Sir Ian was born in High Wycombe. He left at school at 16 and joined the Daily Sketch as an office boy. He began his career as a journalist and parliamentary lobby correspondent.
He joined ITN, three years after its launch, in 1958 as its deputy editor and political editor. He was a reporter for various programmes during that period, including: Roving Report; Dateline London (1961 – 1962) and Dateline Westminster (1962 – 1963).
He was also a relief ITN newscaster (1958 and December 1961 – July 1962) and co-presented ITN’s coverage of the 1959 General Election.
In 1963, he left ITN for the BBC to report on Gallery, Panorama and 24 Hours (BBC One, 1967).
He commentated on the party political conferences (c. 1965 – c. 1967), co-hosted BBC TV’s General Election night programmes (1964 and 1966) and various Budget specials.
He presented BBC TV’s tribute programme to President John F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination.
In 1964, he was narrator on the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall and commented on Trooping the Colour (BBC One, 1966 – 1967).
In 1970, he moved into management as managing director of BBC Network Radio.
The same year, he sacked Kenny Everett from BBC Radio 1 for making a joke about Conservative transport minister John Peyton’s wife slipping the examiner a fiver to pass her driving test.
He left the post to succeed Sir Charles Curran as director-general (1977 – 1982).
He was knighted in 1980 and in 1987 became chairman of Thames Television.
His autobiography, Split Screen, was published in 1984.
He survived a heart attack in 1979 and later suffered from motor neurone disease.
He died aged 68.
Personal information
Clips of Ian on The TV Room
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Online presence
Acknowledgements
PICTURED: Sir Ian Trethowan. SUPPLIED BY: Paul R. Jackson. COPYRIGHT: Unknown.
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