Cowell was among the original trio of BBC TV in-vision announcers at Alexandra Palace (31st August 1936 – 28th August 1939).
During that period, she produced 14 ballets and presented programmes, including From Me to You and She’s My Lovely.
Cowell appeared alongside gardener C. H. Middleton in both In Our Garden (1938 – 1939) and The Chelsea Flower Show (1938 – 1939).
Simon Vaughan of the Alexandra Palace Television Society, provided more information about Elizabeth:
“Her first appearance was introduced by Leslie Mitchell at 12.35pm on 31st August 1936, from the Baird Spotlight studio. Her last appearance was on 1st September 1939, when she was the interviewer for Come and be Televised from RadiOlympia.
“Cowell continued as an announcer on radio throughout the war and married in 1942.
“She provided the voice of ‘the woman’ on the soundtrack of Paul Rotha’s documentary Land of Promise (1946).
“Following her retirement from broadcasting, Cowell became the wife of a Scottish Laird and was known as Mrs Alexander Balfour.”
Cowell died in 1998, aged 86.
Upon the opening of New Broadcasting House in 2012, meeting rooms were named after distinguished broadcasting figures, with one designated in honour of Elizabeth Cowell.
Personal information
Clips of Elizabeth on The TV Room
Elizabeth 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):
Online presence
Acknowledgements
PICTURED: Elizabeth Cowell (1946). COPYRIGHT: Unknown.
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