Barri was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. After completing National Service with the Welsh Guards in London, he trained as a journalist with Kemsley newspapers and worked on The Western Mail in Cardiff.
He began in TV with Teledu Cymru in 1960, presenting a weekly sports programme and documentaries.
He moved to Northern Ireland, where he worked for Ulster Television and once presented the evening news, when its usual presenter became inebriated after an excess of Guinness at lunchtime.
He returned to mainland UK in the late-1960s as a reporter on ATV Today.
He worked on BBC Radio 4 (August 1971 – January 1972).
In 1972, he joined BBC Radio 2 as newsreader and announcer and was the first presenter of The Early Show. He also presented Night Ride (1972), Sounds Easy (1972), Strike Up the Band (1973) and Fanfare Europe (1973).
He was the announcer on BBC Radio 2’s long-running comedy The Navy Lark (1973).
He later presented on BBC Radio Wales.
He returned to television as the interviewer on Windows on the Brain (BBC One, 1971 – 1972).
He was compére and commentator on Come Dancing (1972 – 1978). He commentated on the 25th anniversary edition (BBC One, 14th May 1976).
He commentated on:
- UK Ballroom Dance Championships (BBC One, 1972 – 1973);
- World Professional Ballroom Dance Championships (BBC One, 1973);
- World Professional Latin-American Championship (BBC One, 1974);
- Ballroom Champions (BBC One, 1974 – 1978);
- The World Professional Modern Ballroom Dancing Championship (BBC One, 1976);
- The World Amateur Modern Ballroom Dancing Championship (BBC One, 1977 – 1978).
He co-presented BBC Formation Dancing Challenge Trophy, with Terry Wogan (BBC One, 1973) and presented World Amateur Latin-American Championship (BBC One, 1975).
He presented Tattoo 3: The Cardiff Searchlight Tattoo (BBC One, 1973) and Music on Command (BBC Two, 1975).
He moved to ITV and was an in-vision continuity announcer at LWT (c. 1977 – 1979).
Barri died after a long illness in March 2019, aged 86.
Personal information
Clips of Barri on The TV Room
Barri may be featured in video/audio clips on our other websites. Click the links below to display a listing (a 404 error will appear if no clips are found):
Online presence
Acknowledgements
PICTURED: Barri Haynes (Who's Who on Television, 1980). SUPPLIED BY: Paul R. Jackson. COPYRIGHT: Unknown.
Leave a Reply