Desmond Carrington
Encyclopedia
Desmond Carrington is a UK-based actor and broadcaster, currently best known for his weekly show on BBC Radio 2
. His show went out on Sundays for 23 years from 1981 to 2004, when it moved to Tuesdays - then to Fridays. He currently lives in Perthshire, Scotland
.
Carrington's first professional stage appearance was in 1942, when he played Cockney
schoolboy Roberts in James Hilton
's play Goodbye, Mr. Chips
at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham
, opposite Noel Johnson
, as Mr Chips - Johnston was the radio voice of Dick Barton
. Carrington was conscripted into the army a year later. At the end of World War II
he joined a British Forces Broadcasting Service
(BFBS) radio station in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
). He returned to the UK a few years later and worked as a radio producer as well as acting in a couple of films and on TV, where he became well known as Dr Anderson in Emergency-Ward 10. He also starred in two of the thirteen A Case For Dr. Morelle radio shows, in 1957, with Cecil Parker
, as the lead.
His radio shows generally have a specific theme expanded on in the second 1/2 hour, although occasionally Carrington will do a 'composer special', where every song has been written by a specific composer or lyricist. He introduces every show with the greeting "Evening all, from home in Perthshire," and then ends the show by saying "All right, Sam [his Abyssinian cat
], you can go out in a minute!" He finally signs off before the news with "Bye just now!"
From 7 January 2011 Carrington began to broadcast from his new home and studio in Perthshire.
BBC Radio 2
BBC 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...
. His show went out on Sundays for 23 years from 1981 to 2004, when it moved to Tuesdays - then to Fridays. He currently lives in Perthshire, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Carrington's first professional stage appearance was in 1942, when he played Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
schoolboy Roberts in James Hilton
James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
's play Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a novel by James Hilton, published in the United States in June 1934 by Little, Brown and Company and in the United Kingdom in October of that same year by Hodder & Stoughton...
at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
The Theatre Royal, Nottingham in Nottingham, England, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. The theatre is in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council...
, opposite Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson was an English actor.He was the radio voice of Dick Barton special agent on BBC radio and Dan Dare pilot of the future over Radio Luxembourg....
, as Mr Chips - Johnston was the radio voice of Dick Barton
Dick Barton
Dick Barton - Special Agent was a popular radio programme on the BBC Light Programme. Between 1946 to 1951 it aired at 6.45 each weekday evening and at its peak it had an audience of 15 million listeners. Despite popular belief, it was not actually the BBC's first daily serial...
. Carrington was conscripted into the army a year later. At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he joined a British Forces Broadcasting Service
British Forces Broadcasting Service
The British Forces Broadcasting Service provides radio and television programmes for HM Forces, and their dependents, in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kosovo, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Tristan da Cunha as well as a live satellite...
(BFBS) radio station in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
). He returned to the UK a few years later and worked as a radio producer as well as acting in a couple of films and on TV, where he became well known as Dr Anderson in Emergency-Ward 10. He also starred in two of the thirteen A Case For Dr. Morelle radio shows, in 1957, with Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
, as the lead.
His radio shows generally have a specific theme expanded on in the second 1/2 hour, although occasionally Carrington will do a 'composer special', where every song has been written by a specific composer or lyricist. He introduces every show with the greeting "Evening all, from home in Perthshire," and then ends the show by saying "All right, Sam [his Abyssinian cat
Abyssinian (cat)
The Abyssinian is a breed of domesticated cat with a distinctive ticked coat. There are many stories about its origins, often revolving around Ethiopia, but the actual origins are uncertain...
], you can go out in a minute!" He finally signs off before the news with "Bye just now!"
From 7 January 2011 Carrington began to broadcast from his new home and studio in Perthshire.