Sir Robin Day, OBE (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was a British political broadcaster and commentator of note. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
On television, he presented Panorama and chaired Question Time (1979–89), and on radio was presenter of The World at One. Panorama is the longest-running current affairs documentary series in the world Question Time is a topical Debate Television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The World at One, or WATO ("what-oh" for short is BBC Radio 4 's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme which His incisive and sometimes - by the standards of the day - abrasive interviewing style, together with his heavy-rimmed spectacles and trademark bow tie, made him an instantly recognisable and frequently impersonated figure over five decades. The bow tie is a men's Necktie popularly worn with Formal attire, such as suits or Dinner jackets It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around
Born in Hampstead, London, the son of a telephone engineer who became telephone manager at Gloucester, Robin Day briefly attended The Crypt School, Gloucester. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Crypt School is a grammar school for boys with a mixed Sixth Form located in the city of Gloucester, England, founded in 1539 by John Later he was sent to Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight. Bembridge School was an independent school in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight founded in 1919 by social reformer and Liberal MP John Howard Whitehouse The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the
After war service with the army in East Africa, where he reached the rank of captain before being demoted to lieutenant as part of a cull of rear-echelon jobs, Day received his university education at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and, while a student, was elected president of the Oxford Union debating society. St Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Status and membership The Oxford Union is an Unincorporated association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members and governed Day also took part in the ESU USA Tour, the debating tour of the United States run by the English-Speaking Union. The English-Speaking Union is an international educational charity founded by journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918
He was called to the Bar in 1952, but practised only briefly. A barrister is a Lawyer found in many Common law Jurisdictions that employ a split profession (as opposed to a Fused profession) in relation Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In his memoirs he recorded that he secured the acquittal of a lorry-driver accused of indecent exposure by persuading the magistrates that the man had been "shaking the drops from his person" after urinating, and by getting the man's young wife to testify, wearing a tight sweater, that she and her husband enjoyed a healthy love life.
Day spent almost his entire career in journalism. Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating formally employed by publications and broadcasters for the benefit of a particular Community of people He rose to prominence on the new Independent Television News (ITN) from 1955, when he was the first British journalist to interview President Nasser of Egypt after Britain's defeat in the Suez Crisis. ITN ( Independent Television News) is a major news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. Gamal Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر Gamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; - January 15 1918 September 28 1970) was the second President The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh
In the 1959 General Election he stood as a Liberal Party candidate for Hereford but failed to win. Background Following the Suez Crisis in 1956 Anthony Eden the Conservative Prime Minister became unpopular and resigned the following year The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Hereford is a Constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom comprising the City of Hereford and most of South
He became known in British broadcasting as "the Grand Inquisitor" for his abrasive interviewing politicians, a style out of keeping with the British media's culture of deference to authority that prevailed during the early days of his career. In 1981, he was knighted for his services to broadcasting. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981
In October 1982, during an interview with the Conservative Secretary of State for Defence John Nott, pursuing cuts in defence expenditure, he posed the question: "But why should the public, on this issue, as regards the future of the Royal Navy, believe you, a transient, here-today and, if I may say so, gone-tomorrow politician, [a reference to Nott's announcement that he was to stand down at the next General Election] rather than a senior officer of many years?" Nott rose, removed his microphone, and said "I'm sorry, I'm fed up with this interview. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. Sir John William Frederic Nott (born 1 February 1932 in Bideford, Devon) is a former British Conservative Party Politician prominent A general election is an Election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election Really, it's ridiculous" and walked off the set. Nott's autobiography in 2003 was called Here Today Gone Tomorrow: Recollections of an Errant Politician.
Monty Python's Flying Circus often used Day as a reference, including the "Eddie Baby" sketch in which John Cleese turns to the camera and states "Robin Day's got a hedgehog named Frank. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer " In another sketch, Eric Idle said he was able to return his "Robin Day tie" to Harrod's. Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943 is an English Comedian, Actor, Author, Singer and Composer of comedic songs Harrods is a Department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. He was also spoofed (as Robin Yad) on The Goodies' episode "Saturday Night Grease". This article discusses The Goodies comedy television series For information about the formation of The Goodies group and for information Saturday Night Grease is an episode of the British Comedy television series The Goodies.
Day had problems relating to women. The broadcaster Joan Bakewell recalled that while he was professional while in the office,
Socially he was a menace. Dame Joan Dawson Bakewell DBE (born 16 April 1933 in Stockport) is an English Journalist and Television presenter There was no subtlety in his manner: at office parties he would attack head on. "Do the men you interview fancy you? Do they stare at your legs? Do they stare at your breasts? Do you sleep with many of them?" . . . Whenever he loomed in sight, I made myself scarce. [1]
Later, Anna Ford pushed Day into a bush as a result of his unwanted advances. Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire) is a retired English Journalist and Television presenter, best known
Robin Day published two autobiographies; Day by Day in 1975 and Grand Inquisitor in 1989. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)
Reference
- ^ Joan Bakewell The Centre of the Bed: An Autobiography, 2003, Sceptre, p234-5.
External links
- Sir Robin Day: 1923–2000 from the BBC
- Tributes to Sir Robin Day from the BBC
| Preceded by programme started |
Regular Host of Question Time 1979-1989 |
Succeeded by Peter Sissons |
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