Gordon Henry Burns(born 10 June 1942) is a retired Northern Irish journalist and broadcaster. He was the host ofThe Krypton Factorfor its original 18-year run (1977–1995) and was the chiefanchormanfor the BBC regional news programmeNorth West Tonightfrom January 1997 to October 2011. In November 2011, he moved back to Belfast where he was born.
Gordon Burns | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gordon Henry Burns 10 June 1942(age82) Belfast,Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Dulwich College |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcaster, journalist |
| Years active | 1973–2013 |
| Notable credit(s) | Presenting: The Krypton Factor(1977–1995) Co-presenting: North West Tonight(1997–2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ed Sheeran(second cousin) |
Due to Burns' work commitments withGranada Televisionon programmes such asWorld in ActionandGranada Reportsand laterBBC ManchesterforNorth West Tonight,he resided inManchesterfor over thirty years. He most recently hosted a Sunday morning radio show forBBC Radio ManchesterandBBC Radio Lancashire.[1][2]
Early life
editBurns was born in Wellington Park, in Belfast. When he was a child his family moved toKent,where he attended the local primary school and then went toDulwich Collegein London.[3]The family then returned to live at Belfast's Belmont Road, where Burns attendedCampbell College.[3][4]
Career
editHe began his journalism career working on theBelfast Telegraphand worked on BBC radio's long-runningSports Reportbefore joiningUlster Televisionas a sports editor and programme producer in 1967. Two years later, Burns began presenting the nightly news programmeUTV Reports,first as a stand-in for regular frontman David Mahlowe and later as a chief anchor, during the early stages ofThe Troubles.In 1973, Burns joinedGranada Televisionto anchor their nightly news programmeGranada Reportsand to work on the station's current affairs output, includingWorld in Action.
In September 1976 he presented a edition of Granada's Friday nightfootballpreview programmeKick Off,in which he was covering for the regular presenterGerald Sinstadt.Sinstadt, in turn, was that weekend covering forDickie Daviesas presenter ofWorld of Sport;he was also covering the presenter and commentator roles for the Sunday afternoon match highlights programmeThe Kick Off Match,in which he both presented the programme and commentated on Sunderland v Manchester City at Roker Park, the main match that weekend, which was being filmed byTyne Teescameras for Granada viewers. (At the time Sinstadt was the producer of bothKick OffandThe Kick Off Match;this stint as presenter and commentator was a one-off.)
Burns's national profile began with his association ofITV's game showThe Krypton Factorwhich he presented for eighteen years from 1977 to 1995. He was the presenter ofPasswordforUlster Television,one of that company's few programmes to be shown throughout the ITV network, and also hosted aSearchlinesegment in several series ofLWT'sSurprise Surprise.During the 1980s Burns also reported from the political party conferences for the ITV network, and presented the Channel 4 current affairs seriesIrish Angle.In the early 1990s he presented two parlour game shows for the BBC:A Word in Your EarandRelatively Speaking.He has also appeared as a guest onNoel's House Party,and onShooting Starsas a member ofUlrika Jonsson's team.
From 1997 to 2011, Burns presentedNorth West Tonight,alongside its shorter lunchtime version,North West Today.In 2007,Ranvir Singhjoined as co-anchor of the previously single-headed main evening programme. Burns announced in April 2011 that he would be retiring from the role but would move on to present a Sunday morning show onBBC Radio ManchesterandBBC Radio Lancashirein September 2011, with his last TV bulletin broadcast on 30 September.
He was the voice of "The Chain" feature and other features on theRadcliffe & Maconieshow onBBC Radio 6 Music.[5]He appears as a guest on the show when The Chain[6]reaches a significant milestone, for example, for the 5,000th (musically based) item on 3 March 2015 which was the single "Dancing Queen"byABBA.
In 2013, Burns retired properly after stepping down from his radio show.[7]
Personal life
editBurns is married and has two adult children. He is the second cousin of English singer/songwriterEd Sheeran.[8]
References
edit- ^"Gordon Burns to step down from BBC North West Tonight".BBC News. 15 April 2011.Retrieved31 May2021.
- ^"Gordon Burns on life in the hot seat".how-do.co.uk. 10 July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 15 September 2011.
- ^ab"TV star Gordon Burns on rows with prime ministers, the day he thought he was going to be shot... and his famous pop star relative".Belfast Telegraph.9 November 2019.Retrieved31 May2021.
- ^Devlin, Wayne (21 January 2021)."Wayne's World: Gordon Burns on how he got started in television".The Messenger.Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2021.
- ^"BBC – North West Tonight – Presenters – Gordon Burns".BBC.
- ^"The Chain".
- ^Bourne, Dianne (16 July 2013)."Gordon Burns bids beloved airwaves goodbye".Manchester Evening News.Retrieved31 May2021.
- ^Dianne Bourne (23 February 2012)."Gordon Burns 'so proud' over cousin Ed Sheeran's Brit Awards success".men.Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2014.