Mary Malcolm
Encyclopedia
Helen Mary Malcolm was one of the first two regular female announcers on BBC
Television after World War II. She became a household name in the UK during the 1950s.
actress Lily Langtry, who was the mistress of King Edward VII of England
, Mary was brought up in Poltalloch, Argyll
, Scotland. Until the age of 16, she attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
in South Kensington, London. She began her television career in 1948, having gained broadcasting experience on the radio
during the Second World War. As more and more men were called up to fight, women became increasingly in demand to fill posts at the BBC. Mary Malcolm was taken on and worked for the Home Service
as a continuity announcer from March 1942. With the relaunch of the BBC's television service after the war she worked alongside Sylvia Peters
and McDonald Hobley
, with the trio averaging ten days' work a month each.
At this time, all television programs were introduced by an in-vision host or hostess and broadcasts were normally live. Malcolm received no training and became known for her spoonerism
s: "By the end of the day I was tired, and when I came to the weather forecast I just read it out without really trying. My biggest fear was 'drain and rizzle', which I said more than once." With the advent of commercial rival ITV
in 1955, the BBC’s reliance on announcers diminished. Commercial breaks quickly became popular and the BBC decided audiences no longer needed a hostess to soothe them. Malcolm left the BBC in 1956 although she continued to appear as a guest on various programs including an episode of the comedy series The Goodies
. Her autobiography, Me, was published in 1956.
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...
Television after World War II. She became a household name in the UK during the 1950s.
Biography
The granddaughter of VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
actress Lily Langtry, who was the mistress of King Edward VII of England
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, Mary was brought up in Poltalloch, Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
, Scotland. Until the age of 16, she attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle is a large French primary and secondary school situated in South Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London...
in South Kensington, London. She began her television career in 1948, having gained broadcasting experience on the radio
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...
during the Second World War. As more and more men were called up to fight, women became increasingly in demand to fill posts at the BBC. Mary Malcolm was taken on and worked for the Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
as a continuity announcer from March 1942. With the relaunch of the BBC's television service after the war she worked alongside Sylvia Peters
Sylvia Peters
Sylvia Peters was a British actress, and from 1947 to 1958 was a continuity announcer for BBC Television.-Career:...
and McDonald Hobley
McDonald Hobley
McDonald Hobley, born Dennys Jack Valentine McDonald-Hobley, was one of the first BBC Television continuity announcers, appearing from 1946 to 1956.-Childhood and early career:...
, with the trio averaging ten days' work a month each.
At this time, all television programs were introduced by an in-vision host or hostess and broadcasts were normally live. Malcolm received no training and became known for her spoonerism
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
s: "By the end of the day I was tired, and when I came to the weather forecast I just read it out without really trying. My biggest fear was 'drain and rizzle', which I said more than once." With the advent of commercial rival ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 1955, the BBC’s reliance on announcers diminished. Commercial breaks quickly became popular and the BBC decided audiences no longer needed a hostess to soothe them. Malcolm left the BBC in 1956 although she continued to appear as a guest on various programs including an episode of the comedy series The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
. Her autobiography, Me, was published in 1956.