Mary was born in 1956 in Clondalkin, Dublin. She was an announcer on RTÉ TV from 1978 until 1992, covering both channels. She moved to the news division, fronting news bulletins on TV and radio from 1992. In 1995 Mary presented the Eurovision Song Contest from Dublin. She went on to become involved in a number of TV productions, including her own Saturday night chat show, Kennedy in 1997. From the late-1990s until 2004, Mary co-hosted the daytime TV programme, Open House. She is now a presenter on the regional magazine programme, Nationwide.
Tracy, Sheila
Born as Sheila Lugg in Mullion, Cornwall. Sheila studied piano, violin and trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.
…Brown, Malcolm
Malcolm trained as an announcer on HTV West in the late-1960s and early 1970s before moving to Granada in 1972. He stayed with the company until 1982 when he moved south to join franchise winners TVS. Malcolm made the very first announcement on TVS on 1st January 1982, and remained as a voice-only announcer after in-vision continuity was dispensed with in the mid-1980s. He also acted as MC for TVS’ final programme Goodbye to All That.
Malcolm was later heard reading letters out on BBC Radio 4’s Feedback. He also spent time as a disc jockey on London’s easy-listening radio station Magic FM.
Miles, David
David was born in 1954. He joined the BBC in 1975, working initially as a studio manager in Bush House.
…De Ste Criox, Gordon
Gordon joined Channel Television in 1972 as an in-vision announcer and newsreader. He went on to edit the station’s listings magazine The Channel TV Times and Channel Text, the one-hundred-page Teletext magazine for the Channel Islands. Gordon has also been head of Creative Channel, Channel Television’s commercial and corporate production company, and director of sales. He’s on the station’s board of directors.
Carrad, Jeremy
Jeremy was a news presenter on Points West (BBC One West, 1962 – 1976). He also presented the network children’s science show Tom Tom (BBC One, 1966 – 1969).
…Marquis, Mary
Mary is best known as the long-serving presenter of various regional news magazine programmes on BBC Scotland. She was also a familiar face on ITV screens as a continuity announcer on Border TV.
Chapman, Lindsey
Lindsey graduated with a BA in drama and theatre arts from the University of Birmingham (2005) before completing a diploma from the Birmingham School of Acting (2007).
…Ashe, John
John was a TV newsreader with BBC Northern Ireland in the 1980s, presenting short bulletins mainly, including news summaries within Scene Around Six. He switched to a continuity announcer/director role in the early 1990s.
John retired from the BBC in November 2006. His last on air announcement was on BBC Two Northern Ireland at 12.20am on 1st November 2006.
Robbie, Sue
Sue was a Granada Television in-vision continuity announcer in the late-1970s and early 1980s. She went on to present a series of networked shows for the company, including Connections, First Post and TX.
Roberts, Karen
Karen is a former Border Television continuity announcer.
Matheson, Kate
Kate was born in 1936, as Audrey Craig-Brown, in Newton Mearns, a suburb of Glasgow. She took various parts in repertory in theatres in both England and Scotland, sometimes alongside the actor/announcer Graham Roberts, whom she married in 1959.
…Hobson, Derek
Derek was an ATV in-vision continuity announcer who hit the big time as the presenter of ATV’s successful New Faces talent contest (1973 – 1978). This was the role for which he is perhaps best known, but he also hosted several other ITV gameshows over the years, including That’s My Dog for TSW. Derek also presented ATV’s regional news programme, ATV Today.
Derek is also believed to have announced on LWT (TBC)
Astle, Helen
Helen is a presenter on the BBC’s East Midlands Today. Previously, she was a producer and newsreader at BBC Radio Leicester.
Vickery, David
David is an experienced television announcer and voiceover artist. He was one of the initial presenters of Late Night Late on TVS. He has worked as an announcer on many TV channels, including Meridian, LWT, Carlton (London), BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, Discovery Channel and Biography Channel.
…Owen, Jamie
Jamie was an announcer with BBC Wales TV (early 1990s – 1994), having arrived from BBC Radio 4, where he was a newsreader and announcer. He left BBC Wales continuity to front Wales Today (1994 – January 2018). He also presented a daily morning phone-in programme on BBC Radio Wales. He left BBC Wales in January 2018 to take up a new role with international broadcaster TRT World.
On the announcement of his departure from BBC Wales, Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Wales, said: “Jamie has helped chronicle every twist and turn in our nation’s story over more than two decades.
“A natural and instinctive broadcaster, he’s made an immense contribution on both radio and television. We all wish him well on his latest international assignment.”
Garmon Rhys, BBC Wales’ head of news, added: “I want to thank Jamie for his huge contribution to BBC Wales over many years.
“A unique broadcaster, he’s been an integral part of BBC Wales Today for over two decades.”
Macann, Peter
Peter was born in Tehran, Iran. His father, as a Colonel in the Indian Army, was Consul in Ahwaz at the time. Peter spent the first four years of his life in India, before arriving in the UK in 1948.
