked as a staff announcer with the BBC from 1997 until 2004, mainly live on BBC Two. Since March 2015, she has been a freelancing voice on both BBC One and BBC Two. Natalie was also the first female voice on BBC Knowledge and BBC Choice, and went on to become the BBC’s first freelance announcer.
…Muncaster, Martin
Martin was born in Tillington, near Petworth, Sussex and was educated at Stowe.
…Foulkes, Jerry
Jerry was a Children’s ITV presenter who provided the continuity links, alongside Scally the puppet dog, from 28th March until 22nd December 1989. On the first day that Jeanne Downs took over from him (on 2nd January 1990), they had a mop and a bucket in the studio, and a name tag with “Foulkes” on it. During the links both she and Scally made some amusing comments about it.
…Young, Helen
Helen was born in Crawley but raised in East Grinstead and Old Coulsdon/Purley, Surrey. She graduated with a BSc (hons) in geography from Bristol University in 1990 and joined the Met Office in September 1990, working in the commercial services division as a consultant, providing climatology reports for the building and transport industries. She wrote climatological reports for county councils and often had to go out to rural locations and report on whether proposed road routes would be fog prone or frost prone. Helen commented: “It was a great job, but you were certainly less popular than being a TV weather forecaster!” She trained as a forecaster in November 1992 and moved to Bristol Weather Centre in February 1993. She appeared as a forecaster on local TV for HTV for one week as emergency cover. Later, she would move to BBC Bristol, appearing on Points West.
…Downs, Jeanne
Born in Rustington, Jeanne, along with radio presenter Clive Warren, were both hired to present the morning CITV continuity links, which ran from 9.25am to 12.30pm weekdays throughout July and August 1989. The puppet character Scally the Dog often appeared in the mornings with them. During the same period, Jeanne and Clive took turns as stand-ins for fellow Children’s ITV presenter Jerry Foulkes in the afternoons, when he was away on holiday.
…Terzza, Gary
Gary graduated from Keele University. He began his voiceover career at ITV Central (based in the Midlands), in 1982, as an in-vision announcer.
…Griffiths, Derek
Derek is fondly remembered by a certain generation as a children’s TV presenter during the 1970s on Play School and Play Away.
…Hammal, Bruce
Bruce was born in 1951. He’s a former studio manager and BBC TV announcer (1975 – 1984). He also appeared in-vision on BBC TV’s Breakfast Time‘ in 1983, in the TV Choice slot and as the out-of-vision commentator on Come Dancing (1980 – 1984).
…Buckley, Bill
Bill was born in Burton-on-Trent. He’s a radio/TV presenter, journalist, songwriter and former actor.
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