Michael Aspel | |
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| Born | Michael Terence Aspel[1] (1933-01-12)12 January 1933 (age 92) |
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| Partner | Irene Clarke (1994–present) |
| Children | 7 |
Michael Terence AspelOBE (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such asCrackerjack!,Ask Aspel,Aspel & Company,Give Us a Clue,This Is Your Life,Strange but True? andAntiques Roadshow.
Aspel was born on 12 January 1933 inBattersea in London. During theSecond World War, he wasevacuated from the area and spent nearly five years inChard, Somerset. He attendedEmanuel School after passing hiseleven-plus in 1944 and served as aconscript during hisnational service, in the ranks of theKing's Royal Rifle Corps, from 1951 to 1953.[2]
Aspel worked as a drainpipe-layer and gardener and sold advertising space for theWestern Mail newspaper inCardiff. He worked as a teaboy atWilliam Collins publishers in London and then entered National Service. He took up a job at theDavid Morgandepartment store inCardiff until 1955, before working as newsreader for the BBC in Cardiff in 1957. He also acted in Cardiff, in a BBC Children's Hour serialCounterspy, produced byBBC Wales and written by and starring John Darran. Aspel played "Rocky" Mountain, a Canadian. By the early sixties, he had become one of four regular newsreaders on BBC national television, along withRichard Baker,Robert Dougall andCorbet Woodall.
At the BBC, Aspel began presenting a number of other programmes such as the seriesCome Dancing,Crackerjack! andAsk Aspel, as well as theMiss World beauty contest which he covered 14 times. He narrated the BREMA cartoon documentary,The Colour Television Receiver (akaDegaussing orThe Colour Receiver Installation Film), which was shown every day (except Sunday) on BBC2 between 14 October 1967 and 8 January 1971. He also provided narration for the BBC nuclear war drama documentaryThe War Game, which won theBest Documentary Feature Oscar in 1966 but was not shown on British television until 1985.
Aspel was a studio announcer at the BBC on 14 February 1969 during a live broadcast from the Dorchester Hotel of an awards ceremony, when the host,Kenneth Horne, died of a heart attack. Aspel filled in unscripted until the show resumed. He was later quoted as saying: "I got round this in a suitably dignified way. But it was awful as Kenneth Horne was not only a great performer, but such a wonderful man."[3]
In both1969 and1976, Aspel hosted the BBC'sA Song for Europe contest to choose Britain's Eurovision entry and provided the UK TV commentary[4] twice at theEurovision Song Contest in the same years,1969 and1976, in which year he also presented thecontest previews.
Aspel also had a regular joke slot on theKenny Everett radio show on Capital Radio and guest-starred twice onThe Goodies, appearing as himself, including in the episode "Kitten Kong", which won the Silver Rose at theMontreux Light Entertainment Festival.[5]
From 2 September 1974 until 27 July 1984, Aspel also presented a three-hour weekday, mid-morning music and chat programme onCapital Radio in London. He then presented a Sunday show on Capital (which only lasted for a few months, ending on 30 December 1984) before moving toLBC for the remainder of the decade. He also presented weekend shows onBBC Radio 2 in the late 1980s and again in the 1990s.
In 1977, Aspel appeared with a number of other newsreaders and presenters, dressed as sailors, in a song-and-dance routine ("There is Nothing Like a Dame") onTheMorecambe and Wise Show. In another episode, Morecambe refers to him as "Michael Aspirin" (a name also used by 'Disc' music magazine when Aspel was at Capital Radio). In the 1970s and 1980s Aspel presented popular ITV programmes such asGive Us a Clue,Child's Play andThe 6 O'Clock Show, a live current affairs and entertainment programme shown only in theLondon Weekend Television region. In 1989, he hosted a televised interactive murder mystery set at a wedding called Murder Weekend, devised and written byJoy Swift, which invited viewers to solve a whodunnit to win a prize.[6]
During the early 1990s, Aspel presented two documentaries on BBC Radio 2 written by Terence Pettigrew, on subjects of which he and Pettigrew had personal knowledge.Caught in the Draft was a nostalgic look back at compulsorynational service. Both had served, at different times, inWest Germany, Aspel in theKings Royal Rifle Corps and Pettigrew in theREME. Also taking part in the programme were comedian/compereBob Monkhouse,Leslie Thomas, author ofThe Virgin Soldiers, and BBC Radio 2 drivetime hostJohn Dunn. This was followed byNobody Cried When The Trains Pulled Out, a documentary about the evacuation of children from major British cities during World War 2 that included champion boxerHenry Cooper, actorDerek Nimmo and authorBen Wicks.
