Melvyn Bragg

Best known as presenter of BBC's South Bank Show and BBC Radio 4. In 1999, he was president of the National Campaign for the Arts, Governor of the London School of Economics and Chancellor of Leeds University. He directed films, including Portrait of Sir John Barbirolli; wrote the Debussey film for Ken Russell; was presenter on Tyne Tees Television local arts program; South Bank Show presenter from 1978 and Head of Arts on LWT from 1982 to 1990. He was director of LWT productions 1992; Chairman of Border Television 1985-1990, Govenor of LSE 1997. He was author of some 20 fiction books and a number of non-fiction works. He has written a number of screenplays, including Time to Dance 1992, Mardi Gars 1976, The Hired Man 1985. Plays include King Lear in New York, 1992. He was a journalist on The Observer, Sunday Times, The Guardian and The New York Times. His awards include an RTS Gold Medal, John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Award, Richard Dimbleby Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television 1987, the Ivor Novello Award for Best Musical (The Hired Man). Numerous other awards for the South Bank Show included three Prix Italia's, Radio Personality of the Year 1994, Honorary Degree Open University, Doctor of Literature of NNAA, Lancaster Uni, Domus Fellowship St Catherines College Oxford, Honorary Fellow Lancashire Polytechnic, Doctor of Literature Liverpool (1990), Doctor of Law, University of St Andrews (1993), Honorary Fellow Wadham College Oxford (1995), University of Wales (1996), Doctor of Literature, South Bank University London (1997), Doctor of Science Brunel (2000), Doctor of Literature, Leeds (2000) and Sunderland (2001). He was both writer and speaker of BBC's Radio 4 Start the Week for ten years up to 1998.