Wikipedia

Peter Haigh

Peter Varley Haigh (28 July 1925 – 18 January 2001) was an English broadcaster and in-vision continuity announcer for BBC Television in the years after the Second World War. After being commissioned into the fifth battalion of the Welsh Guards in 1944, he joined the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) as a producer and announcer in Jerusalem and Benghazi. Haigh began working for BBC Television as an announcer in 1952 and was part of the team of continuity announcers headed by McDonald Hobley, Mary Malcolm and Sylvia Peters. He compèred several programmes on a freelance basis for the BBC and the ITV network, including the weekly film programme review Picture Parade and Come Dancing.

Early life

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Haigh was born in North London on 28 July 1925, the only son of the engineer William Varley Haigh.[1][2] He was brought up in North London,[3] and was educated at Aldenham School, Aldenham, Hertfordshire.[1] After leaving school, Haigh was unsure as to what career he wanted to pursue as he mulled over studying art or going into advertising.[4][5]

Haigh was commissioned in 1944 into the fifth battalion of the Welsh Guards, rising to the rank of Captain. He served in Palestine and Egypt.[1][2] He joined the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) in Jerusalem and Benghazi as a producer and announcer after a meeting with the head of overseas broadcasting Leslie Knight.[5][6] He later helped start up the BBC Overseas News station in Mombasa, Kenya.[1][2]

Broadcasting career

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Following his leaving the army in 1947,[3] he failed to get a job as a BBC Radio announcer on numerous occasions.[3] Haigh was told that his voice was "too nasal", attributed to him having a cold he was suffering from during his audition as well as being "too Oxford" despite not having attended the University of Oxford.[7][8][9] In the interim, he spent some time on a tobacco plantation in India and worked as a commercial artist, commercial traveller,[4] film salesman in the North of England,[5] tiling roofs for a firm of tile manufacturers in the East End of London,[8][9] and a part-time postman in Britain.[7] After four attempts,[5] he successfully joined BBC Television as an announcer on 17 March 1952 after a two-week trial at Alexandra Palace, then the headquarters of BBC Television.[1][7] Haigh was a stand-in guest announcer for McDonald Hobley, who was on holiday.[1][8] He joined the team of continuity announcers headed by Hobley, Mary Malcolm and Sylvia Peters.[1][3]

Haigh compèred programmes on Radio Luxembourg and commented on a film newsreel.[5] In 1955, Haigh introduced the television crossword puzzle show Viewclues that featured music and pictures,[10] the topical magazine programme Now,[11] two episodes of Top Town.[12][13] and inclement weather survey Fine Weather for Ducks.[14] He played a father in the children's television panel series Ask Your Dad.[15] After Hobley left the BBC for ITV in 1956, Haigh was offered Hobley's former job as chief staff announcer.[1] He refused on the grounds that it did not provide him with enough artistical and financial opportunities,[16] and that he would not be able to continue working as a freelancer for commercial companies.[1][4] Haigh also noticed that the era of in-vision announcers would be over after ITV broadcast commercials and trailers.[3]

He visited Chester to meet with its residents in an episode of Home Town in 1956,[17] and he chaired My Wildest Dream.[18] That same year also saw Haigh begin presenting the weekly film review programme Picture Parade with Derek Bond co-presenting on occasion until 1962.[4][19] He went on to chair the show This is Show Business in which he also acted as an interviewer and announcer,[20] introduced three American musicians in Into Thin Air,[21] and was the compère of the BBC Light Programme survey Movie-Go-Round.[22] Haigh presented Come Dancing In 1958,[3] and provided the BBC commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest, staged that year in Hilversum, Netherlands.[23]

In 1961, he was chair of the panel show Laughline.[24] as well as the Southern Television knock-out quiz elimination programme Beat Your Neighbour between 1961 and 1963.[25][26] He also provided the BBC radio commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest 1962. Haigh narrated the animated film The Commonwealth (1962) and had roles in the films in Simon and Laura (1955), Band of Thieves (1962), Live It Up (1963) and as a magistrate in Witchfinder General (1968).[19][27] From the early 1970s, he lived in Portugal running a restaurant and bar popular with British tourists.[1] Haigh in the 1980s but he was unable to resume his broadcasting career,[1] having a brief stint of BBC Radio WM in 1985, presenting a series about the West Midlands during the Second World War.[28] He made a final television appearance as guest of Des Lynam on a short-lived series called It's My Pleasure.[4] Haigh later worked occasionally for BBC radio and did voice-overs for advertisements.[1]

