Roger attended Cardiff High School for Boys and Harrow County Grammar School. He studied Welsh for seven years.
…Hearle, Duncan
Duncan’s broadcasting career began in Singapore just before World War II. When the colony fell, he was imprisoned and made to work on the notorious Burma railway. In 1946 he applied to the BBC for an announcing job. He got it and was posted to Belfast in January, where he remained for the next thirty years.
Duncan worked mainly on radio during his time with BBC Northern Ireland, becoming known as the ‘Voice of Radio Ulster’. He presented over 20,000 local news bulletins. He read his last news script during the 8.55am bulletin on BBC Radio Ulster on 21st September 1976.
Duncan then retired from broadcasting and moved to Wales.
During his time with BBC Northern Ireland, Duncan also performed some television announcing duties.
Stuart, Arlene
Arlene was a popular Grampian in-vision announcer (1980s and early 1990s). She moved to the BBC Scotland TV as a continuity director/announcer. She later presented the mid-morning show on Forth 2. Arlene continued with television work as presenter of The River – a Grampian programme which followed the River Dee from its source to the sea traversing Braemar, Lochnagar, Balmoral, Glen Tanar and Banchory. She has also guest-presented for Scottish Passport.
Straker, Richard
Richard was a BBC TV network announcer for 25 years (1971 – 1985 and senior announcer, 1985 – 1996). His responsibilities later were to recruit new voices which kept him away from the microphone a lot of the time. He is now retired.
Finighan, Rob
Rob is a former BBC Wales TV continuity director/announcer (dates TBC).
Scott, Anne
Anne was a Grampian TV reporter, newsreader and co-presenter of North Tonight in the 1990s. She then joined BBC Scotland as a TV continuity director/announcer. She also announced and read the news on BBC Radio Scotland (until c. 2006).
Saunders, Michaela
Michaela studied at the London College of Music.
…Burke, Rodney
Rodney was a BBC East TV announcer (mid-1970s – late-1970s).
Develin, Mark
Mark graduated from Rhodes University and initially worked for SABC in South Africa. In a broadcasting career spanning just over twenty years, he worked in various roles: a broadcast journalist, programme producer, news bulletin editor/presenter, programme presenter, television announcer, interviewer and trainer.
…Stevens, Lorna
Lorna was an HTV West and Thames TV continuity announcer who moved to the HTV weather department when in-vision announcing was axed in 1993. She was regularly seen as a weather presenter on both HTV West and HTV Wales, but recently left when weather presentation was centralised in Birmingham. Lorna is also believed to have announced for HTV Wales.
A former professional model who worked with The Bluebell Girls first in Barcelona, Spain, and then in Paris, she started her broadcasting career on her return to the UK with local ILR station Radio 210 in the Thames Valley. She went on to work as an announcer for BBC Radio 4 and was a network announcer on BBC TV (1984 – 1986), before embarking on a career as a freelance announcer/presenter for several ITV companies and also on BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting). Lorna also worked as an announcer on Westcountry Television in Plymouth for around 18 months from 1993 with colleague Peter Griffin.
Sheppard, Roy
Roy was a BBC Wales TV continuity director/announcer (1980s). He also read Wales Today bulletins.
…Harvey, Amanda
Amanda currently works as a continuity announcer/director on BBC One Scotland. The role previously also covered BBC Two Scotland but that channel was replaced by the network version of BBC Two, just prior to the launch of the BBC Scotland channel. Although the dedicated Scottish content channel has its own team of announcers, some BBC One Scotland voices can also be heard on the BBC Scotland channel.