British TV News Readers Trivia Quiz

Answer: News at Ten

Reginald Bosanquet was born in Surrey in 1932. His father, Bernard, was a cricketer who invented a delivery called the "bosie" or "googly". Reginald Bosanquet was very popular, and an authoritative voice of the news, but his slurred speech sometimes led to accusations that he was drunk. He was said to unwind after work by playing bar billiards and had a table installed in his home, to the horror of his wife.

The picture is of a statue of Moses and the Ten Commandments in the Philippines.

Answer: Anna Ford

Anna Ford started in TV comparatively late, at 30, having worked as a teacher, but her rise was quick. She joined Granada as a researcher in 1974, then moved to the BBC where she started reading the news and presenting the science magazine show, "Tomorrow's World", in 1976. She then moved to ITN (Independent TV News) in 1978. After presenting "News at One", Anna Ford started on "News at Ten" that same year, alongside Reginald Bosanquet. On her first day, he asked her if she played darts, and revealed a dartboard on his office door. In 1981 Anna Ford left ITN to work on a rival bid, with TV-AM, for the breakfast TV franchise.

The photograph is a Ford Mustang convertible from the late 1980s.

Answer: The Last Night of the Proms

After war service, in the Arctic Convoy and studying at Cambridge University, Richard Baker tried various jobs, before joining BBC radio as a classical music presenter. He introduced, but did not read, the first BBC TV news broadcast in 1954. He was an authoritative and trusted news reader. Richard Baker was a keen musician and lover of classical music, so he cherished his long association with the Last Night of the Proms. He started working as a classical music radio presenter for Classic FM in 1995. Among many other broadcasting jobs, Baker was loved by children for his narration of the 1969 TV cartoon, "Mary, Mungo and Midge".

The picture is of the Royal Albert Hall, in London, which is the home of the annual Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, now known as the Proms.

Answer: Angela Rippon

Angela Rippon started at BBC South West in her early twenties, and first presented for BBC network news in 1974, when she acted as a holiday replacement for Richard Baker. She was given the job full-time in 1975 on the BBC's top "Nine O'Clock News" programme. It was a ground-breaking appointment, but Rippon wasn't the first female news reader in the UK - that had been Barbara Mandrell, for ITN in 1955. Angela Rippon's display of her legs in a high kicking dance routine on "The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show" in 1976 caused a sensation, and she went on to a long career in TV, presenting shows such as "Antiques Roadshow", "Top Gear", and "Come Dancing"

The picture is a 15th-century carved angel from Milan, Italy.

Answer: True

Kenneth Kendall was called up to serve in the Coldstream Guards after a year at University, and was wounded in Normandy in 1944. After recovering, he was sent to Palestine. After demob, he competed his degree at Oxford, and joined the BBC in 1948 to read the news on the radio. He moved to TV and was the first newsreader to appear in front of the camera for the BBC, in 1955. He had a long career in broadcasting, including presenting "Treasure Hunt" in the 1980s, and lent his voice to be used in a voice synthesiser by Acorn Computers. In 2006 he entered a civil partnership with his partner, Mark Fear, under the UK's Civil Partnership Act 2004.

The picture is of a rainbow in the skies over Edmonton, Alberta.

Answer: Trinidad

Trevor McDonald was born on Trinidad in 1939. He worked as a broadcaster in Trinidad and Tobago, before joining ITN in the UK in 1973. He did many jobs as a reporter and news reader. One, as a sports correspondent, was particularly apt. McDonald was a keen sports fan - he supported Tottenham Hotspur, and he also became a member of the All England Club. He became the sole presenter on "News at Ten" in 1992, and stayed in post until 2005, presenting numerous other programmes for ITV. Trevor McDonald became very well known - having the dubious privilege of being spoofed as "Trevor McDoughnut" by Lenny Henry on the ITV show "Tiswas". He returned to "News at Ten" for a short spell in the 2000s.

The picture shows the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic.

Answer: Carol Barnes

Carol Barnes had a long and distinguished career as a TV journalist, joining ITN in 1976, and covering the Northern Ireland troubles, the Brixton riots, and the Iranian revolution. She found foreign assignments challenging because of her fear of flying, and, to overcome it, she took flying lessons and qualified as a pilot. She worked on "News at Ten" between 1982 and 1998. After leaving ITN in 1999 she worked on "Countdown" and "The Big Breakfast".

The picture shows two barns in Indiana.

Answer: Afghanistan

Sandy Gall's father was a rubber planter in present day Malaysia, when he was born in 1927. As a reporter, he covered the Vietnam war, and the situation in Uganda under the despot Idi Amin. In 1981 he became involved in covering the situation in Afghanistan following the 1979 invasion by the USSR. He was embedded with the mujahideen, the guerrilla fighters resisting the invaders. He later covered the civil war that followed the Soviet departure in 1989. Sandy Gall set up a charity in Kabul to provide medical assistance to the Afghani people, where more than 20,000 people were provided with artificial legs or callipers.

The picture shows an Afghan hound.

Answer: False

Huw Edwards was born in Bridgend in 1961. His family were Welsh speaking, and his father a Welsh language activist. He joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1984, and progressed through the organisation to become the newsreader on "BBC News at Six" in 1999. Edwards started presenting the BBC's "Ten O'Clock News" in 2003. He took on a role as the BBC lead for ceremonial events, such as "Trooping the Colour" or royal weddings and funerals, and leading the coverage of UK General Elections. He also presented several programmes about Welsh culture and history.

The picture is of the Welsh flag.

Answer: Strictly Come Dancing

Natasha Kaplinsky's father was an anti-apartheid campaigner who had to leave South Africa, and she was born in Brighton in 1972. She worked for Granada, Meridian, and Sky News, before joining the BBC as a presenter on "BBC Breakfast" in 2002. In 2004, she took part in the first series of the celebrity dancing competition, "Strictly Come Dancing", winning the glitterball trophy with professional dance partner Brendan Cole. In 2006 she started presenting the BBC's "Ten O'Clock News". Natasha Kaplinsky moved on to news and presenting roles at ITV, Channel 5 and Sky.

The picture is an illustration of how to do the Argentine Tango, from an American book published in 1914, called "The Modern Dances - How to Dance Them".