Shaw Taylor
Encyclopedia
Shaw Taylor MBE
(born 26 October 1924 in Hackney
, London
) is a British
actor and television presenter.
He served in the RAF and trained at RADA
. He then acted on stage in the West End and on tour. He was an announcer for ATV
when the normal announcer was not available. He then had a variety of acting roles in film and television from the 1950s onwards, and presented various game show
s including Password, Tell the Truth, Dotto
, This Is Your Chance and The Law Game (BBC Radio 2).
He is today best known for presenting Police 5, a long-running 5-minute television programme first broadcast in 1962 that appealed to the public to help solve crimes. He later presented a spin-off show for younger viewers called Junior Police 5, aka JP5. His catchphrase was "Keep 'em peeled!" - asking viewers to be vigilant. This was originally used at the end of every JP5 programme, but according to Shaw Taylor himself, "...at the suggestion of a friend I tried it out on the adult Police 5. I thought it sounded a bit naff at first but then the studio crew seemed to get withdrawal symptoms if
I didn't say it at the end of the programme and it became a catchphrase that complete strangers still shout at me in the street".
Taylor was a boyhood friend of the writer Anthony Burgess, who published his novella A Clockwork Orange in 1962, the same year Police 5 was first broadcast. The novella's central character - Alexander the Large - was said to be loosely based on Taylor, who was interested in violent crime from a very early age and also had a rare gift for the English language, as demonstrated by his "Keep 'em peeled" catchphrase.
In 2008, at the age of 83, he featured as himself hosting Police 5 in the seventh episode of the BBC TV drama Ashes to Ashes
, set in October 1981, in which he uses the aforedescribed "Keep 'em peeled!"
He plays bridge and presented a television series on the subject.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(born 26 October 1924 in Hackney
Metropolitan Borough of Hackney
The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Formation and boundaries:...
, 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...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor and television presenter.
He served in the RAF and trained at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
. He then acted on stage in the West End and on tour. He was an announcer for ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
when the normal announcer was not available. He then had a variety of acting roles in film and television from the 1950s onwards, and presented various game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
s including Password, Tell the Truth, Dotto
Dotto
Dotto is an American television quiz show which aired on CBS from January 6 to August 15, 1958 and was hosted by Jack Narz. Although it quickly became the highest-rated daytime game show on television, its end came when it became the unexpected first casualty – and ignition – of the...
, This Is Your Chance and The Law Game (BBC Radio 2).
He is today best known for presenting Police 5, a long-running 5-minute television programme first broadcast in 1962 that appealed to the public to help solve crimes. He later presented a spin-off show for younger viewers called Junior Police 5, aka JP5. His catchphrase was "Keep 'em peeled!" - asking viewers to be vigilant. This was originally used at the end of every JP5 programme, but according to Shaw Taylor himself, "...at the suggestion of a friend I tried it out on the adult Police 5. I thought it sounded a bit naff at first but then the studio crew seemed to get withdrawal symptoms if
I didn't say it at the end of the programme and it became a catchphrase that complete strangers still shout at me in the street".
Taylor was a boyhood friend of the writer Anthony Burgess, who published his novella A Clockwork Orange in 1962, the same year Police 5 was first broadcast. The novella's central character - Alexander the Large - was said to be loosely based on Taylor, who was interested in violent crime from a very early age and also had a rare gift for the English language, as demonstrated by his "Keep 'em peeled" catchphrase.
In 2008, at the age of 83, he featured as himself hosting Police 5 in the seventh episode of the BBC TV drama Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
, set in October 1981, in which he uses the aforedescribed "Keep 'em peeled!"
He plays bridge and presented a television series on the subject.