Neville, Mike

Mike began his career as a newspaper journalist.  He would later move into acting before joining Tyne Tees TV first as an announcer then as a reporter (1962 – 1964).  He then switched to the ‘other side’ to present the BBC TV’s Look North programme from Newcastle for a staggering 32 years.  He also became quite well-known nationally for his regular appearances on BBC TV’s Nationwide in the 1970s.  In 1989, Neville was caught by TV prankster Noel Edmonds with a ‘Gotcha’ on his BBC One programme Noel’s Saturday Roadshow.  He was tricked into thinking he was filling seven minutes of airtime because there was a technical fault.

He was easily able to adapt to the situation and stay professional, and was the only local anchorman in the UK to ever receive such an award.  In 1990, he was awarded the MBE for services to broadcasting.

In 1996, Mike was offered the chance to return to Tyne Tees TV as their main news anchor on North East Tonight. He remained until late-2005, when he underwent an operation to remove a blood clot from his leg.  On 5th June 2006, he announced his retirement from Tyne Tees, after 40 years presenting regional news in the north east.  By this time, he was Britain’s longest-serving television presenter, having received a ‘unique achievement’ award from the Royal Television Society in 2001, in recognition of 40 years as a daily television presenter.

Personal information

Clips of Mike on The TV Room

Mike 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