Denham, Chris

Born in Glasgow, Chris Denham cut his teeth in print journalism as a junior reporter on the Southern Evening Echo in Southampton, eventually working his way up to the position of showbiz editor.

From there he joined a national news agency based in Winchester before landing his first broadcasting role as a reporter with BBC Radio Brighton.

A posting to the British Forces Broadcasting Service in Cyprus followed, where he spent three years before returning to the UK.

Back on home soil, he joined BBC Radio Bristol as a reporter – estimated around 1974 – and quickly made his mark, winning the Journalist of the Year award for his coverage of the Axbridge Air Disaster.

Television beckoned in 1976 when Denham secured his first on-screen role with BBC East in Norwich as a reporter and presenter, remaining for two years.

He then moved to Bristol to present Points West in 1978, before relocating to Plymouth the following year to take over from Hugh Scully at the helm of Spotlight – a position he held for nine years.

During this period he also made an appearance in the final regional round-up on Nationwide, broadcast on 5th August 1983.

His presenting work extended to the national sailing programme Waterfront, but he subsequently stepped back from in front of the camera to produce a current affairs series that earned a significant place in broadcasting history as the first to break the story of BSE.

In 1983, Denham founded Denham Productions, initially supplying programmes to Television South West before expanding into a broad range of network output.

Among his most celebrated projects were four series of Slow Blokes, in which various modes of transport carried the participants – and three grumpy old men in a boat – around the Cornish coastline.

He also made three popular series of The Local, exploring the heritage of pubs throughout the region. For two decades, in collaboration with producer David Pritchard, he was the driving force behind Rick Stein’s television programmes.

In December 2004, Denham received a lifetime achievement award at the South West RTS Awards. In his acceptance speech he remarked:

“I’m delighted to accept this award – particularly as it’s for a lifelong passion. The south west’s fantastic local talent and thriving television community has been a place of inspiration for a long time now.

“Thanks to this talent, Denham Productions now has a long-established international reputation for producing quality lifestyle and documentary programmes.”

Personal information

Clips of Chris on The TV Room

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