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Drew was a lively Scotsman who was Anglia’s first chief announcer. Russell was the first announcer to be seen on Anglia and he also presented the company’s first programme, Introducing Anglia. He took his turn at reading the daily local news headlines, along with Colin Bower and Newman Sanders.
Drew, who also worked for Scottish Television during the 1960s, has now, sadly, passed away.
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Gillean was a BBC Scotland TV announcer (April 1987 – April 2015) – 28 years introducing programmes on BBC One Scotland and BBC Two Scotland – surely making her one of the longest-serving announcers in Scotland? She had worked at the BBC since 1980 – previous roles: PA to chief producer, opera, BBC Radio 3 (April 1980 – April 1983); continuity announcer and newsreader, BBC Radio Scotland (April 1983 – April 1987); continuity announcer, BBC Radio 3 (April 1986 – April 1987).
In July 2015, Gillean embarked upon creative writing studies at the University of Glasgow. In September 2017, she was awarded an MLitt (Distinction) in creative writing. In October 2017 she began a doctorate course in creative writing.
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Andrew was a continuity announcer and newsreader with Border TV (1989 – 1996). He was also responsible for Border’s on-screen image and on-air promotions. He moved into television management in 1996, and was one of the owners, and the chief operating officer of Film24, a channel all about film.
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Sharon was brought up in New Zealand. She went to the Australian Film and TV School and worked as a reporter and presenter across Australia and New Zealand.
Her UK broadcasting career began at BBC Radio Humberside. She then joined BBC Radio 4’s File on 4, based in Manchester and the BBC’s Special Documentaries Unit where she worked on stories all around the world.
She later moved to Newcastle and read the Night Network News for BBC Radios Newcastle, Cumbria and Cleveland. Next stop was BBC News 24 where she performed a reporting role.
Sharon went on to present Look North for BBC North East/Cumbria. She’s currently a health correspondent with BBC network news.
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Bruce was a presenter and news reporter for TWW.
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Paul was a local radio presenter working for Radio Broadland and later Classic Gold Amber in Norwich. He joined Anglia as a freelance announcer in 1994, often covering holidays and sick leave whilst also continuing with his radio career. He had the sad task of stepping in to take the place of Graham Bell after his sudden death in 1997. In 1998, Paul left Anglia to work at The Beach, a radio station in Lowestoft, where he stayed until 2004. He still lives in Norwich.
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Seamus has presented current affairs programming on BBC Radio Ulster since c. the mid-1980s, with occasional stints on television on the Spotlight programme. In 1992 he took on a more regular TV role when he became one of the lead presenters on the local news programme Inside Ulster. He continued with presenting on BBC Radio Ulster. Seamus departed Inside Ulster ahead of the relaunch of the programme in spring 1996.
Seamus continued as a regular presenter on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster and Evening Extra. He still makes occasional appearances on television; he presented a local schools quiz series in 2001 – School Challenge. Seamus has also presented the BBC Radio 2 Arts Programme.
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Angela was born in Plymouth. On leaving school at 17, she began her journalistic career in newspapers in Devon.
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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.
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Sue was a continuity announcer at Border (1988 – 1995). She then became a journalist at Border and left the company in 1997 to go freelance.
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Heather was an announcer (including in-vision links) with Border from 1994 until the end of regular regional continuity in October 2002. She has also voiced many programmes for Border, including Border Stories, Bordering on 40 and The Way We Were. Heather was also a regular newsreader, presenter and producer at the station.
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Steve was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. His broadcasting career began with BBC Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. He started off as a TV continuity announcer and also read the news on TV and on BBC Radio Ulster. He later fronted many sports programmes for BBC Northern Ireland, such as Grandstand and Sportsnight. He also produced and presented for BBC Radio Ulster.
