Trevor McDonald
Encyclopedia
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE
(born George McDonald on 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian
-British
newsreader
and journalist
. He had a long career as a news presenter
with ITN. He is notable for having been the first black
news reader in the UK, and for having won more awards than any other British broadcaster.
McDonald was knight
ed in 1999 for his services to journalism.
. In 1973 he began his long association with Independent Television News
, first as a
4 News]], but returned to ITN in 1989, presenting the early-evening news.
following News at Tens second axing.
's flagship current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald
.
to work elsewhere ended when he signed a further two year contract involving producing both a documentary show and a new series of interviews which will be of a wider general interest.
McDonald presented his last ITV News bulletin on 15 December 2005. The veteran newsreader stepped down from his role as anchor after more than 30 years at ITN, but said he had no plans to retire completely from television. At the end of the final programme, newsreader Trevor McDonald sign off with the words: That brings to an end my association with the news at 10.30. Thank you for watching. Over the opening and closing titles of the bulletin McDonald presented, the November 1992 to March 1999 ITV News at Ten theme, as a tribute to McDonald.
. He told a newspaper: "I couldn’t turn down the move back to that iconic time slot." News at Ten began broadcasting once again on 14 January 2008.
.
and Liverpool John Moores University
. In 1993, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's honours list. He received a knighthood in 1999 for his services to journalism.
He was awarded with a BAFTA fellowship at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born George McDonald on 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He had a long career as a news presenter
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
with ITN. He is notable for having been the first black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
news reader in the UK, and for having won more awards than any other British broadcaster.
McDonald was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1999 for his services to journalism.
Early career
After working as a print and broadcast journalist in Trinidad during the 1960s, in 1969 McDonald was employed by BBC Radio as a producer, based in London but still broadcasting to the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In 1973 he began his long association with Independent Television News
Independent Television News
ITN is a news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is made up of four key businesses: ITN News, ITN Source, ITN Productions and ITN Consulting. The ITN logotype can be displayed in any of 4 different colours, each of which represents a business unit. This is the...
, first as a
4 News]], but returned to ITN in 1989, presenting the early-evening news.
News at Ten
McDonald was promoted in 1992 as the sole presenter of News at Ten, where he became one of the best known faces on British television screens. McDonald stayed with ITN when News at Ten was axed in 1999, moving to present the new ITV Evening News. News at Ten was briefly relaunched in 2001, to which McDonald returned to presenting. He presented the ITV News at 10.30ITV News at 10.30
The ITV News at 10.30 was the flagship news programme on British television network ITV, airing Monday to Friday at 10.30pm. It was produced by ITN...
following News at Tens second axing.
Tonight
From 1999-2009, McDonald hosted ITVITV
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...
's flagship current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald
Tonight (TV series)
Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...
.
First retirement
On 29 November 2005, speculation that McDonald was about to leave ITVITV
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...
to work elsewhere ended when he signed a further two year contract involving producing both a documentary show and a new series of interviews which will be of a wider general interest.
McDonald presented his last ITV News bulletin on 15 December 2005. The veteran newsreader stepped down from his role as anchor after more than 30 years at ITN, but said he had no plans to retire completely from television. At the end of the final programme, newsreader Trevor McDonald sign off with the words: That brings to an end my association with the news at 10.30. Thank you for watching. Over the opening and closing titles of the bulletin McDonald presented, the November 1992 to March 1999 ITV News at Ten theme, as a tribute to McDonald.
Return to News at Ten
On 31 October 2007, ITV announced that, early in 2008, McDonald would come out of retirement to present the relaunched News at Ten together with Julie EtchinghamJulie Etchingham
Julie Etchingham is an English television newsreader and journalist. She is currently co-presenter of ITV News at Ten and is the presenter of the current affairs programme Tonight, having replaced Sir Trevor McDonald....
. He told a newspaper: "I couldn’t turn down the move back to that iconic time slot." News at Ten began broadcasting once again on 14 January 2008.
Second retirement
It was announced on the 30 October 2008 that McDonald would step down from News at Ten once the US 2008 Presidential elections were over, to be replaced by Mark Austin. His last bulletin was on 20 November 2008. He continues to present links for The Tonight ProgrammeTonight (TV series)
Tonight is a British television newsmagazine, produced by ITV Studios and ITN for the ITV network. Since 1999, Tonight replaced the long-running investigative series World in Action...
