Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)
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Leslie Mitchell (born October 4, 1905 in Edinburgh, died November 23, 1985 in London) was famous in the United Kingdom as the first voice heard on BBC Television at its inception on November 2, 1936, and also for making the first announcement on Associated-Rediffusion, the first ITV company, on September 22, 1955. His voice was perhaps most recognised, however, from his long association with British Movietone News, for whose newsreels he was commentator during the Second World War and for many years afterwards.
Educated at The King's School, Canterbury, he was prevented from joining the Royal Navy by ill health, which also prevented him from serving in the Second World War. He began as a stage and film actor, but suffered from multiple injuries in a road accident, which kept him out of work for over a year, as the play he was appearing in was about to transfer to the West End.
He began appearing on BBC Radio in 1932 and joined the Corporation's staff in 1934, working as a general announcer and a producer of variety programmes. In 1936 he became one of the three announcers for the BBC's fledgling Television Service, along with Jasmine Bligh and Elizabeth Cowell, which was then available only in London.
In 1946, suspecting that commercial broadcasting would eventually come to the United Kingdom, he travelled to the United States and gained experience of the methods of publicity used there. In the post-war years he had a stint as Sir Alexander Korda's director of publicity, but was mainly a freelance writer, commentator and producer.
In 1955 he joined Associated-Rediffusion, where he became senior announcer, and was also in charge of Talks and chairman of discussion programmes. He went freelance again in 1958. Much of his later work was on programmes concerning the early days of British television, such as a celebration of 25 years of BBC TV which he jointly narrated with Richard Dimbleby in 1961, and a 40th anniversary documentary in 1976. He also presented the nostalgic Tyne Tees Television series Those Wonderful TV Times (1976-1978).