In the late-1980s, Steve moved to Yorkshire to present a radio talk show on BBC Radio Leeds (for which he won a Sony Gold). Over the years, he has presented on various radio stations, including: BBC Radio Newcastle; BBC Radio Three Counties; BBC Radio WM. He also worked at BBC Radio 5 Live, where he wrote and hosted The Media Show and presented on Late Night Live, and Breakfast.
In the early 1990s, Steve started work with Yorkshire TV as a reporter and presenter. Among the programmes he presented: Calendar, Scoreline, Tonight and Live Lunch.
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Marie was born in Edinburgh and raised in Carlisle.
Having obtained a degree in French, she then went on to study a one-year post-graduate course in radio journalism. Her career began in radio, where she worked as a district reporter for BBC Radio Cumbria in Barrow, Furness, covering the South Lakes.
Six months later, she moved to BBC Radio Nottingham, taking up a reporting job. Then, in 1989, while on placement to Midlands Today, Marie moved to Central TV, where she spent sixteen years, as a reporter and presenter; she would soon became one of the main anchors on the main evening regional news programme there. During her time with ITV, Marie presented many programmes, covering political and social issues.
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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.
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Stewart’s broadcasting career began with a very short pre-programme announcement on the BBC World Service. He went on to work at BBC Radio Brighton and later BBC Radio Derby, where he produced and presented various news and entertainment programmes.
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Allan was one of the Border TV veteran announcers, working at the station from 1961 to 1988. He is well-remembered for his authority and clarity when reading the news on Border; he was also the voice of the station’s start-up sequence. As well as being a main announcer on Border, Allan also did some work for Tyne Tees TV during the 1970s.
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Born as Sheila Lugg in Mullion, Cornwall. Sheila studied piano, violin and trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.
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Bruce Hockin retired from his job as HTV News anchorman in 1996, but still holds the record as ITV’s longest-serving newsreader, with more than thirty continuous years in the job.
He started his television career with HTV’s predecessor, TWW, and moved over to Harlech to front the west of England regional news magazine Report in 1968. HTV later changed the programme’s name to HTV News but Hockin remained in the main presenter’s chair, working with numerous co-presenters over the years, including Jan Leeming, Alison Holloway, Richard Wyatt, Sue King, and Patricia Yorston.
Hockin had a particular interest in crime busting, and for many years fronted the HTV West version of Police Five. After officially retiring from the company, he continued to write and present the weekly Crimestoppers slot. Although retired, Bruce is president of the Bristol Hospital Broadcasting Service. Bruce has been known to make occasional broadcasts on there himself! Bruce also serves as a director on Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Avon and Somerset Crimestoppers boards. He is also a patron of the Skin Cancer Research Fund.
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David was born in 1954. He joined the BBC in 1975, working initially as a studio manager in Bush House.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Karen is a former Border Television continuity announcer.
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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)
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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.
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Helen is a presenter on the BBC’s East Midlands Today. Previously, she was a producer and newsreader at BBC Radio Leicester.
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John is a former ATV (Midlands) announcer and news presenter on STV.
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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.”
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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.
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Steve was a regular voice on BBC One Wales, BBC Two Wales and BBC Choice Wales (2000 – 2002). Shortly after leaving BBC Wales, he moved to TV Centre as a network director on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four.
Steve later returned to his roots and worked at ITV News in the Central South region. On any given day he might be production assisting, reporting, and/or producing.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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Douglas was born in Aberdeen. He was teaching English in Germany when he heard about a new ITV station opening in Aberdeen.
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Graham Bell was born in London. He was an actor who appeared in rep in Oxford, Old Vic, Newcastle and Stratford East.
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David was an RTÉ newsreader and announcer, from the early 1960s until the mid-1970s.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Terry joined Radio Éireann as an announcer in 1961. He was a presenter and newsreader on RTÉ Television until joining the BBC in 1969.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Katie was born in Lusaka, Zambia. Her father was in the army.
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Presenter with Central News (East).
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In 1989, Tracey began her career voicing and creating commercials/promotions and producing shows for Northsound Radio in Aberdeen.
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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.
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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.
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