Michael Miles

Michael Miles
Michael Miles
Born	Michael John Miles; 1 June 1919; Take Your Pick
Children	2

Michael John Miles (1 June 1919 – 17 February 1971) was a New Zealand-born television presenter in Great Britain known for the

Rediffusion London

.

Early life

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Miles left school to become a broadcaster after persuading his local station to hire him.^{[citation needed]} He then travelled to Australia, before moving on to Singapore as a newsreader, leaving only days before the island was invaded by the Japanese Army during the Second World War.^[1]

Career

Although he produced radio shows during the war years, it was with the transfer of his quiz show Take Your Pick to television that he made his name. The programme, which had already been heard on

Radio Luxembourg for three years, was one of the first game shows on ITV in September 1955 when the new channel began its broadcasts (ITV's other early quiz show was Double Your Money, presented by Hughie Green). Take Your Pick, which was masterminded by Miles (who was reputed to earn the phenomenal sum of £20,000 a year) relied on public participation and was a ratings success.^{[citation needed]} The show was cancelled in 1968, when producers Associated Rediffusion were forced to become Thames Television in the ITV franchise reshuffle. (The show was revived in 1992 with Des O'Connor.)^[2]

Miles then hosted a similar show called Wheel of Fortune, not to be confused with the later

game show of the same name, for Southern Television. Rumours of an alcohol problem were unfounded; he in fact had epilepsy and often locked himself in his dressing room, ashamed of his condition.^{[citation needed]} He died in 1971 aged 51, while on business in Spain. Miles was married with one son and a daughter.^[3]

Miles and Take Your Pick were parodied in a Monty Python sketch (titled "Spot the Brain Cell" in its LP version), in which John Cleese as a quizmaster called Michael cheerfully mocks the stupidity of a female contestant played by Terry Jones.

References

^ "Obituary: Mr. Michael Miles". The Times. No. 58103. 19 February 1971. p. 16.
^ Vahimagi, Tise. "Take Your Pick (1955-68)". Screenonline. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
^ "Obituary: Michael Miles". The Guardian. 19 February 1971. p. 5.

Preceded by N/A	Host of Take Your Pick 1955–1968	Succeeded by Des O'Connor

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[1] "Obituary: Mr. Michael Miles". The Times. No. 58103. 19 February 1971. p. 16.

[bfi-2] Vahimagi, Tise. "Take Your Pick (1955-68)". Screenonline. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

[3] "Obituary: Michael Miles". The Guardian. 19 February 1971. p. 5.

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