Tom Edwards (broadcaster)

Last updated

Tom Edwards (born 20 March 1945) is a British radio presenter and television announcer.

Contents

Career

Born in Norwich, Edwards began work as a journalist writing for the Eastern Evening News before successfully auditioning for the role of presenter on the Border Television music programme Beat in the Border [1] and then becoming a Pontins Bluecoat. [2]

Between 1965 and 1967 he worked for offshore pirate radio stations Radio City, where he became the station’s chief disc jockey, and Radio Caroline. [3]

He joined the BBC in late 1967 working as a television newsreader and presenter on BBC Look East and in 1968-1969 on the Saturday morning BBC East regional radio programme Happy Weekend, Everybody. In 1970 he presented the weekday morning regional opt-outs from the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 called This is East Anglia. [4] [5] [6]

In 1968 Edwards also started working for BBC Radio 1 initially replacing Simon Dee on Midday Spin, later becoming a staff announcer and newsreader on both Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. [7] [8] During the 1970s he presented a number of Radio 2 programmes including the weekday and Saturday Early Show, Night Ride, Music Through Midnight, Radio 2 Ballroom and shows featuring the BBC Radio Orchestra.

Edwards was an in-vision announcer for Thames Television for most of the 1980s, also working for ATV and HTV West. He worked on BBC Radio Norfolk in the 1990s. After recovering from alcoholism, his friend Bob Monkhouse gave him a job as the voiceover artist on the game show Wipeout in the late 1990s. [9]

In 2009, Edwards and David Clayton, editor of BBC Radio Norfolk, compiled an hour-long story of his life titled Edwards the Confessor. [10]

Personal life

Edwards lives in the village of Heckington in Lincolnshire. [11]

His autobiography, "Is Anybody There" was published by Kaleidoscope on 8 December 2018. Edwards used to open his radio show by knocking on the microphone three times and saying: "Is anybody there?" During an interview to promote the book, he said, "My book is a turbulent read but I hope you enjoy it and you can join me on a journey that took me here, there and just about everywhere." [12]

The book highlights his varied career as a DJ in pirate and commercial radio, as a TV broadcaster working for the BBC and several other TV companies, as well as a period in Hollywood. The book also delves into Edwards' personal battle with alcohol and drug addiction, which he successfully overcame after spending three years in a rehabilitation centre in Lincolnshire. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Norfolk</span> Radio station in Norwich

BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Norfolk.

<i>BBC Look North</i> (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) BBC television news programme

BBC Look North is the BBC's TV news service for East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, produced by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The programmes are produced and broadcast from the BBC Broadcasting Centre at Queens Court in Kingston upon Hull, with reporters also based in Lincoln.

John Churchill Dunn was a British disc jockey and radio presenter known for hosting the weekday drivetime show on BBC Radio 2 between 1976 and 1998. Dunn's career spanned more than 30 years and he was named Radio Personality of the Year three times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emperor Rosko</span> American DJ

Michael Joseph Pasternak, known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Alan Dedicoat is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes, providing a voiceover for the draws since 1995. He was a BBC Radio 2 newsreader until his retirement from this role in March 2015. Dedicoat is the announcer on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and its American version, Dancing with the Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Byrne</span> British television presenter (born 1972)

Dominic Anthony Byrne is a British newsreader, presenter, songwriter and choreographer. He currently works on the Chris Moyles Breakfast show on Radio X, having previously worked as the newsreader for Capital London on the Capital FM Breakfast Show. Prior to this he worked with the BBC from 1997 to 2012, as part of the on-air team on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012, working as the newsreader and contributing to the show's zoo format.

Jamie Owen is a Welsh journalist, broadcaster, writer and former BBC Wales Today presenter. He joined the BBC in 1989, first working at BBC Radio and then presenting BBC Wales Today between 1994 and 2018. He has presented other TV and radio programmes and has published several books.

<i>About Anglia</i> English TV series or programme

About Anglia was a regional news magazine programme produced by Anglia Television in the east of England, broadcast for over thirty years from 2 June 1960 to 6 July 1990.

Dave Bussey, is an English radio disc jockey who, until March 2008, presented The Dave Bussey Show on BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

Charles Alexis Nove is a British radio broadcaster who currently presents the weekday breakfast show for classical music station Scala Radio.

Adrian Richard Finighan is a Welsh journalist, working as a presenter and reporter for the television channel Al Jazeera English (AJE). He is now based at AJE's World headquarters in Doha but has also presented programmes from London.

Keith Martin is a British disc jockey and broadcaster born in Sandwich, Kent, known for his involvement in UK pirate radio from its earliest days and extensive work as a TV continuity announcer.

Helen McDermott is a British radio and television presenter, best known for her work at Anglia Television.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1980.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1976.

Andy Archer is an English radio presenter, best known for his work on pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He later worked for Independent Local Radio and BBC Local Radio.

This is a list of events from British radio in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustard TV</span> Local television station based in Norwich, England

Mustard TV was a local television station based in Norwich, Norfolk. It broadcast to over 400,000 people, covering Norwich and much of Norfolk reaching Cromer in the north of the county, Dereham to the west and parts of south Norfolk and north Suffolk. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of regional media group Archant and was one of 19 initial local TV stations awarded licences by UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Jeff (2016). Rock & Pop on British TV. Omnibus Press. p. 59. ISBN   978-1-78305-795-5.
  2. ↑ Tracy, Sheila (1983). Who's Who on Radio. World's Work Ltd. p. 40. ISBN   0-437-17600-2.
  3. ↑ Skues, Keith (2009). Pop Went the Pirates II (2nd ed.). Lambs’ Meadow Publications. pp. 253–255. ISBN   978-0-907398-05-9.
  4. ↑ "BBC Radio Norfolk's 25th anniversary". BBC. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "BBC Radio Norfolk – Radio in a Roundabout Way" . Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Offshore disc-jockeys of the 60s". offshoreradio.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". Tom Edwards with his Midday Spin. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Rider, David (1977). Happy Birthday Radio 1 – Ten Years 1967-77. Everest Books Ltd. ISBN   0905018-818.
  9. ↑ "'There is life after alcoholism'". BBC News. 29 May 2006.
  10. ↑ "BBC Radio Norfolk – Edwards the Confessor" . Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Veteran broadcaster selling off over 50 years in showbiz". Lincolnshire World. 27 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "New book by veteran broadcaster Tom Edwards is a turbulent read". ontheradio.co.uk. 26 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Is Anybody There?". tom-edwards.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "From BBC news reader to destitute drunk on the streets of Norwich - Tom Edwards' starry highs and desperate lows". Eastern Daily Press. 26 November 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.