Andrew Gardner (25 September 1932 – 2 April 1999)Veteran newsman Gardner dies
''BBC News'', 4 April 1999, Retrieved 12 November 2019 was a newsreader on Independent Television News in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

from 1962 to 1977. He was also one of the original presenters of '' News at Ten'' when it began in 1967. He was born in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

and educated at the independent Dauntsey's School in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. He was 6 ft 5 ins. His began his broadcasting career as a radio journalist in South Africa, and he was a reporter in Africa until his return to the UK in 1961. He was notable for presenting the first transatlantic programme using the Telstar satellite and for commentating on state occasions such as royal weddings for ITV. After leaving ITN he became a regional news presenter on

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, presenting Thames at 6 and later '' Thames News''. He is also notable for being the newscaster whose report was interrupted on 26 November 1977 by a hoax broadcast generally known as the Southern Television broadcast interruption. The hoaxer has never been identified. At ten minutes past five, the TV picture wobbled slightly and the sound of Andrew Gardner's professional delivery was silenced, to be replaced by a distorted voice delivering a quite remarkable message for almost six minutes. It purported to be a communication from an individual identifying themselves as Vrillon, representing a body called the Ashtar Galactic Command. And the message was simple: we humans had to give up our warlike ways and embrace a more peaceful existence... before it was too late. He remained with Thames until it lost its franchise in 1992, when he subsequently took early retirement. While retired, he reported on such subjects as beer tasting and the wine regions of southwest Germany for a magazine for blind people. He died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on 2 April 1999, aged 66, while on a flight to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. At the time of his death, he lived in Benenden, Kent.

References

1932 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British journalists ITN newsreaders and journalists People educated at Dauntsey's School People from Beaconsfield People from Benenden {{UK-tv-journalist-stub