Bruce Parker

Bruce Parker (born 20 July 1941)^[1] is a British journalist and television presenter whose career spanned the mid-1960s to 2003, when he retired. Strongly committed to regional broadcasting, he was responsible in the mid-1960s for a pilot local radio station in the Channel Islands, which eventually led to the setting up of a string of BBC Local Radio stations across the UK. In 1967 he joined BBC South in Southampton, where he remained for most of his career, making a name as a regular presenter and reporter for South Today. He was also a respected political interviewer and later BBC South's political editor, hosting South of Westminster and South on Sunday.

In the 1970s he became a familiar face to viewers in the rest of Britain, first as a news reporter and later as the first (though short-lived) host of Antiques Roadshow and a regular contributor to Nationwide. In September 1977 he filed probably his most famous news reports, about the story of Victor, a giraffe at Marwell Zoological Park. He also presented the short-lived BBC1 arts magazine Mainstream in 1979. He was also the BBC commentator for the raising of the Mary Rose in October 1982, clips of which regularly appear on nostalgia and retrospective programmes.

He was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey,^[2] the University of Wales and Reading University. He now lives in Hampshire with his second wife Suzanne; he had three children but his son Charlie died in 2009.^[3]

References

1. "Bruce Parker, Esq". debretts.com. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
2. Bruce Parker: Home page
3. Bruce Parker pays tribute to his late son Charlie (From Daily Echo)

External links

• Retirement and special award from BBC