Masters, Ian

Ian was born in 1940 in Goffs Oak, Herts. He worked at BBC Radio Sheffield at its launch in 1967 and at BBC TV North West in the early 1970s. He was a regional compére on Come Dancing (1972 – 1973) and joined BBC TV’s Look East, where he was a popular presenter for a decade (1973 – 1983).

In 1979, he famously mishandled and dropped a large glass bottle which had a block of wood inside, with nails passing through it.

In October 2009, he returned to the programme when it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

He presented the regional TV programme Spot On! (c. 1977) and appeared in the last regional round-up on Nationwide (5th August 1983).

When BBC Radio Norfolk launched in 1980, Ian had a Saturday show.

Correspondence

Paul R. Jackson spoke with Ian in June 2020, after being put in touch via his former BBC Norwich colleague Roger Maynard.

How did you get into journalism?

“The family moved to Yorkshire in 1946 and I did my schooling in Rotherham. Aged 17, I joined the local Advertiser as a cub reporter, then moved to London to work for a news agency and then was a press officer for the Rank Organization.”

Paul suggested that must have been fun dealing with lots of stars. Ian replied: “Oh it had nothing to do with films, but the technical side of the film business. I loved music and worked as a singer with a dance band, so was a journalist by day and with bands in the evening.

“These gave me useful tools that made me acceptable to work in broadcasting, although I had never had an ambition to do so before.

“I met Michael Barton, who was the first manager at BBC Radio Sheffield when it opened in 1967, who offered me a job as the breakfast presenter from 6am – 9am.”

How did you move into television?

“I got an audition for BBC North West in Manchester as a newsreader/presenter – which I got. I joined at the time of the then regional TV reorganization in 1969. That coincided with the launch of the Nationwide network programme.

“I rarely presented Look North West, but certainly did a great deal of continuity and in-vision announcing as well as news reading. This had to be done while operating a magnificent self-drive vision and sound mixer unit, that resembled a theatre organ in all its complexity. It was a bit like flying an airliner two feet off the ground in a snow storm!

“Nobody was allowed to see my hands working the controls! As I recall we only “crashed” once or twice.

“I continued to get up at 5am to present the radio show and would return home for a few hours sleep, before I drove to Manchester for an evening shift until midnight and drove back. I did this for five years and loved the work. I even did football commentary for local radio stations locally on a Saturday afternoon.”

How did you get the job on Come Dancing?

“The production came from Manchester and was produced by Barrie Edgar. He rang and asked if I fancied doing the compère role? I was used to being in musical surroundings with my background singing and with bands, so said yes and really enjoyed doing it.

“The North West region had a good dance team in those days and the further they went in the competition, the more you would be seen on TV.

“Slowly I phased this work out and decided not to look for any other light entertainment work. Not because the BBC didn’t like the mixture, but because I wanted to develop myself as a serious broadcast presenter/journalist.”

How did you join BBC TV in Norwich?

“In 1973, Chris Trace was leaving Look East and they were looking for a replacement. I was invited to apply and replaced him. I also got an extra contract as the East of England reporter for Nationwide and had 10 very happy years there.

“I hated reading the news as it was so mechanical reading another person’s words and I was delighted when they brought in Judi Lines, who did it so well.

“The famous broken bottle blooper was shown on many TV stations around the world. Sometimes a group of Chinese students with hardly any English, would come up to me and say ‘it’s broken bottle man!'”

What made you leave after 10 years on the programme?

“In 1980, I had been part of BBC Radio Norfolk at its launch and enjoyed the experience and reputation of working in radio. Again I was fortunate that Michael Barton popped up, who was now in charge of BBC Local Radio and he asked if I would like to have a go in a managerial post.

“In 1983, I became the manager of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and found it a great challenge and was a great joy working there for three years. Look East hadn’t wanted me to leave and tried to persuade me to return to TV presenting.

“A vacancy came up for a regional TV manager for BBC South, based in Southampton, which I did from 1986 until I left the BBC in 1992.”

What did you do after leaving the BBC?

“Towards the end of 1992, I joined the Thomson Foundation as controller of broadcasting. They sent experts to developing countries to help them present proper news and not propaganda from the government.

“It was a fab job and I was allowed to appoint my own team. I was based in Cardiff and the company covered 120 countries and I lead from the front going out into the field visiting 60 countries, usually 2-4 weeks at a time.

“We had great support from the Foreign Office. One of the best jobs was going to work in South Africa for 6 months helping SABC when Nelson Mandela was elected President in 1994. It terrified me that I would be teaching a slick operation, but when I arrived and switched on the TV, it was absolutely dreadful.

“The South African government was happy for our help, as they knew the eyes of the world were on them. I retired from the company in 2007.

“I also did a few little jobs like help Al Jazeera become the BBC of the Middle East and in Zambia we won the Radio Station of the Year award, as we helped them tell the story of tackling AIDS. I was very proud of that.

“I also worked in Tonga where they have a much more laid back view of life.

“In 2007, I retired but was then offered to one or two days a week as an occasional lecturer, planning journalism courses for the University of East Anglia in Norwich. I enjoyed it enormously, but with Covid-19 now, I will probably not go back in September and will have more time to sail my boat and play golf.”

 

Personal information

Clips of Ian on The TV Room

Ian 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):

Rewind | Clean Feed

Online presence

Acknowledgements