David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby | |
---|---|
Born | Surrey, England | 28 October 1938
Education | Charterhouse School |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Occupation(s) | Television presenter, journalist, political commentator |
Years active | 1962–present |
Employer | BBC |
Known for | BBC Question Time Presenter BBC UK General Election Night Anchor/Commentator BBC National Events Anchor/Commentator |
Spouses | |
Children | 4; including Dimbleby family |
David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of
Early life and education
Dimbleby was born in
After learning French in Paris and Italian in
Career
Early career
Dimbleby joined the BBC as a news reporter in Bristol in the 1960s and has appeared in news programmes since 1962, early on co-presenting the televised version of the school quiz Top of the Form, and was a reporter on the BBC's coverage of the 1964 general election with his father as linkman.[5] Richard Dimbleby died the following year.
On 24 July 1967, Dimbleby was one of seventy signatories to an advertisement in The Times advocating the decriminalisation of cannabis use, which had been written by campaigner Stephen Abrams.[6][7] An incident in 1969 led to Dimbleby, then freelance, being called in by the BBC's Director of Television. During U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to the UK, a reference by Dimbleby to UK and US government heads' "expensively hired" press secretaries "whose job is to disguise the truth" was given much attention by the British press.[8]
Dimbleby became involved in a number of projects that combined his established role as presenter and interviewer with documentary making. An early example of this was Yesterday's Men (1971), a film which the BBC recognises "ridiculed" the Labour opposition and led to a major conflict between the Corporation and the Labour Party;[9] Dimbleby had his name removed from the credits because of the concessions that were made.[10] In 1974, he became the presenter of Panorama, which had been presented by his father.
Coverage of elections
Dimbleby anchored the BBC's overnight coverage of the
Dimbleby was the main presenter of the BBC's political series This Week Next Week (1984–88),
By this time, Dimbleby was established as the anchor for the BBC's coverage of events of national importance, such as the State Opening of Parliament, the Trooping the Colour, and the National Service of Remembrance service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Dimbleby served as chairman of the BBC's Thursday evening topical debate programme Question Time from 1994 until 2018. One of the most memorable moments from Question Time was when Dimbleby accidentally referred to Robin Cook as "Robin Cock", to which Cook responded by jokingly referring to Dimbleby as "David Bumblebee".[14]
2000s
In 1999, Dimbleby opened
David Dimbleby was chairman of the Dimbleby Newspaper Group, former publishers of the
There were reports in 2004 that Dimbleby was shortlisted for the
In 2005, he hosted a BBC One series, A Picture of Britain, celebrating British and Irish paintings, poetry, music and landscapes. In June 2007 he wrote and presented a follow-up, the BBC series, How We Built Britain, in which he explored the history of British architecture by visiting a region of Britain and its historic buildings each week. David Dimbleby also presented a new series on BBC One, Seven Ages of Britain. In early editions of the programme, he looked at the Bayeux Tapestry and exhibits to do with Thomas Becket.
On 12 November 2009, Dimbleby missed his first
2010s
Dimbleby hosted the third of three
Dimbleby hosted the
Well, at twenty minutes to five we can now say the decision taken in 1975 by this country to join the Common Market has been reversed by this referendum to leave the EU. We are absolutely clear now that there is no way that the Remain side can win. It looks as if the gap is going to be something like 52 to 48...so a four point lead for leaving the EU, and that is the result of this referendum which has been preceded by weeks and months of argument and dispute and all the rest of it. The British people have spoken and the answer is: we're out!
On 20 April 2017, the BBC announced that Dimbleby would host their coverage of the 2017 general election, despite having previously said that the 2015 general election would be his last.[22] On 17 June 2018, the BBC announced that Dimbleby would leave Question Time after 25 years at the end of that year.[23] On 7 December 2018, the BBC announced that Fiona Bruce would take over presenting duties from January 2019. Since his retirement from Question Time, Dimbleby has presented occasional documentaries for the BBC.
Post-Question Time
In 2019, and in some of his first work outside the BBC for decades, he presented an acclaimed series of podcasts on the life of media mogul
In 2020, Dimbleby continued his foray into podcasting, presenting a series on the lead-up to the Iraq War. The series examined the events in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion asking whether it was justified at the time, and whether it could have been avoided. It also closely analysed the relationship between George W. Bush and Tony Blair, with Blair being interviewed as part of the series.
