Robert Wentworth John Holness (born 12 November 1928, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa) is an English actor and presenter.
Early life
Shortly after his birth in South Africa, his family moved to
AshfordAshford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
,
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, in the UK. After attending Ashford Grammar School (now
The Norton Knatchbull SchoolThe Norton Knatchbull School is a grammar school for boys located in Ashford, Kent, England. Girls are accepted into the Sixth Form. As of 2008, the school serves more than one thousand students aged 11 to 18.- History :...
) and Maidstone College of Art and spending some time at
Eastbourne CollegeEastbourne College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, situated on the south coast of England, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The College's current headmaster is Simon Davies. The College was founded by the Duke of Devonshire...
, he then worked for a printing company before returning to South Africa. In 1955, he received his first job as a radio presenter. He also got married in 1955 to Mary who he met in South Africa. They returned to the UK in 1961. They have three children and seven grandchildren. His daughter, Ros, was a member of the band
Toto CoeloToto Coelo was a 1980s British one hit wonder new wave vocal group, masterminded by producer Barry Blue...
.
In 1956, he starred in a South African radio adaptation of
Moonraker, making him the second actor to portray
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(
Barry NelsonBarry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
having previously played Bond in a 1954 adaptation of
Casino RoyaleCasino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
). He subsequently presented a regular show on
Radio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
.
Holness joined the
BBCThe 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...
as a presenter on
Late Night Extra, initially on the
BBC Light ProgrammeThe Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
and later on
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and
2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, presenting alongside people like
Terry WoganSir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
,
Michael ParkinsonSir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
and
Keith FordyceKeith Fordyce was an English disc jockey and former presenter on British radio and television. He is most famous as the first presenter of ITV's Ready Steady Go! in 1963, but was a stalwart of both BBC radio and Radio Luxembourg for many years.-Career:Born Keith Fordyce Marriott in Lincoln, he...
. From 1971, the show was broadcast solely on Radio 2.
Between 1975 and 1985, he was co-presenter with Douglas Cameron of the breakfast-time
AM Programme on London's
LBCLBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
radio station. He originally joined the station as an airborne traffic reporter. He won the Variety Club Award for 'Joint Independent Radio Personality of the Year' in both 1979 and 1984.
Between 1985 and 1997, he returned to Radio 2 presenting many shows including
Bob Holness Requests the Pleasure and
Bob Holness and Friends, as well as covering various weekday shows for holidaying presenters. Until 1998, he also presented the request programme
Anything Goes on the
BBC World ServiceThe BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
.
Holness was the subject of an urban myth,
claimed to have been initiated in the 1980s by broadcaster
Stuart MaconieStuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week , alongside Mark Radcliffe, called the Radcliffe...
who, while writing for the
New Musical Express (in a section called 'Would You Believe It?'), claimed that Holness played the
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
solo on
Gerry RaffertyGerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
's 1978 song "
Baker Street"Baker Street" is a ballad written and first recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it reached #1 in Canada, #2 in the US, #3 in the UK, #1 in Australia and #9 in the Netherlands...
".
Tommy BoydTimothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
, among others, has disputed Maconie's claim to authorship of the rumour. The actual performer was
Raphael RavenscroftRaphael Ravenscroft is a Scottish saxophonist and author on saxophone play. He now resides in Exeter, Devon, England.He is best known for his work with Gerry Rafferty, performing the saxophone solo on "Baker Street". Ravenscroft was paid £27 for the session, with a cheque that bounced...
. The story clearly appealed to Holness' sense of humour as he has often played along with the myth, and has also at various times jokingly claimed to be the lead guitarist on Derek and the Dominoes' "
Layla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" and the mysterious individual putting
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
off his stride on the famous 'laughing' version of "
Are You Lonesome Tonight?"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" is a popular song with music by Lou Handman and lyrics by Roy Turk. It was written in 1926, first published in 1927 and most notably revived by Elvis Presley in 1960 ....
". He was recorded confirming the Baker Street story in a 1993 interview on STOIC, Student Television of Imperial College.
Television career
In 1961, Holness became the host of UK game show
Take a LetterTake a Letter is a game show that originally aired on ITV from 10 January 1962 to 24 June 1964 and was originally hosted by Bob Holness . It was revived in 1997 and aired on Living with Jenny Hull as the host....
, was relief host of Thames Television's magazine programme 'Today' in 1968, and from 1983 until 1994, he presented the British version of
Blockbusters, for which he is best known.
In autumn 1995, he hosted
Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
's big-budget gameshow flop
Raise the RoofRaise the Roof was an unsuccessful British television game show which ran from 2 September 1995 to 13 January 1996, co-produced by Yorkshire Television and Action Time for ITV and hosted by Bob Holness.-History and gameplay:...
before becoming the chairman of a revived
Call My Bluff for the BBC.
Holness appeared on one episode of
Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in 2004, when he presented the last round of Ant and Dec's
Blockbusters, with Ant as a contestant.
Personal life
In 2002, Holness suffered a major stroke, following which a brain scan revealed he had previously suffered a number of transient ischaemic attacks over several years. He also suffered from hearing loss, and began to use a hearing aid in 2003.