Alan Taylor (1924 – January 1997) was a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

presenter, popular in Wales and the West Country during the 1960s and 1970s. Taylor was originally from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, where his family had an electrical business. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He began his television career as a continuity announcer with TWW in 1959. He also appeared in early episodes of "''Paint Along With Nancy'' on HTV where he assisted the host. After presenting a birthday slot with a

glove puppet Glove puppetry () is a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of China's Fujian province, and historically practised in the Min Nan-speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaosh ...

called "Tinker", he went on to host a regular children's magazine programme called ''

Tinker and Taylor Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani p ...

'' on which he would often play the

Melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...

with the puppet. In the early 1970s he presented a Saturday morning children's programme on HTV called ''Orbit'', which featured an alien puppet called "Chester". He later hosted several quiz and game shows on ITV, including '' Three Little Words'' and '' Mr. & Mrs.'', noted for his distinctive

monocle A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...

. He retired in 1982, ran an

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online. An antiques shop can also be located within an ant ...

in Bath for a time, and then moved to Spain, where he died.UK Gameshows.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alan 1924 births 1997 deaths Welsh television presenters British game show hosts Mass media people from Cardiff