British and Irish TV talent
ITV 1 - Westward Presenters
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Fern Britton got her first television job with Westward Television in Plymouth as an in-vision continuity announcer and news reader from 1980. In 1982 she was a presenter on BBC South West's 'Spotlight' and a year later she was a newscaster for BBC TV's 'Breakfast Time'.
She was headhunted by TVS in Southampton by new managing director Greg Dyke in 1985 and became main co-anchor of the nightly news magazine, 'Coast To Coast', with Fred Dinenage. Fern left the company in the early-1990s and was soon back on national television, standing in for Judy Finnigan on ITV's 'This Morning'. She is best known for her role as host of the hit cookery game show 'Ready, Steady, Cook', and is currently co-host with Philip Schofield of ITV's 'This Morning'.
Image courtesy of Paul R Jackson.
Westward Television reporter and presenter who always brought a touch of humour to the stories he covered. He reported and presented for the 'Diary' in the 1960s and 1970s.
Westward TV's long serving weatherman, and for a short while meteorologist at successor TSW. Graham was a steady hand at the revolving weather map. Since leaving our screens, Graham has penned several successful newspaper columns, in the Plymouth Sunday Independent and Western Morning News.
Image courtesy of Paul R Jackson.
First with the sport on a Friday night, Gary Lovejoy hosted this slot for the 'Diary' in the 1970s and early-1980s.Kenneth MacLeod was 'Mr Westward', joining the company on a freelance basis in the early-1960s as alternating host (with Reginald Bosanquet and Barry Westwood) of the then three-day-a-week 'Westward Diary'. At the same time, busy Ken was juggling commitments to Associated Rediffusion in London and Granada in the north.
Ken liked Westward, and when 'Westward Diary' moved to five days a week, he stayed on as the main anchorman for the programme for the next 20 years. A consummate professional, Ken was a garrulous character with an affable but confident air that made presenting live television look like a piece of cake, despite the many technical problems that were inherent in any live, local television in the 1960s and 1970s.
Viewers were extremely fond of him, and he obviously loved the South West and its people. Ken stayed on as main presenter of 'Today South West' when TSW took over in January 1982, but moved from the role a couple of years later.
However, he remained on South West screens with his own popular archive programme, 'Looking Back With Kenneth MacLeod' which ran, on and off, until the TSW franchise ended in December 1992.
He was an enduring character, and was selected to co-host with Sue King the hour long final edition of 'TSW Today' on December 31 1992, despite the fact that he had not been a regular presenter of the flagship news programme for around 8 years of the 11 years that TSW was on the air.
Kenneth died on January 31 2003, aged 75 - he is still fondly remembered by many South West television viewers, and will be for many years to come.
Jill was the regular presenter of five minute tots' TV slot, 'Look And See' - good solid Saturday morning Westward fare.Michael Piper started with Westward Television as a journalist and news presenter, and left the company to produce news bulletins for ITN in London.Gregarious Westward Television reporter and presenter in the 1960s and 1970s who has made a westcountry comeback with current frachise incumbents, Carlton Television. Andy could often be found on the 'and finally' beat, covering unusual, quirky, amusing and often politically incorrect stories for 'Westward Diary'. For a while, Andy could be seen on our screens 'up country' as one of the roving reporter/presenters for LWT's light-hearted Friday night news magazine programme 'The Six O'Clock Show'.Lawrie was a journalistic jack of all trades for both Westward and TSW. For Westward, his main role was as a news reporter, and the presenter of light-hearted items on 'Westward Diary'. When he moved to TSW his role expanded, and he landed his own 'Points Of View' style correspondence programme, 'Televiews'. He also occasionally sat in the continuity announcer's chair, and occasionally presented 'Today South West' when the male anchor was on leave or indisposed. Before emigrating in around 1987, Lawrie was the regular host of 'The South West Week', a weekly local news review for the hard of hearing.
Angela started her journalistic career in newspapers in Devon and later became an established TV reporter/presenter with BBC Plymouth's 'Spotlight' programme (1966 - 1969). She also presented on BBC 'Points West' (dates TBC).
Westward headhunted her to edit and present its new women's interest programming. She edited a new programme for women, 'Open House', and also produced some children's programming, including 'Young Eyes', which gave fellow WTV presenter David Rodgers his big break on TV.
Angela was also seconded to report and present for 'Westward Diary' and stayed with the company for four years before leaving to pursue a high profile national broadcasting career.
