Wellings, Bob

Bob Wellings was born in Jerusalem.

The outbreak of war prompted the family’s relocation to the United States, where he received his education at an American military academy.

Subsequently, they established themselves in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and Bob was enrolled as a boarder at Downside.

Following his RAF National Service, he departed Trinity College, Cambridge, without completing his English degree finals, though he had participated in performances with the Footlights amateur theatre group.

A period followed during which he produced children’s literature as a jobbing writer and contributed cartoons to Tatler and Punch under the pseudonym “Robert”. He subsequently took up a teaching position at a preparatory school for boys in Stow-on-the-Wold.

An opportune encounter aboard a train with an Anglia Television executive from Norwich resulted in an audition and his appointment to the newly established regional ITV news magazine About Anglia in 1960 (though 1959 is cited by certain sources).

Bob transferred to the BBC in 1964, joining South Today in Southampton as both reporter and presenter.

That same year saw him assume the role of regional compére for the south in Come Dancing.

Bob undertook some radio broadcasting work, though Anglia TV successfully recruited him back to television in January 1966 to resume presenting About Anglia.

He shared presenting duties on their regional output including Summertime (1961), Glamour (1966 and 1968) and served as chairman of Challenge Trophy.

His reapplication to the BBC for a position on the forthcoming Nationwide in September 1969 encountered an administrative mishap when his letter was mislaid; fortuitously, the programme’s producers were already pursuing him as a prospective recruit.

Throughout the following decade, Bob established himself as a well-regarded presenter, initially on the regional bulletin London – Nationwide (BBC One, 1969 – 1971) before joining the network edition of Nationwide (BBC One, October 1971 – 1980 and 1981 – 1982).

He temporarily stepped away from the programme to serve as a reporter on the debut series of BBC One’s That’s Life in 1973.

Bob introduced Nationwide audiences to a then-unknown gardening expert, Alan Titchmarsh, in 1979.

His participation in Nationwide’s ‘Give up Smoking’ campaign proved somewhat undermined when he was discovered blowing smoke rings through his children’s wendy house!

He contributed as a reporter to the programme’s successor, 60 Minutes (1983 – 1984).

His regional news work extended to two further programmes – Look East broadcasting from Norwich (BBC One, 1982) and London Plus (BBC One, 1984 – 1985).

His coverage of three General Elections for BBC TV News (1970, 1979 and 1983) preceded his work in Manchester on BBC One’s Open Air – the daytime television phone-in programme, broadcast from 1986 to 1989.

His career later included a move to Sky TV.

Bob also presented:

• Election 70: Question Time (BBC One London, 1970);
• On the Town – with Joan Bakewell (BBC One London, 1980 – 1981);
• Platform One (BBC One London, 1981);
• Did You See? (BBC Two, 1983);
• Thelwell (BBC Two, 1986);
• The Solent Way (BBC Two, 1987).

Bob also appeared as a newsreader or interviewer on:

• Sykes (1976);
• The Basil Brush Show (1977);
• Don’t Tell Father (1992);
• The Buddha of Suburbia (1993);
• If You See God, Tell Him (1993).

An interview for the East Anglian Film Archives was recorded in 2007, and he featured in the documentary It’s Time to Go Nationwide (BBC Four, 2009).

His radio credits included co-presenting The British Rock and Pop Awards (BBC Radio 1, 1979), guest presenting Midweek (BBC Radio 4, 1982) and co-hosting the breakfast programme on Talkback Radio alongside Douglas Cameron.

He passed away aged 87 at his residence in Halesworth, Suffolk.

Additional information on his early life, taken from The Telegraph obituary published March 2022.

Personal information

Clips of Bob on The TV Room

Bob 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