Tony Bastable
Encyclopedia
Anthony Leslie Bastable (15 October 1944 – 29 May 2007) was an English television presenter who was best known for being one of original presenters of the children's programme Magpie
.
, Northumberland
in 1944. After moving to Wembley
, Middlesex
, he attended Wembley Manor School from 1952 to 1955 and University College School
in Frognal
, London before briefly working for local newspaper
s. Whilst working as a freelance reporter he also taught British history, part time, at Buckingham College, Harrow
.
, but was turned down for being "too young". Instead he was given a job presenting a children's programme
. Within 18 months he was working for ATV
as a presenter of children's shows, sports magazines and schools' programmes. In 1968 he moved to Thames Television
and begun presenting Magpie
, a new children's programme, with Susan Stranks
and Pete Brady. Magpie was seen as a "groovier" version of the BBC
's Blue Peter
In 1972, he moved to become Magpies producer
. During his career, Bastable produced and presented many one-off programmes, including historical documentaries and current affairs
programmes, and presented and commented on many outside and sporting events. For nine years Bastable presented the consumer protection series Money-Go-Round, and also presented shows such as Drive-in, Mind Over Matter, a programme he devised with Kit Pedler
that investigated the paranormal
and Database. In addition, he was often a panellist on radio shows
and he narrated the Channel 4 nature programme "Profiles Of Nature".
, the National Bus Company, the Royal Navy
, the Department of Transport
and the Institute of Advanced Motorists
. Bastable was also the co-author of two children's books
and wrote biographies of John Cabot
and Ferdinand Magellan
, both of which were published in 2003. Tony Bastable was a qualified cricket umpire
and founded the Institute of Cricket Umpires and Scorers.
Bastable married three times - firstly in 1969 to June Buchan, from whom he was divorce
d in 1971. In 1974 he married Jackie Colkett. They had a daughter but divorced in 1992. He married his third and final wife, Anita Westwood, in 2001. Bastable suffered from emphysema
and died in the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill
, Surrey
in 2007 from
pneumonia
.
Tube
-deniers Half Man Half Biscuit
refer to Tony in their song I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves), from the album Back in the DHSS
. He is also referenced in the song Tony Bastable V John Noakes
by The Dentists
, from the album Some People Are On The Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now.
Magpie (TV series)
Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture...
.
Early life
Anthony Leslie Bastable was born in HexhamHexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
in 1944. After moving to Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, he attended Wembley Manor School from 1952 to 1955 and University College School
University College School
University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
in Frognal
Frognal
Frognal is an affluent area in North West London in the London Borough of Camden between Hampstead and West Hampstead. Frognal is also the name of the major road in the area.-History:...
, London before briefly working for local newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. Whilst working as a freelance reporter he also taught British history, part time, at Buckingham College, Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
.
Television career
In the early 1960s, Bastable applied for a job as a television news reporter for Southern TelevisionSouthern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
, but was turned down for being "too young". Instead he was given a job presenting a children's programme
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
. Within 18 months he was working 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...
as a presenter of children's shows, sports magazines and schools' programmes. In 1968 he moved to Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
and begun presenting Magpie
Magpie (TV series)
Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture...
, a new children's programme, with Susan Stranks
Susan Stranks
Susan Stranks is a British actress, television presenter and producer.-Career:Born in London, Stranks was ten years old when she played the role of the younger Emmeline Foster in the 1949 romantic adventure film The Blue Lagoon....
and Pete Brady. Magpie was seen as a "groovier" version of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
In 1972, he moved to become Magpies producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. During his career, Bastable produced and presented many one-off programmes, including historical documentaries and current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
programmes, and presented and commented on many outside and sporting events. For nine years Bastable presented the consumer protection series Money-Go-Round, and also presented shows such as Drive-in, Mind Over Matter, a programme he devised with Kit Pedler
Kit Pedler
Dr Christopher Magnus Howard "Kit" Pedler was a British medical scientist, science fiction author and writer on science in general....
that investigated the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
and Database. In addition, he was often a panellist on radio shows
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and he narrated the Channel 4 nature programme "Profiles Of Nature".
Later life
Bastable later moved into independent production, and he produced training and promotional films for companies such as the Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, the National Bus Company, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the Department of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
and the Institute of Advanced Motorists
Institute of Advanced Motorists
The Institute of Advanced Motorists is a charity based in the United Kingdom and serving nine countries, whose objective is to improve car driving and motorcycle riding standards, and so enhance road safety, through the proper use of a system of car and motorcycle control based on Roadcraft...
. Bastable was also the co-author of two children's books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and wrote biographies of John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
and Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
, both of which were published in 2003. Tony Bastable was a qualified cricket umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
and founded the Institute of Cricket Umpires and Scorers.
Bastable married three times - firstly in 1969 to June Buchan, from whom he was divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d in 1971. In 1974 he married Jackie Colkett. They had a daughter but divorced in 1992. He married his third and final wife, Anita Westwood, in 2001. Bastable suffered from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
and died in the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill
Redhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
in 2007 from
pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
-deniers Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
refer to Tony in their song I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves), from the album Back in the DHSS
Back in the DHSS
-2003 Rerelease:# "Busy Little Market Town"# "God Gave Us Life"# "Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus"# "Sealclubbing"# "99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd"# "Time Flies By "# "I Hate Nerys Hughes "...
. He is also referenced in the song Tony Bastable V John Noakes
John Noakes
John Noakes is a British television presenter and personality, best known for co-presenting the BBC children's magazine programme Blue Peter in the 1960s and 1970s. He remains the show's longest-serving presenter, with a stint that lasted 12 years and 6 months...
by The Dentists
The Dentists
The Dentists were an indie/pop band from the Medway towns in England who were active from 1984 to 1995. The band's permanent members were Mick Murphy , Bob Collins and Mark Matthews . The band also had three different drummers: Ian Smith , Alun Jones and Rob Grigg...
, from the album Some People Are On The Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now.