.
Other work and media appearances
- McDonald presented the TV series Undercover CustomsUndercover CustomsUndercover Customs was a television series produced by Granada Television for ITV which consisted of dramatic reconstructions of some of the largest real-life smuggling incidents based on the official records of HM Customs and Excise in the UK....
which created reconstructions of major HM Customs and Excise investigations in the UK - Since their inception in 1995 until 2008, he presented the National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
. McDonald was replaced as presenter for the 2010 event by X FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
host Dermot O'LearyDermot O'LearyDermot O'Leary is an English television and radio presenter. He established himself as a presenter of Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4 before moving on to The X Factor on ITV. O'Leary has also presented on the BBC and has his own radio show on BBC Radio 2... - On 21 April 2006, McDonald presented an episode of Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
with a good degree of success; he delivered the autocue jokes, some of which were extremely risqué, in his usual sober newscaster manner, the juxtaposition of which prompted team captain Paul MertonPaul MertonPaul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, who usually maintains a straight face on the show, to laugh heartily in disbelief on numerous occasions. It was McDonald's first appearance in any capacity on the show since 1992 - McDonald is ChancellorChancellor (education)A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of London South Bank UniversityLondon South Bank UniversityLondon South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...
. He also has intimate ties with King's College SchoolKing's College SchoolKing's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
in WimbledonWimbledon, LondonWimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, a London day school, where he is now a governor - McDonald is the author of biographies of the cricketers Viv RichardsViv RichardsSir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
and Clive LloydClive LloydClive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s... - He has worked as an editor of poetry anthologies, and his autobiography Fortunate Circumstances was published in 1993
- Lenny HenryLenny HenryLenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
's comic character Trevor McDoughnut is a spoof of McDonald. McDonald once surprised Henry during a performance of McDoughnut on TiswasTiswasTiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
by walking into the studio to sit with Henry. Trevor returned to Tiswas on two further occasions. Firstly, a number of weeks following his original surprise appearance, Trevor cropped up during a spoof edition of This Is Your LifeThis Is Your Life (UK TV series)This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
to 'reminisce' with Lenny Henry about the earlier event. The other appearance occurred during the "Tiswas Reunited" show (a reunion programme transmitted in June 2007) where Sir Trevor joined Lenny on the sofa once again to look back at the old clips and comment upon Lenny's impersonation - McDonald performed live in Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in Summer 1996 with The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, as the newsreader in the group's staging of their QuadropheniaQuadropheniaQuadrophenia is the sixth studio album by English rock band The Who. Released on 19 October 1973 by Track and Polydor in the UK, and Track and MCA in the US, it is a double album, and the group's second rock opera... - In June 2007, McDonald hosted the new ITV version of This Is Your LifeThis Is Your Life (UK TV series)This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
, Simon CowellSimon CowellSimon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
being the programme's "victim" - In June 2007, McDonald began hosting the new ITVITVITV 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...
television series News Knight with Sir Trevor McDonaldNews Knight with Sir Trevor McDonaldNews Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald, more commonly referred to as simply News Knight was a British television panel show shown on ITV, at 22:00 on Sunday nights. Fronted by Sir Trevor McDonald and in a similar style to the BBC One programme Have I Got News for You, its format featured three... - McDonald also travelled the Caribbean working on series The Secret Caribbean with Trevor McDonald
- In August 2010 McDonald conducted a live on-stage interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Fairfield HallsFairfield HallsFairfield Hall is an arts centre in Croydon, London, England and opened in 1962. It contains a concert hall, the Ashcroft Theatre , the Arnhem Gallery civic hall and an art gallery....
in CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
at an event entitled An Audience with Desmond Tutu - A picture of McDonald was seen at the end of the video I Know Him So Well by Peter Kay and Susan Boyle for Comic Relief 2011.
Awards
McDonald holds Honorary Degrees from the University of PlymouthUniversity of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
and Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
. In 1993, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's honours list. He received a knighthood in 1999 for his services to journalism.
He was awarded with a BAFTA fellowship at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
.
External links
- Vision Aid Overseas
- Sir Trevor reads final bulletin BBC News, 15 December 2005
- Newsworthy career of Sir Trevor BBC News, 15 December 2005