Coyne, Tom

Tom was born in South Shields. In his 20s, he was a presenter of BBC Radio’s Children’s Hour. He made his first TV appearance in 1958, interviewing a miner on Tyne Tees TV. He was a member of the original announcing team in 1959.

He was a presenter of North East Roundabout, the first Tyne Tees TV local news magazine. He also presented a more in-depth news programme for Tyne Tees – Spotlight – which probed controversial issues of the day.

He left the company in 1964 to become the main anchor for the BBC regional news programme Midlands Today from a tiny studio in Birmingham’s Broad Street. He made his debut on 28th September 1964 and remained a popular presenter until his departure in 1980, making over 4,000 appearances.

In 1971, he presented the first colour programme from the new Pebble Mill Studios. His famous interviewees included Muhammad Ali and the King of Tonga.

He co-presented the first series of Top Gear (1977), when it was a regional programme.

He appeared on the first edition of Nationwide (1969) when they went round the regions. But he got network exposure on other shows too.

On TV he presented:

• Dance Date (BBC One, 1964);
• Approaching Automation (BBC One, 1966);
• Know-How (BBC One, 1967 – 1968);
• Songs of Praise (BBC One, 1967 – 1969 and 1975 – 1977);
• Mr Noah Behavin’ Mighty Well – bible stories for children (BBC One, 1968);
• Sunday Worship (BBC One, 1977)

In 1980, he returned to Tyne Tees, to present the nightly news magazine programme Northern Life, but left in the mid-1980s.

On radio he presented:

• Home This Afternoon (BBC Radio 4, 1967 – 1969);
• The Shape of Things to Come (BBC Home Service, 1967);
• Five to Ten (BBC Radio 2, 1966 – 1967);
• It Takes All Sports (BBC Radio 4, 1968).

He chaired two games for BBC Radio 4: Use Your Wits (1973) and Number Please (1974).

His voice was heard as regular character Gordon Armstrong on BBC Radio 4’s long-running drama The Archers, for three years in the late-1970s.

Tom later became a director of a Midlands-based corporate video company.

Personal information

Clips of Tom on The TV Room

Tom 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):

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Online presence

Acknowledgements