Anne was born in Belfast. In October 1959, aged 19, she joined Ulster TV at its launch, as an announcer. She later presented the local news magazine programme Roundabout.
…Elwes, Polly
Born Mary Freya Elwes and known as Polly. She attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, now part of the University of London.
…Prebble, Simon
In 1960, Simon attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and began his acting career in one of Britain’s first television soap operas, Home Tonight with David Hemmings. For the next eleven years he worked extensively on radio and television and in provincial repertory theatre, including a year with Ian McKellen’s Hamlet.
After working as a continuity announcer and newsreader at Southern TV (1970), Prebble joined the newsroom at Capital Radio, the second commercial radio station in Britain, where he hosted London’s Day. He then embarked on a career as a presenter and voiceover, including thirteen years as the promo voice of Thames Television, as well as regular promo work for HTV and Anglia TV. He was also an announcer for Anglia TV. From 1984 he was the announcer for the British version of the phenomenally successful game show The Price Is Right with Leslie Crowther.
In 1990, Prebble moved to New York where he continued doing voiceover work. As well as recording numerous radio and television commercials, he also character-voiced cartoon series, such as Courage the Cowardly Dog; he hosted and presented several television documentary series, notably Target Mafia; and narrated the IMAX film Endurance about the Shackleton expedition. In 1996, he was a lead actor for a year (as villain Martin Chedwyn) on the American daily soap opera As the World Turns.
In the US, he also began narrating audio books. His work has gained him more than eighteen Earphone awards, nine nominations for the Audies (the audiobook Oscars), and in 2005, he was named Narrator of the Year by Publishers Weekly.
Apart from his acting career, in 1967 Prebble designed and produced the ‘executive toy’ called Newton’s Cradle.
In 2003, at Chiswick House London, he married Swedish graphic artist, Marie-Janine Hellstrom. In 2007, along with his wife, he became a US citizen.
Everett, Kenny
Kenny is a former radio and TV presenter..
…Moore, Ray
Ray was born in Liverpool. On leaving school his first job was at Liverpool docks.
…Brittain, Andrew
Andrew was an announcer with Granada from the late-1980s until the late-1990s. He was also the voice of Stars in Their Eyes. He was a daytime newsreader and also a reporter for Granada Reports. In the 1990s, Andrew also narrated some of the later World in Action documentaries. He also did voiceover work for radio commercials and corporate clients.
Farnham, Jane
Jane started out as ‘Pippa Horn’, the travel and breakfast co-presenter at Red Dragon FM in Cardiff. Whilst working on the breakfast show she was approached by HTV Wales to present Time Out, a holiday programme based in Wales. She then went on to present her own drivetime show at Medway FM in Kent, which also involved producing features and organising competitions and roadshows.
In 1998, Jane started work at Metro Networks presenting travel reports for the Chris Evans breakfast show on Virgin FM and she also landed a job on the continuity sofa at ITV 2.
In May 2000, she started working for Earth and Space at NOW – a pioneering convergence channel broadcasting to Asia and worldwide on the web. The work involved anchoring live science programmes, interviewing guest scientists, writing web pages and occasionally working on location for special reports.
During 2001, Jane worked in Holland and Athens for five weeks at a time directing and presenting travel programmes for a new broadband/linear channel called Viewing 4 Leisure.
In 2002, she worked with Ant and Dec on ITV 1 as a regional presenter on Record of the Year.
In 2004, Jane filmed kids show X-perimental for BBC One. Working as the science reporter, it was Jane’s responsibility to get the science across in an unpatronising, no-nonsense, yet easily understood manner.
Also in 2004, Jane worked as a studio/location presenter for TV Travel Shop, which involved a shoot in America filming Go Florida.
Jane has also worked as a continuity announcer on Channel 5 and Challenge (dates TBC).
Jane is currently a freelance presenter.
She has also worked at Price Drop TV, where she had to talk and sell non-stop for three hours at a time. She has guest-presented on QVC. She is also a children’s presenter for British Forces TV.
Haigh, Peter
Ní Ghallchóir, Bernadette
Bernadette was a presenter and continuity announcer on Irish television. She hosted the Irish language show Buntús Cainte in the 1960s. She is probably best remembered for hosting the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest from the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Her involvement with Eurovision continued, when in 1973 she hosted National Song Contest.
Bernadette was one of a team of three continuity announcers at the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978. Raymond Maxwell and Roisin Harkin accompanied Bernadette on opening night.
Bernadette retired from television in the 1980s.
Rippon, Angela
Angela was born in Plymouth. On leaving school at 17, she began her journalistic career in newspapers in Devon.
…Rhodes, Pam
Pam is perhaps best known as one of the presenters of the BBC’s Songs of Praise. She was a regular in-vision continuity announcer for London Weekend Television (1981 – TBC). Before that she was an announcer, reporter and presenter for Norwich-based Anglia Television; she co-presented on About Anglia (1976 – 1981).
Before embarking on a career as a presenter, Rhodes was a Black and White Minstrels Show girl, where, she says, she danced up to six miles a night! Fellow Anglia presenter Christine Webber was also a ‘minstrels’ show girl.
Kelly, Chris
Chris was an Anglia Television continuity announcer (1963) and programme presenter who went on to front popular children’s shows such as Clapperboard (ITV), holiday must-see show Wish You Were Here? (ITV, 1976 – 1987) and gastronaut’s bible, Food and Drink (BBC).
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