Brian Redhead
| Brian Redhead | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Leonard Redhead 28 December 1929 Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, UK |
| Died | 23 January 1994 (aged 64) Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, UK |
| Occupation | author, journalist and broadcaster |
Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great lover and promoter of the city of Manchester and the North West in general, where he lived for most of his career.
Redhead was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, . He was the only child of Ernest Leonard Redhead, a silk screen printer and advertising agent, and his wife, Janet Crossley (née Fairley). He was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle. After national service, he read history at Downing College, Cambridge.
His career in journalism started in 1954 as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian newspaper. He married Jean Salmon (known as Jenni) on 19 June 1954. They had four children: two sons, Stephen and James, and twins, Annabel (known as Abby) and William.
He became northern editor of The Guardian in 1965, and editor of the Manchester Evening News in 1969. After being passed over for the editorship of The Guardian in favour of Peter Preston in 1975, he left to join the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, replacing Robert Robinson. He was already an experienced broadcaster, having been 'discovered' around 1960 by a BBC Manchester producer, Olive Shapley, who was looking for a presenter of a television programme called Something to Read:
I held auditions over two days and there were some promising people. However, on the second day a young man turned up who was clearly highly intelligent and knowledgable, oozed confidence, communicated effortlessly through the camera, was very funny and never stopped talking. I knew instantly that this was the one.
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