- Peter Dimmock
Peter Harold Dimmock CBE, CVO (born
December 6 ,1920 ) is a pioneering former sports broadcaster of British television during its formative years in the 1950s. He was the first host of long-running BBC Grandstand and also the first host of theBBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.Early life and career
Dimmock attended
Dulwich College . Before making his name in television he served in theRoyal Air Force duringWorld War II . He transferred from theTerritorial Army in 1941 and qualified a pilot, then in 1943 he became a flying instructor with the rank ofFlight Lieutenant , in 1944 he was appointed as a staff officer at the Air Ministry. After hisdemobilisation he joined thePress Association and later theBBC in 1946 as the head of outside broadcasts.Television career
Television was still in its infancy and as head of outside broadcasts, Dimmock was in charge of a wide range of events including the Queen's Coronation in 1953 and the first televised
Grand National in 1960. In 1954 he went in front of the cameras as the host of a new sport news programme Sportsview (which becameSportsnight in 1968). In its first year the show featuredRoger Bannister 's record breaking four-minute mile run.The BBC's long-running
Sports Personality of the Year award also started in 1954 - with Dimmock again taking the presenter role, which he was to continue for over a decade.Having presented Sportsview for over four years, he fronted the first two shows of Grandstand in October 1958 before handing over to
David Coleman . [ [http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/sports/sports.htm BBC sports programmes and hosts] ]He presented his final Sportsview in 1964 and would take up several other roles within the BBC until he left in 1977.
Personal life
Dimmock married BBC continuity announcer and What's My Line? panellist Polly Elwes. Elwes died on
July 15 ,1987 . [ [http://tvannouncers.thetvroomplus.com/channel-1.html Polly Elwes profile] ] OnJune 8 ,1990 he married Christabel Rosamund Bagge.Awards
*
Royal Television Society RTS Sports Awards - Special Judges Award 2004 [ [http://www.rts.org.uk/Information_page_+_3_pic.asp?sec_id=732 RTS Awards 2004] ]
*Commander of the Victorian Order (CVO) [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p12883.htm#i128827 Peerage record for Peter Dimmock] ]References
External links
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2000/sports_personality/1021802.stm Dimmock's profile on the BBC web site]
Persondata
NAME= Dimmock, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=British sports broadcaster
DATE OF BIRTH=1920-12-06
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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