Gordon Burns (television)
Encyclopedia
Gordon Burns is a Northern Irish
-born British
journalist
and broadcaster
who hosted Granada TV's popular game show The Krypton Factor
for its original 18 year run (1977–1995). From 1997 to 2011, he was the chief anchorman for the BBC regional news programme North West Tonight
.
Due to his work commitments with Granada Manchester on programmes such as World in Action
and Granada Reports
and later BBC Manchester
for North West Tonight, he has resided in Manchester
for over thirty years due to his work commitments on local media. Burns now hosts a Sunday morning radio show for BBC Radio Manchester
and BBC Radio Lancashire
. He is known for a bona fide
style of presenting which has made him popular with viewers.
in Northern Ireland up to the age of five, and returned from London
, where his father had worked as the editor of Hansard
. He was educated at Dulwich College
, a boys' independent school
in South London
, then at 13, attended Campbell College
, a grammar school
in Belfast
.
before joining Ulster Television as a sports editor and programme producer in 1967. Two years later, Burns began presenting the nightly news programme UTV Reports, first as a stand-in for regular frontman David Mahlowe and later as a chief anchor, during the early stages of The Troubles
. In 1973, Burns joined Granada Television
to anchor their nightly news programme Granada Reports
and to work on the station's current affairs output, including World in Action
.
Burns' status as a national celebrity began with his association of ITV
's popular game show The Krypton Factor
which he presented for eighteen years from 1977 to 1995. He was the presenter of Password for Ulster Television, one of their few programmes shown throughout the ITV network, and also hosted a segment in several series of LWT
's Surprise, Surprise. During the 1980s, Burns also continued reporting from the political party conferences for the ITV network and presenting the Channel 4 current affairs series Irish Angle.
From 1997 to 2011, Burns presented North West Tonight, its shorter lunchtime equivalent, North West Today, and also the three minute mid-afternoon bulletin each weekday. In 2007, Ranvir Singh
joined as co-anchor of the previously single-headed main evening programme. Burns announced in April 2011 that he would be retiring from the role but would move onto present a Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Manchester
and BBC Radio Lancashire
in September 2011 with his last TV bulletin being on 30 September.
He is also the voice of "The Chain" feature and other features on the Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC 6 Music
.
People of Northern Ireland
Northern Irish people or people of Northern Ireland are "all persons born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of...
-born British
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
who hosted Granada TV's popular game show The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 19:00....
for its original 18 year run (1977–1995). From 1997 to 2011, he was the chief anchorman for the BBC regional news programme North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight
BBC North West Tonight is a nightly regional news programme covering the North West of England. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 6.30pm and at 10:25pm every weekday evening and is broadcast from the BBC's MediaCityUK studios at Salford Quays.-BBC North West region:The BBC North...
.
Due to his work commitments with Granada Manchester on programmes such as World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
and Granada Reports
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
and later BBC Manchester
BBC Manchester
BBC Manchester is the British Broadcasting Corporation regional headquarters for the North West, the largest BBC region in the UK. BBC Manchester also forms a key part of BBC North....
for North West Tonight, he has resided in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
for over thirty years due to his work commitments on local media. Burns now hosts a Sunday morning radio show for BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to Greater Manchester in North West England. It broadcasts 24 hours a day from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays via a transmitter at Holme Moss, with a small repeater at Saddleworth covering Tameside and Saddleworth...
and BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
. He is known for a bona fide
Bona Fide
Bona Fide is a studio album from rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first studio album in six years and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Ben Granfelt...
style of presenting which has made him popular with viewers.
Personal life
Burns lived in LisburnLisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
in Northern Ireland up to the age of five, and returned from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where his father had worked as the editor of Hansard
Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
. He was educated at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, a boys' independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, then at 13, attended Campbell College
Campbell College
Campbell College is a Voluntary Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The College educates boys from ages 11–18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council.The school occupies...
, a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
Career
He began his journalism career working on the Belfast Telegraph and worked on BBC radio's long-running Sports ReportSports Report
Sports Report is one of the longest-running programmes on British radio. It started in the first week of 1948, and has always been aired from 5.00 to 6.00 p.m...
before joining Ulster Television as a sports editor and programme producer in 1967. Two years later, Burns began presenting the nightly news programme UTV Reports, first as a stand-in for regular frontman David Mahlowe and later as a chief anchor, during the early stages of The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
. In 1973, Burns joined Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
to anchor their nightly news programme Granada Reports
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
and to work on the station's current affairs output, including World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
.
Burns' status as a national celebrity began with his association of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's popular game show The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 19:00....
which he presented for eighteen years from 1977 to 1995. He was the presenter of Password for Ulster Television, one of their few programmes shown throughout the ITV network, and also hosted a segment in several series of LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
's Surprise, Surprise. During the 1980s, Burns also continued reporting from the political party conferences for the ITV network and presenting the Channel 4 current affairs series Irish Angle.
From 1997 to 2011, Burns presented North West Tonight, its shorter lunchtime equivalent, North West Today, and also the three minute mid-afternoon bulletin each weekday. In 2007, Ranvir Singh
Ranvir Singh
Ranvir Singh is an English news presenter and reporter for the regional BBC news programme, BBC North West Tonight.-Background:...
joined as co-anchor of the previously single-headed main evening programme. Burns announced in April 2011 that he would be retiring from the role but would move onto present a Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to Greater Manchester in North West England. It broadcasts 24 hours a day from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays via a transmitter at Holme Moss, with a small repeater at Saddleworth covering Tameside and Saddleworth...
and BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
in September 2011 with his last TV bulletin being on 30 September.
He is also the voice of "The Chain" feature and other features on the Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
.