Peter Tomlinson

Last updated

Peter Tomlinson (born 4 April 1943, in Bristol) is a broadcaster and continuity announcer. He created the British children's television series Tiswas and was the programme's co-presenter in its early years. [1]

Contents

He was also one of the earliest presenters on Harlech Television. [2] In 2007 he became the High Sheriff of the West Midlands. [1]

Early broadcasting

Born in 1943 in Bristol, he was one of the first announcers on Harlech Television [2] (later HTV).

In the early 1970s, he moved to ATV. Fellow broadcaster Alex Trelinski recalled "he brought some great laughs into his continuity slots. The highlight of the week was on a Friday night when ATV would screen a horror film after News at Ten under the umbrella title of "Appointment with Fear". Everybody would have fun, with often the continuity suite lights being darkened, and Peter Tomlinson would appear clutching a teddy bear. [2]

Tiswas

In 1973, Tomlinson was given the task of linking a number of children shows on ATV on a Saturday morning. To liven things up, in between cartoons, he ad-libbed a competition, offering viewers the chance to win a T-shirt. The response to the competition was enormous and quite unprecedented for the station. This gave Tomlinson the confidence to approach the ATV's management and show them there was an untapped audience out there. The management agreed and Tiswas was born. [3]

Known as the "plummy-voiced" member of the team, he was a regular presenter on the show from 1974 to 1977, when it was still only shown in the Midlands region. He did though make sporadic appearances after that up until 1980, when the show was at the peak of its (almost) national popularity. [4] [5]

Later broadcasting

After leaving ATV in 1979 he joined Beacon Radio in Wolverhampton and the Black Country. He later became managing director and a presenter of Saga Radio's West Midlands station. [2]

During the 1980s he was heard providing the voice-over on Central Independent Television's popular quiz show Blockbusters . [6]

In 2022, Peter joined the presentation team at the online easy listening radio station Serenade Radio (www.serenade-radio.com) hosting a show every Sunday afternoon.

High Sheriff of the West Midlands

At a ceremony in the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts in Birmingham in April 2007, Tomlinson was named the new High Sheriff of the West Midlands. [7] He said "I feel very honoured to be asked to become the High Sheriff of one of the busiest shrievalties in the country. I am looking forward to serving my country and making a difference where I can." [2]

Worcestershire County Council

Peter Tomlinson was elected as a councillor on 16 August 2016 on Worcestershire County Council after a by-election following the death of the incumbent Maurice Broomfield. He represents the Ombersley Division of the county. [8] At the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 16 May 2019 he was elected Chairman of the county (equivalent to Mayor) and became its first citizen for the year following. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Tarrant</span> English broadcaster

Christopher John Tarrant, is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV children's television show Tiswas from 1974 to 1981, and the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1998 to 2014. He was a Capital Radio host from 1984 to 2004. Tarrant received an OBE in 2004 for his charity work, in particular his campaigning on behalf of disadvantaged children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television Wales and the West</span> British independent television franchisee (1958–1968)

Television Wales and the West (TWW) was the British Independent Television contractor for a franchise area that initially served South Wales and West of England until 1968.

<i>Tiswas</i> British childrens television series

Tiswas was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Television</span> Former ITV service for London and the Midlands

Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the "Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Central</span> Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands

ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the restructuring of ATV and began broadcasting on 1 January 1982. The service is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited. Historically Central made a major contribution to the ITV network schedule - especially in entertainment and drama - but today its main responsibility is the regional news service.

Bob Carolgees is a British comedy entertainer who appeared on the Saturday morning TV series Tiswas and then later in its adult versions O.T.T. and Saturday Stayback. He is best known for appearing with a canine puppet named Spit the Dog. Carolgees also worked for eight years on the TV show Surprise Surprise and on children's game show Concentration. In popular culture he has cameo roles with Spit the Dog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Owen</span> English television presenter and newsreader (born 1947)

Nicholas Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme Good Morning, Britain and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997. He was also the chairman of Luton Town Football Club between 2008 and 2017.

Reginald James Watson was an Australian television producer and screenwriter and executive.

<i>The West Tonight</i> British TV series or programme

The West Tonight was a regional news programme for the West of England, produced by ITV West.

Gordon Astley is a British radio presenter. He is best known for his role a presenter on BBC Southern Counties Radio, which he left in February 2009 after almost 15 years.

Stewart White is a British journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting the East Anglian regional BBC News programme Look East for 37 years.

Jean Morton was a British television announcer. She served as continuity announcer from the launch of the original Midlands ITV franchise holder, ATV. She was one of the four original announcers, the others being Arthur Adair, Peter Cockburn and Shaw Taylor.

ATV Today was a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ATV, serving the English Midlands.

Stuart Linnell MBE BAHons HonMA is a semi-retired UK radio and television broadcaster, particularly well known in Coventry and Warwickshire, and in Northamptonshire. He is Chair of Healthwatch Coventry, and Chair of Coventry Community Digital Radio.

ATV Midlands News was a regional television news programme, produced by ATV, serving the English Midlands.

This is a list of British television related events from 1968. Lost in space debut was 19 August 1968 on Thames TV

The city of Birmingham, England is home to an evolving media industry, including news and magazine publishers, radio and television networks, film production and specialist educational media training. The city's first newspaper was published in 1732.

Trevor James East was originally presenter of Tiswas; stooge to Chris Tarrant and Derby County obsessed. He was subsequently ranked 27 in The Guardian's "Media 100" most influential people in the industry.

References

  1. 1 2 Ganguly, Rhona (10 April 2007). "Peter's journey from Tiswas to high sheriff". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "ATV - Announcers and Trails". sub-TV. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "History at Tiswas Online - Times of slime!". Tiswas Online. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Who's Who at Tiswas Online - Pied Pipers". Tiswas Online. Archived from the original on 14 January 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  5. ↑ "The pain of "Regional Variations"". Tiswas Online. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  6. ↑ "This was... Tiswas". TV Cream. Retrieved 30 October 2007.{{cite web}}: External link in |authorlink= (help)
  7. ↑ "No. 58266". The London Gazette . 7 March 2007. pp. 3313–3314.
  8. ↑ "Councillor details - Peter Tomlinson DL". 7 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Council's Chairman and Vice-Chairman".
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.