…Thompsett, Glen
Glen was a TVS announcer who later joined LWT just as in-vision announcing was being phased out in the early 1980s. Glen remained with LWT until October 2002. From 2002 to 2004, he was a freelance announcer at ITV 1. He has also presented for Meridian News in the south east, Sky Television, and on several satellite travel and shopping channels.
Glen has worked at a number of radio stations: he was a member of the launch team at Severn Sound in Gloucester in 1980; GWR in Wiltshire; Mercia Sound in Coventry; host of the breakfast show on Kent’s Invicta FM during the late-1980s and early 1990s, gaining some of the highest audience figures in the station’s history.
Glen runs his own audio production studio in Kent and produces work for a variety of independent companies and corporate clients.
Champney, Clive
Clive was a long-serving Border Television continuity announcer and also programme presenter, from 1963. Clive now narrates for audio books.
Thornton, Mark
Mark is a former freelance continuity announcer for Border TV (late-1990s). He was also a DJ on Metro FM in the north east of England.
Mulhern, Stephen
Stephen was a continuity presenter on CITV (1998 – 2002). He also presented a number of programmes for CITV, including The Quick Trick Show and SM:TV Live. He currently presents Big Star’s Little Star (ITV) and Catchphrase (ITV).
…Bracken, Ursula
Ursula joined RTÉ in 2007, working initially as a continuity announcer on RTÉ One. She later took on weather presenting duties.
Ursula worked as a secondary teacher for nine years before leaving the classroom to pursue a career in TV. She graduated from UCG Galway with a BA in French and English, an H Dip in Education and a Masters Degree in French. She returned to college ten years later to study Communications in NUI Maynooth.
Fox, Liz
Liz is a former actress and continuity announcer at Southern TV, Ulster TV, Tyne Tees TV and BBC Radio External Services. She was also an announcer at Anglia TV and compere for Yorkshire TV’s Stars on Sunday.
Lipscomb, Mark
Mark started his television career as a cameraman and moved into continuity with TVS before joining Thames Television as a continuity announcer in the 1980s. He stayed until Carlton took over and was the only member of the Thames continuity team to move to the new station at its launch on 1st January 1993. Mark was Carlton’s senior announcer until October 2002 when the Carlton identity was dropped. However, Mark continued to present weekend bulletins for Central News (South) – a role he had been performing since 1991. He has also presented the main early evening news programme during the week.
Mark spoke to Showreel in January 2006: “Over the past three-and-a half-years I have had the opportunity of working on a number of projects at Central News. I was assistant producer on a few outside broadcasts including Central’s pan-regional Britain on the Move campaign and the Fairford Royal International Air Tattoo. More recently while our studio was being redesigned for the ITV rebranding, we took Central News outside and presented the programme from five of the region’s hospitals. I helped produce this and was also the roving reporter each night taking on a variety of tasks, from sampling the hospital Christmas dinners to being a cleaner for the day and hospital porter. My skills were also put to the test one night when due to sickness with one of our directors, I ended up directing the outside broadcast. It was a great week and well-received by the viewers. That together with some radio presenting and voiceover work, I have been a busy man since leaving Carlton.”
Ashe, Anna-Maria
Anna-Maria Ashe was a continuity announcer at BBC Scotland, TVS and Grampian Television in the mid-1980s. She also presented lunchtime news bulletins in-vision during her time with BBC Scotland (1986). She later moved to the TVS nightly news magazine Coast to Coast where she did a stint at presenting/newsreading for the Southampton edition, before moving to the Maidstone programme.
Anna-Maria was replaced at Maidstone by Liz Wickham when she moved to LWT as the main anchor of LWT News and LWT News Weekend. She was one of the main presenters on the London Tonight programme on ITV until February 2004.
Tibbetts, Pam
Formerly Pam Rennison. Pam was presentation editor for BBC Scotland, responsible for day-to-day presentation services on all of the BBC’s local radio and television services there.
…Astley, Pat
Well-known ATV continuity announcer. Pat worked at ATV from the 1950s until the early 1970s and is particularly remembered for his role as one of the presenters of regional children’s programme The Tingha and Tucker Club. His son, Gordon Astley, also became one of the presenters of ATV’s Saturday morning children’s spectacular, Tiswas.
Kynoch, Douglas
Douglas was born in Aberdeen. He was teaching English in Germany when he heard about a new ITV station opening in Aberdeen.
…Bell, Graham
Graham Bell was born in London. He was an actor who appeared in rep in Oxford, Old Vic, Newcastle and Stratford East.
…Rogers, Graham
Graham was a staff ITV network announcer (October 2002 – TBC). He is a former Radio 210 disc jockey who fronted TVS’ overnight service, Late Night Late. He joined Meridian from TVS to present the overnight service Nightime. He went on to become one of Meridian’s four duty announcers, also providing continuity for Anglia and HTV West. Graham has also announced for Channel 4.