She moved to London and joined BBC TV as a home reporter, 1973 - 1975, then moved into newsreading from August 1974 until January 1981. Presenter BBC TV's 'The Antiques Roadshow', 1980 - 1981. She helped set up TV-am as one of the original "Famous Five", but left after a bitter boardroom battle shortly after the company started in 1983.
Afterwards she worked for a while in America and returned to the UK to present a wide range of programmes, including quiz shows and holiday programmes. From 1988 - 1991 she presented the long running 'Come Dancing' series and more recently has reported for the BBC TV's 'Watchdog Healthcheck'. She also presents the breakfast programme on LBC radio in London. And who could ever forget that famous dancing sketch on the 'Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show' in the late-1970s?
Image courtesy of Paul R Jackson.
Judi Spiers was one of the most popular announcers on Westward TV, landing the job as a relief announcer in 1977 after replying to an advertisement in the local Plymouth Evening Herald. Her zany sense of humour and cheeky, irreverent approach to the job - particularly the Gus Honeybun birthdays slot - won her many fans, and her role soon grew from the typical continuity announcer/news reader to Westward's homegrown action girl.
For TSW, in addition to her announcing and newsreading duties, she hosted the weekly Friday 'What's Ahead' entertainment guide with fellow announcer David Rodgers; and the regular 'Mr And Miss' TSW beauty contests. She also had her own TSW produced nationally syndicated chatshow - Judi! - which ran for six shows. She appeared as the news reader in TSW's nationally networked drama series, 'Heather Ann', in 1983.
Judi left TSW c. 1986 to pursue a national television career with the BBC, co-presenting 'Pebble Mill At One' and 'Open Air' on BBC One. She moved to BBC Radio 2 with her own Saturday morning show in the early-1990s, and also continued with televison work, including the nationally networked TVS production, 'Scavenger Hunt'.
Judi is now the regular mid-morning presenter on BBC Radio Devon, pens her own column in the monthly Devon Life magazine, and also presents for ITV 1 Westcountry.
Image courtesy of Graeme Maver.
Guy was invited to join Television Wales and West (TWW) in 1959 as the first news reader/interviewer at their newly opened Bristol studio before becoming anchorman of the nightly news magazine, 'TWW Reports', covering Wales and the West Country. He was presented with an Ambrose Fleming Award for his contribution to television, but says he prefers to remember his interviews with Marlene Dietrich, Jayne Mansfield and Miss World 1963.
Guy also filled in the odd gap in the continuity announcing rota at TWW when they were short staffed.
He freelanced from 1968, starting as a guest presenter of 'Westward Diary' in Plymouth, 'Good Morning Wales' for BBC Wales, as well as joining the BBC Two announcing team and a continuing association with the BBC 'Midlands Today' programme at Pebble Mill.
Guy pioneered the introduction of audio books for education, presented motor sports films for American television and the first of the popular music compilation TV programmes with a profile of Vivian Ellis. Frequent presenter of industrial films. Guy is now retired and concentrates on research for museum projects.
Started with Westward TV as its sports editor, but also presented sports programming, starting out when the regular presenter failed to turn up one evening. While working for Westward, David also presented for the newly launched BBC Two in London, which, at the time, could not be seen in the westcountry. He was rumbled when his Beeb show was reviewed in the Daily Mail, and Vine was named as the presenter. Westward's programme controller, John Oxley, was none too chuffed, and promptly fired David Vine for 'moonlighting'.
This not withstanding, David remembers his days with the station with great affection, and was interviewed in the recent Carlton TV documentary, '40 Years Of ITV In The South West'.
David enjoyed a long career as a BBC sport anchorman. He was the first host of 'A Question Of Sport' and he presented 'Superstars' (recently revived as a one-off), although it is with snooker that David will be most fondly remembered, which he anchored for the BBC until 2000.
David's final work for the BBC came in the Sydney Olympics of 2000 where he was a weightlifting commentator. He retired on health grounds after this and had a tripple heart bypass shortly afterwards. He's now retired and is taking it easy, although he does a small amount of consultancy work for the BBC.
Image courtesy of Paul R Jackson.
Former presenter of both 'Westward Diary' - in its very early days (he presented for one week in every three alternating with Ken MacLeod and Reginald Bosanquet) - and Southern's 'Day By Day' where he presented from 1968 until 1980. Barry now runs a broadcast training consultancy, preparing PR men and company executives for television and radio interviews.
