Woodall, Corbet

Corbet was born in Hampshire. He was a scholar at Eton College.

In March 1954, he travelled to New Zealand where he got work at the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation as an announcer. He was also briefly a cricket commentator (New Zealand v England test at Eden Park, Auckland, March 1955).

In March 1960, he returned to Britain and got a job as a temporary relief stage manager on BBC TV outside broadcasts, including Wimbledon. After three months, he moved behind the microphone as an announcer and later newsreader on the BBC Home Service and BBC Light Programme.

In 1963, he joined BBC TV and presented Town and Around, the local magazine programme for the south east region (1963 – 1967).

In June 1963, he joined the BBC TV news presenting team at Alexandra Palace, working alongside colleagues Robert Dougall, Michael Aspel and Richard Baker.

When he had to announce the news of the death of Pope John XX111 (3rd June 1963), he found the black tie in the dressing room had disappeared, so he asked a commissionaire to loan him his.

He was on duty on 24th November 1963, when the phone on the news desk rang and he was told of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, which he calmly announced to viewers.

In 1967, he was made redundant by BBC TV News and his last bulletin was on a Saturday night.

For BBC TV News’ 25th anniversary, he joined former colleagues for a photo in the news studio at BBC TV Centre.

He presented Sunday Prom (BBC Two, 1964) and Sunday Cricket (BBC Two, 1966). In 1967, he went freelance and presented Look East for BBC Norwich, Contact – a series for physically disabled people (BBC Two, 1977) and Hinge and Bracket – a gala evening from the Royal Hall at Harrogate (BBC Two, 1978 – 1979).

He appeared in numerous television series and some films, usually as a television newsreader or an announcer. His television acting credits include:

• Out of Town Theatre (BBC One, 1967);
• The Troubleshooters (1967 and 1968);
• The Champions (1968);
• Comedy Playhouse (1968);
• The Gold Robbers (1969);
• Harry Worth (BBC One, 1970);
• The Goodies (BBC One/BBC Two, 1971 – 1972, 1974 – 1978 and 1980);
• Bachelor Father (BBC One, 1971);
• Steptoe and Son (1972);
• The Brothers (BBC One, 1972);
• Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973);
• The Prince of Denmark (BBC One, 1974);
• Sykes (BBC One, 1975 and 1976);
• My Honourable Mrs (BBC One, 1975);
• Q6 (BBC Two, 1975 and 1977);
• Happy Ever After (BBC One, 1976 and 1978);
• Citizen Smith (BBC One, 1980 and 1981);
• Maybury (BBC Two, 1981);
• A Fine Romance (ITV, 1982)

In 1968, whilst on honeymoon in Tenerife, he began experiencing rheumatoid arthritis pain in both his hands and feet.

His appearances on The Goodies (1970 – 1981) would have been more frequent, but according to author Robert Ross in his book The Goodies Rule OK, his contract was often marked “artist ill”. In an interview with Ross, Tim Brooke-Taylor praised Woodall’s professionalism in wake of his debilitating illness: “He wasn’t a well man at all, but (on camera) he rose from the dead and delivered every time.”

He was a BBC Radio cricket commentator (1961, 1963 – 1968), briefly a presenter on Today (BBC Radio 4, 1967) and chaired editions of Any Questions? and Any Answers? (BBC Radio 4, 1968).

Other radio credits include:

• The World of Books (BBC Home Service, 1962 – 1963);
• Royal Visit to New Zealand (BBC Home Service, 1963);
• Sporting Chance (BBC Light Programme, 1966);
• All the Best from Today (BBC Home Service, 1967);
• Housewives’ Choice (BBC Light Programme, 1967);
• News Time (BBC Light Programme/BBC Radio 1/BBC Radio 2, 1967 – 1970).

Woodall was a supporter of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council (now Arthritis Research UK). He appeared in a Christmas television appeal for the charity in 1981, raising £72,000; at that time a record for an appeal of that kind.

In his autobiography A Disjointed Life (William Heinemann, 1980), he recalled his struggle with the illness and hoped it would help medical professionals to understand the mental and emotional aspects of the condition.

In 1978, he had both hips replaced.

He died quietly in his sleep at home, aged 53.

Personal information

Clips of Corbet on The TV Room

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Acknowledgements