The Continuity Booth
BBC South West
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Roger attended Cardiff High School for Boys and Harrow County Grammar School. He studied Welsh for seven years. As a result of eighteen months army service in Germany, he was able to add German to his repertoire. Countless visits to Provence allowed him to hone his French skills. It's perhaps no surprise that he ended up presenting 'BBC 648' - a tri-lingual service for Europe.
Other career highlights:
1956: ATV London/Midlands: script-writer: live weekly advertising, magazine programmes - 'Home With Joy Shelton'; 'Midweek Miscellany'.
1962: studio manager/announcer, BBC External Services; news reader/continuity, BBC World Service.
1964: BBC One and BBC Two announcer, Television Centre, London, as well as Birmingham, Plymouth and Cardiff. First self-op continuity suite: BBC Two Midlands. Roger was the first voice on air on the opening night of BBC Two Midlands. Producer/script-writer: 'Points Of View'.
In June 2009, Roger told us about a visit by Princess Margaret to the BBC World Service studios: "I was on duty in World Service continuity, on my second consecutive night-shift, when Princess Margaret came in (despite the red light "live on-air"). She was followed deferentially and rather timidly, by Douglas Muggeridge, managing director, World Service and those of the upper-echelons from Bush House and Broadcasting House. The BBC management representatives included George Howard (of 'Brideshead Revisited' fame).
"HRH was very intrigued with the announcing operation and said she knew my voice (being an avid World Service and Radio 3 listener with her mother at Clarence House). She stayed for an unexpected one hour and twenty minutes. We shared an immediate connection. The lady head of presentation and the dozen gentlemen present all stood closely around my continuity desk."
When he spoke to TTVRP in 2009, Roger was still regularly attending castings in Wardour Street, Soho for voice-overs and TV commercials and company events.
"At 103 years, I am still as energised as when in 1957, I hand-modelled products live on camera at ATV's Hackney Empire and Alpha Studios, Birmingham for ad-mags (at the time, Arthur Adair and Mel Oxley were in-vision continuity anouncers for ATV and Associated-Rediffusion)."