Personal life

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Haigh married the actress Jill Adams at Newport Register Office on the Isle of Wight on 27 April 1957.[29] There was one child of the first marriage.[1] They divorced in 1976.[19] In January 1968, he was fined £10 following his plea of guilty for sending indecent cards and a brochure through the post.[30] Haigh remarried for the second time to the German-born Inge Drake at Stratford Register Office on 12 December 1984.[3][31] He died on 18 January 2001.[3]

Awards

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Haigh was named Best Commentator of the Year in 1956,[1] and BBC Sound Radio Personality of the Year by the Variety Club of Great Britain in 1966.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Peter Haigh". The Daily Telegraph. 25 January 2001. p. 29. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Television Guest Announcer". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 28 March 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Purser, Philip (27 January 2001). "Peter Haigh". The Guardian. p. 24. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e Steven, Alasdair (12 February 2001). "Peter Haigh". The Scotsman. p. 14. ProQuest 326856160.
  5. ^ a b c d e Turney-Dann, Doreen (1 January 1955). "He Has Been a 'Guest' Since 1948". Birmingham Gazette. p. 4. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Behind TV scenes with announcers". The Norwood News. 8 January 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c Davis, Clifford (25 February 1952). "'Too Oxford' for radio—takes him on". Daily Mirror. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c "This Week's TV Close-Up". Derby Evening Telegraph. 14 March 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Untitled". Evening Chronicle. 7 January 1957. p. 4. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Crosswords for TV with music". Birmingham Evening Mail. 29 December 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Price, Alan (13 June 1955). "Lime Grove introduces a topical magazine". Evening Chronicle. p. 4. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Marsland Gander, L. (7 March 1955). "Filming in Africa". The Daily Telegraph. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "TV Announcer Hurt". Birmingham Post. 24 August 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "On Your TV To-Night". Manchester Evening News. 1 April 1955. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Peter Haigh — Invisible Film Star". Evening Standard. 1 July 1955. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Peter Haigh Refused Mac's Old Job". Nottingham Evening Post. 23 March 1956. p. 11. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Tele-Briefs". Lincolnshire Echo. 26 January 1956. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Behind the Scenes". Reveille. 18 May 1956. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b c McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony, eds. (2003). The Encyclopedia of British Film. London, England: Methuen Publishing. pp. 279–280. ISBN 0-413-77301-9 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Lyne, John (29 March 1956). "Hard work for Peter Haigh". Western Mail. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Amos, Bill (13 April 1959). "To-night's Television Programmes". Liverpool Echo. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Pedrick, Gale (6 February 1958). "Broadcasting, and its effect on the film industry". The Sutton and Cheam Advertiser. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Television Programmes – Sunday Afternoon". Radio Times. 16 March 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via BBC Genome Project.
  24. ^ Aimes, Neward (3 January 1961). "New lines in laughs". Leicester Evening Mail. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Duel in the South". Isle of Wight County Press. 4 November 1961. p. 14. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Frome's Team in 'Beat Your Neighbour' Quiz". Somerset Guardian and Standard. 18 January 1963. p. 11. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Gifford, Denis (1986). The British Film Catalogue 1895–1985: A Reference Guide. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 667. ISBN 0-8160-1554-6 – via Internet Archive.
  28. ^ "My word! Don's dream comes true ... and 'Wogan' of 50s set for comeback". Black Country Evening Mail. 24 April 1985. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Peter Haigh and Jill Adams wed". Western Mail. 30 April 1957. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Peter Haigh fined for mailing indecent cards". The Daily Telegraph. 19 January 1968. p. 25. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Here's to the Haighs". Birmingham Evening Mail. 13 December 1984. p. 10. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ White, Bill (9 February 1968). "Ken Dodd is Show Biz Man of the Year". Evening Standard. p. 11. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest UK Commentator
1958 		Succeeded by
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