Aspel was the host of the chat showAspel & Company, which ran from 9 June 1984 to 20 June 1993 onITV. The show was successful in attracting high-profile guests including then-Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher andGeorge Harrison withRingo Starr. In 1993,Aspel & Company was censured by theIndependent Television Commission because of an interview withArnold Schwarzenegger,Bruce Willis andSylvester Stallone who were promoting their joint business venturePlanet Hollywood. For a time,Aspel & Company performed well for ITV in the highly competitive Saturday night ratings but after the Planet Hollywood controversy, Aspel vowed never to host a chat show again.[7]
Aspel was featured onThis Is Your Life in 1980. When hostEamonn Andrews died in 1987, he became presenter of the programme until its run ended in 2003.[8] In 1993, Aspel began presenting the ITVsupernatural programmeStrange but True?, a series exploring supernatural phenomena and unexplained mysteries. The programme ran between 1993 and 1997. He presented a new version of the ITV game showBlockbusters for the BBC in 1997; Aspel presented 60 episodes in total. In 1993, Aspel became anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to broadcasting". He has also been votedTV Times and Variety Club Television Personality of the Year. He was also voted into theRoyal Television Society Hall of Fame for outstanding services to television.[9]
Aspel presented BBC'sAntiques Roadshow from 2000 until 2008; his last programme (recorded atKentwell Hall, Suffolk) was shown on 30 March 2008, being a tribute to himself.[10] In 2003, Aspel starred in aBBC Three spoof documentary,Sex, Lies & Michael Aspel, which claimed he had affairs withPamela Anderson,Valerie Singleton andAngie Best, among others.[11] Aspel guest hosted the topical quiz showHave I Got News for You on two occasions (October 2005 and November 2007).
In 2006, he played the role of the narrator in the UK tour ofRichard O'Brien'sThe Rocky Horror Show.[8][12] During July and August 2008, Aspel filmedEvacuees Reunited,[13] a five-part documentary series made by Leopard Films for ITV1, which aired from 15 to 19 December 2008. Along with 15 other wartime evacuees, he returned to the locations of his own youth, including his wartime home in Chard, Somerset. He was reunited with his childhood gang of evacuees at Forde Abbey, just outside the town. Later he caught up with his 96-year-old former school teacher, Audrey Guppy.[14]
Aspel has been married three times and has seven children. He married Dian Sessions in 1957; they had two children anddivorced in 1961.[8] Aspel married Anne Reed, a TV scriptwriter, in 1962 and they had twin children,[8] divorcing in 1967. In 1977, Aspel married actressElizabeth Power, best known for her role asChristine Hewitt inEastEnders; the couple had two sons, but Aspel left her in 1994 for a production assistant onThis Is Your Life, Irene Clarke.[15] They live inWeybridge,Surrey.
As a supporter of the charityCancer Research UK, Aspel was made a Freeman of theborough of Elmbridge, Surrey, in April 2008.[citation needed]
A 2004 article inThe Independent reported that Aspel had a dormant case ofnon-Hodgkin lymphoma.[15][16]
Aspel is a Vice-President ofThe Children's Trust, a UK charity for children with brain injury.He is also a Patron and long time supporter of the Princess Alice Hospice, Esher and The British Evacuees Association.
Aspel is one of nine presidents ofBetter Planet Education.[17]
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Eurovision Song ContestUK Commentator 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song ContestUK Commentator 1976 | Succeeded by |
| First | Give Us a Clue host 1979 – '84 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host ofAntiques Roadshow 2000–2008 | Succeeded by |
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