Additionally, Graham continues to freelance as a presenter and voiceover on programmes for Sky, Channel 5 and ITV 2. He also produced and presented the Exercise Helping Hand documentaries in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Collins, Peter
Peter is an RTÉ sports presenter and former RTÉ 2FM DJ. He was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One for a year or so, from 1987 and into 1988.
Barker, Ellie
Ellie studied sociology at Bath University. On leaving university, Ellie’s aspirations to work in television got off to a good start with a work placement on the BBC’s Kilroy programme; she later became Robert Kilroy-Silk’s PA. She moved on to join GMTV, as a runner initially but went on to become a trainee producer.
It was then back to the books to study for a post-graduate diploma in broadcast journalism at Birmingham University. Ellie subsequently got a position as a trainee journalist with Carlton. She later moved to HTV West as a journalist, followed by a return to GMTV as Scotland correspondent.
In October 2003, she joined BBC Look East as a presenter and reporter, covering the west of the region.
Spankie, Jimmy
Jimmy is a former Grampian smd Scottish TV announcer and presenter. Since his departure from the announcing/presenting role, he remained a favourite in the north east of Scotland and was often to be seen supporting charitable events. He has also done media consultancy work.
Sayer, Phil
Phil was briefly an in-vision announcer for Granada (1982) before joining BBC TV in the north west as a news presenter. He’s also worked for several regional radio stations and runs his own voiceover agency.
“I may have been the shortest serving Granada announcer, having been there for just six months,” says Phil.
Kee, Robert
During a long career in TV news and current affairs, Robert was associated with a number of BBC and ITV programmes: reporter, BBC TV’s Panorama (1958 – 1962) and presenter in 1982; reporter, This Week (1965 – 1968); ITN newscaster on lunchtime programme First Report (October 1972 – January 1976). In 1980 he both wrote and presented Ireland – A Television History.
…Timlin, David
David was an RTÉ newsreader and announcer, from the early 1960s until the mid-1970s.
Coyne, Tom
Tom was born in South Shields. In his 20s, he was a presenter of BBC Radio’s Children’s Hour. He made his first TV appearance in 1958, interviewing a miner on Tyne Tees TV. He was a member of the original announcing team in 1959.
…Lavers, Paul
Paul was born in Bristol. He is an actor and has appeared in many stage plays, including Les Blancs at London’s National Theatre (2016); he toured with Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce (2016).
…Porter, Gillian
Gillian spent a brief spell on the BBC Northern Ireland TV announcing staff in 1992. She then moved to UTV, to take up a similar role there.
…Wogan, Terry
Terry joined Radio Éireann as an announcer in 1961. He was a presenter and newsreader on RTÉ Television until joining the BBC in 1969.
Glass, Katie
Katie was born in Lusaka, Zambia. Her father was in the army.
…Brown, Scott
Scott was a Grampian TV in-vision announcer (late-1980s – early 1990s). He also presented a Grampian-produced antiques show with Fiona Armstrong.
Imray, June
June was born in Aberdeen. She graduated with an MA arts degree from the University of Aberdeen and taught for two years in Aberdeen and Somerset.
…Crawford, Tracey
In 1989, Tracey began her career voicing and creating commercials/promotions and producing shows for Northsound Radio in Aberdeen.
…Bailey, Llewela
Llewela is perhaps best known for her role as a news presenter with ITV Central – she presented both the West and East Midlands editions of Central News between 1988 and December 2008. Her broadcasting career began in radio, as a researcher for BBC Radio 1. She later joined BBC Radio Nottingham.
Although she retired from television in 2008, she has since used her broadcasting experience to train others. She is a part-time lecturer in Journalism Law and Ethics at Staffordshire University. And since February 2016, Llewela has been presenting the Sunday morning breakfast show on BBC WM.
Dodd, Pamela
Later Pamela Thomson. Pamela joined Granada as an on-screen announcer and newsreader in 1989. She went freelance in 1992 and worked in local TV and radio news (including back at Granada) as Pam Thomson, fitting her career around her family. Pam has a BA from Durham University (German) and a post-grad diploma in Journalism from the University of Central Lancashire.
…Ashford, Kevin
Presenter with Central News (East).
Woods, Laura
Laura joined RTÉ in March 2000, working as an announcer on both RTÉ TV channels, although primarily on RTÉ Network 2. In autumn 2002, she started into a new presenting role on the newly launched youth strand ID Two on RTÉ Network 2. She later moved into a mainstream presenting role, fronting RTÉ One’s popular lottery game show, Winning Streak.
Stuart, Jane
Jane was an In-vision continuity announcer for Channel Television (dates TBC). She was also a regular in the newsreader’s chair (1980s – TBC).
Harkins, John
John is a former CFM Radio newsreader. He was also a Border TV continuity announcer. He went on to become a producer/presenter for Border and fronted weekday local news bulletins.
Buckley, Karina
Karina joined the RTÉ TV announcing team in the late-1990s, working mainly on RTÉ One. She also presents weather forecasts on both RTÉ TV channels.
Holness, Bob
Bob was born in Vryheid, Natal in South Africa. The family moved to Kent when he was seven.
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