Robert Hudson (broadcaster)

Robert Cecil Hudson (30 January 1920 – 3 June 2010) was a British broadcaster and administrator for the BBC, primarily on radio but also on television, between 1947 and 1981. He commentated on cricket and rugby union, as well as on many state occasions. He also covered a number of royal tours abroad. He was particularly noted for the thoroughness of the research that he conducted in preparation for his broadcasts. He was responsible for the launch of Test match Special (TMS) in 1957, having written to his boss Charles Max-Muller the previous year, proposing the broadcasting of full ball-by-ball coverage of Tests instead of the existing coverage of limited fixed periods. His obituary in The Times described him as "a man of transparent integrity whose reserved manner and innate modesty meant that he became less of a celebrity than his great ability would otherwise have guaranteed".

He was born in Golders Green and educated at Shrewsbury School. During World War II he served in the Royal Artillery, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel and seeing service in British Malaya. After the war he obtained a degree from the London School of Economics. He became a corporate member of the Institute of Personnel Management and was personnel officer for Regent Oil and Glacier Metal.

Following a successful BBC audition in 1946, he worked as a freelance for TV and radio from 1947 to 1954, when he joined the BBC North Region staff in Manchester. He covered as many as 55 rugby Internationals between 1947 and 1977, 46 on radio and 9 on TV. He commentated on cricket Tests for TV in 1949–1950 and 1962–1964. For radio, he became a regular TMS commentator in 1962, having made his debut on the programme in 1958, and continued till 1968. He also covered the Boat Race on three occasions.

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