Michael Aspel

Born in Battersea, London, in 1933. During the war, he was evacuated to Chard in Somerset. Returning to London, he attended Emmanuel School in Wandsworth where he was a member of the rowing club eight. He dreamed of being a cartoonist or a film star, but ended up being the tea boy for Collins Publishers until he was called up for National Service, which he spent serving in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. After three and a half years in the army, he moved to Cardiff and joined an amateur drama group, getting work with a local radio repertory company, but his career with them was doomed as he didn't speak Welsh. He auditioned for the BBC on London and in 1957 became an announcer.