Brian was a much-loved actor and iconic children’s TV presenter. He enthralled generations of children with his contributions to many classic series including Play School (1964 – 1987) and Play Away (1971 – 1984).
…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).
…McKechnie, Vera
Born in 1929, Vera worked as an actress in the theatre and began her broadcasting career in Children’s Hour on BBC Radio in Manchester (1948 – 1954), working with Violet Carson and Uncle Mac, before going for an audition for BBC Children’s Television in London.
…Kendall, Kenneth
Born in India, Kenneth was educated at Felsted School and Oxford, where he gained a degree in modern languages. He was a school master and later captain in the Coldstream Guards during World War II. He was injured on D-Day.
…Baker, Richard
Born and educated in London, Richard graduated from Cambridge University and served in the Royal Navy during World War II, returning to London to work as an actor and teacher.
…Guru-Murthy, Krishnan
Liverpool-born and educated at Oxford University, Krishnan’s broadcasting career began in 1988, when he presented discussion programme Open to Question (BBC Two, 1988 – 1989); he was also a reporter on youth current affairs programme Reportage (BBC Two, 1988 – 1989).
…Austin, Craig
Craig Austin combines roles as a broadcaster, writer and producer. He started his media career in radio and moved on to television, dipping his toes in ink along the way.
Craig is from Uddingston, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and is the youngest of four boys. He started a career in medical laboratory sciences but after three years he returned to student life to study media. He does miss the white coat though!
It was during his final year as a student that he got his first professional broadcasting gigs, writing and presenting travel and traffic reports on a number of Scotland’s radio stations, as well as doing commercial voiceovers. A short spell hosting his own shows on Radio Tay in Dundee followed, before Craig found himself in Carlisle, working as an announcer, presenter and producer for Border Television.
…Hayden-Smith, Andrew
Andrew is a former CBBC presenter. He’s currently an announcer on ITV.
Mae, Geri
Geri joined the RTÉ Network 2 announcing team in late-1997. She moved on to front children’s TV junctions – on Den 2 – in 1998.
Arnold, Andrea
Andrea was one of the presenters of children’s show No.73 (ITV).
…Oldfield, Valerie
Valerie was an Anglia Television and Tyne Tees Television in-vision continuity announcer in the 1960s. She also presented the Anglia children’s programme Afternoon Club (1960 – 1963).
De Barra, Máire
A familiar face on RTÉ TV, Máire was a continuity announcer and children’s presenter in the 1970s and 1980s. She left the station in 1990.
Presenting roles included Dilín Ó Deamhas, a 10-minute all-Irish weekly programme aimed at pre-schoolers, which ran from 1983 until 1988.
Máire trained as an actress in the Abbey School of Acting, before joining RTÉ Radio in 1972.