In October 2020, Dimbleby said he was again considering putting his name forward for chairman of the BBC.[24]
In September 2022, Dimbleby came out of retirement to commentate on the
In October 2022, Dimbleby stated that the BBC does not appropriately question the power of the royal family. He said that the BBC would not address controversial topics to do with the monarchy, such as its ability to change tax legislation, or the fact that the Duchy of Cornwall does not pay capital gains tax, and stated his disagreement that such matters were not examined. He also stated his shock over the amount of control the monarchy have over broadcasting covering them.[26]
Personal life
Although the brothers presented election coverage on competing channels, when asked in an interview about rival ITV's plans to include a riverboat party with the likes of Kevin Spacey and Richard Branson in their 2005 election broadcast, Dimbleby commented, "They've got Jonathan Dimbleby, what do they need Kevin Spacey for?"[27]
Dimbleby has three children with his first wife, Josceline Dimbleby, a cookery writer: Liza, an artist; Henry, a chef and co-founder of the fast-food chain Leon; and Kate, a jazz and folk singer.[28]
In 2000, Dimbleby married Belinda Giles, a granddaughter of
Honours
Dimbleby was made an honorary graduate of the University of Essex in 2005,[37] and is the President of the Institute for Citizenship.[38] In 2019, he received the Special Recognition Award for his services to news and current affairs at the National Television Awards in London.
See also
- List of former BBC newsreaders and journalists
- List of longest-running British television presenters
- List of Have I Got News for You presenters
- List of Today programme guest editors
- List of alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- List of University of Oxford people with PPE degrees
- List of Old Carthusians
References
- ^ a b Williams, Zoe (3 April 2010). "When Newsnight got a wife". The Guardian.
- ^ GRO Register of Births: MAR 1938 2a 180 SURREY NE – David Dimbleby, mmn = Thomas
- ^ Barratt, Nick (3 February 2007). "Family detective". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 March 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Battle Abbey School". Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ 1964 General Election Part 1. YouTube. 20 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ Jonathon Green All Dressed Up: The Counterculture and the Sixties, London: Pimlico ed., 1999, p.181-84
- ^ Rabinovitch, Dina; Green, Emily; Brown, Andrew (21 July 1992). "Twenty-five years gone up in smoke". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b "The Observer Profile: David Dimbleby | Comment | The Observer". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Yesterday's Men 1971", The BBC Story (BBC website)
- ^ David Wilby Yesterday's Men 1971", BBC 2006
- ^ a b c d e "BFI Screenonline: Dimbleby, David (1938–) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b Wells, Matt (10 August 2001). "Dimbleby 'shortlisted' for top BBC post". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Jonathan Dimbleby Esq", Debretts
- ^ Dimbleby, David (15 September 2004). "Just answer the question". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Baroness Thatcher funeral as it happened". BBC News. April 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ^ Plunkett, John (26 November 2003). "Dimbleby sidesteps State Opening". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ Teather, David (10 April 2001). "Dimbleby sells his newspapers". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam; Snoddy, Raymond (13 March 2004). "Headhunters look outside the box for Dyke successor". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "David Dimbleby injured by bullock". BBC News. 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
- ^ "Brown to face three televised election debates". BBC News Online. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ "BBC News Article – BBC Election Coverage 2010". 6 May 2010.
- ^ "General election 2017: David Dimbleby to host programme". BBC News. 20 April 2017.
- ^ "David Dimbleby to leave Question Time". BBC News. 17 June 2018.
- ^ Fleming, Adam (9 October 2020). "David Dimbleby may bid to be BBC chairman". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Ho, Vivian (19 September 2022). "David Dimbleby echoes father to lead BBC coverage of Queen's committal". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Isobel. "David Dimbleby says BBC is too scared to 'properly examine' royal family's power". The Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "David Rowan: Interview: David Dimbleby, BBC Question Time (Evening Standard)". 29 October 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006.
- ^ "Observations' One To Watch: Kate Dimbleby, Singer, 39". The Independent. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. (volume 1) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Pages 1076–1077.
- ^ Ashton, James (1 May 2015). "David Dimbleby profile: Britain's TV master of ceremonies on election night". The Independent.
- ^ "David Dimbleby's son set to follow in father's footsteps at Oxford". Evening Standard. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Dimbleby, David. "The Truth Shall Set You Free, Episode 1". The Fault Line podcast. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "BBC – Press Office – How We Built Britain: Programme Six Modern South". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Stamp, Rory (Spring 2009). "Anchor man". The Lifeboat. 587: 46–7.
- ^ "Which Dimbleby?". BBC News. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ Dimbleby, David (9 March 2013). "Willing @tranmererovers, my team since I was ten, to gain promotion to the championship". mobile.twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ^ "Honorary Graduates of the University of Essex, UK". 20 December 2005. Archived from the original on 20 December 2005.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Institute for Citizenship". citizen.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007.
External links
- David Dimbleby at IMDb
- David Dimbleby at the BFI's Screenonline
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- ^ Martinson, Jane (24 February 2016). "Huw Edwards to take over BBC general election role from David Dimbleby". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2017.