Don Durbridge (13 January 1939 – 9 June 2012) was a UK

radio presenter A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

who started his career on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

, and subsequently worked on the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselv ...

, and on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

,. He also broadcast for many years on

BBC Radio Medway BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience o ...

BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

and Invicta Sound in Kent, and latterly on

PrimeTime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

and

Saga DAB radio Saga DAB radio (Saga Radio London Ltd) was a UK digital DAB radio station, supported by Saga Radio Group. The line up featured a variety of presenters including David Hamilton, Don Durbridge, David Allan, Jenny Hanley and Tony Myatt. Music p ...

. On PrimeTime he introduced the late night slot, ''In Mellow Mood'', until the station's demise in 2006. He was also the regular matchday announcer for

Fulham Football Club Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage un ...

in the mid-1970s and for Gillingham Football Club during the 1980s.

Early years

Durbridge's father served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

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 opposin ...

and died in a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese prisoner of war camp in 1945. His family moved to England soon afterwards. When the young Don arrived in London as a six-year-old, he had a broad Glaswegian accent. Durbridge was educated at the Henry Thornton Grammar School in Clapham, South London, from 1950 until 1955.:His first job was with the

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" a ...

Entertainment Organisation and he also worked on various local newspapers in London before becoming a junior reporter for the

Sunday Citizen ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first editor ...

. A keen sportsman in his younger days, he was London table tennis champion for two years and also enjoyed boxing, cycling, running and water polo.

First broadcasts

Durbridge first broadcast to the nation in 1955 at the age of sixteen as co-host of ''The Younger Generation'' on the

having answered an ad in the

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

. He contributed to the network for several years before being called up for national service. On his return in 1962, he married his longtime sweetheart Yvonne, whom he had known for eight years. In 1966 he signed up with the

(BFBS), where his encyclopaedic knowledge of sport kept him in demand as a broadcast anchor and commentator for international boxing and football matches. It also took him across the globe including to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

(now Yemen) in 1966/67, to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

in Germany (1968–69 and again for part of '72) and then to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

for three years. In 1972, Durbridge was assigned as a BFBS reporter for the

Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, where he secured a worldwide scoop – an exclusive interview with the swimmer

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

, who'd won an – unprecedented at the time – seven gold medals at the Games. Durbridge was also press officer and matchday announcer for

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

in the mid-1970s when

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

and

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...

were in the team.

BBC Radio 2

Durbridge returned to the BBC in 1974, joining the Light Programme's successor Radio 2 as a continuity announcer and newsreader, his first BBC staff job. He soon became a regular cover presenter, hosting such iconic shows as

Two-Way Family Favourites ''Family Favourites'' (remembered by its later name ''Two-Way Family Favourites'') was the successor to the wartime radio show ''Forces Favourites'', broadcast at Sunday lunchtimes on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2 from 1945 unti ...

, Friday Night is Music Night, Saturday Night with the

BBC Radio Orchestra The BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1964 until 1991. The BBC Radio Orchestra was formed in 1964 as a large, flexible studio orchestra on the Nelson Riddle/H ...

, ''Night Ride'', ''Band Parade'', ''Music Through Midnight'' and ''Sport on 2'', and was also a regular cover presenter for

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

, Jimmy Young,

Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ''Ju ...

, David Hamilton,

Charlie Chester Charlie Chester MBE (26 April 1914 – 26 June 1997) was an English comedian, radio and television presenter and writer, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller. Life and ...

and John Dunn.

Work in Kent

Durbridge joined Radio Medway in 1979 and was with the station when it relaunched as

in July 1983. In October 1984, he was part of the launch team for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

's very first commercial radio station, Invicta Sound (now Heart, Kent), where he hosted a mid morning music and chat programme. Invicta Sound's 'debate and discussion' launch format was famously unsuccessful and most of the early presenters found themselves out of work when the schedule was revamped less than a year later. Durbridge returned to

for the rest of the '80s and early '90s as presenter of the popular nostalgia music show, Remember When, and also hosted the Sunday morning breakfast shows which included his popular topical chats with Canon Clifford Pollard (deceased), who was Director of Education for the Diocese of Canterbury at the time. Always a crowd puller, Durbridge hosted a series of stage shows for the BBC at the Kent County Show and was one of the main anchors of BBC Radio Kent's marathon six-hour live fund-raising Children in Need broadcasts, as well as being match day announcer at

Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, England. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, the "Gills" play their home matches at Priestfield Stadium. The team compe ...

for most of the '80s.

Digital age

Durbridge pursued his broadcasting career in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in the early '90s where he also married his second wife Cheryl, returning to Britain, to the county of Kent, in 1997. It was from there that he relaunched his UK broadcasting career, tossing out the gramophone decks and needles to embrace the digital broadcasting age, and was soon back behind the microphone at Channel Travel Radio in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

giving out cross channel information to motorists on the M20. A stint as weekend newsreader for London talk station

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...

followed, before he joined the new over fifties digital service

PrimeTime Radio PrimeTime Radio was a national UK radio station. It was once part of Saga Radio Group although it became independent in 2004. It operated as a sister station to Saga Digital radio. The line up featured a variety of presenters including Davi ...

where he presented the late night slot, ''In Mellow Mood''. He also presented shows for Primetime's digital sister station,

and for

Saga 106.6 FM Saga 106.6FM was an Independent Local Radio for the East Midlands, broadcasting to Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Part of the Saga Radio Group, the regional station was broadcast from the Riverside Busines ...

in the East Midlands and

Saga 105.7 FM Saga 105.7fm was an independent local radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. As well as the West Midlands County, it also served surrounding areas such as Worcestershire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire. Part ...

in the West Midlands, all of which were recorded in Saga Digital's west London studios. When Primetime and Saga ceased broadcasting in 2006, Durbridge emigrated to

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

on the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

in southern Spain. His final radio stop was with REM FM (now Talk Radio Europe),where, from May 2007, he presented weekend shows with a mix of music, chat and celebrity guests as diverse as the entertainer

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

and the jazz loving politician

Ken Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

Death

Durbridge died in Spain on 9 June 2012. He was survived by his first wife, Yvonne, and also left a daughter, Moira, and a grandson, Teddy.

References

External links

BP Aden Kids: Memories of BFBS Radio Aden

Glasgow Herald programme listing, Monday, 15 August 1977

Don appointed matchday announcer at Fulham Football Club (Fulham Matchday Programme 22 November 1975

This is ILR – Independent Local Radio Nostalgia: Invicta Sound Programme Guide

BBC Radio Kent launch schedule

UK Digital Radio News – Primetime Radio Christmas Schedule, 2003

* ttp://radiotoday.co.uk/2012/06/tributes-paid-to-former-radio-2-host Radio Today: Tributes paid to former Radio 2 host, 26 June 2012
Remembering Radio 2's Don Durbridge (1)

Remembering Radio 2's Don Durbridge (2)

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150224215339/http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/bbc_radio_kent_and_invicta_radio_dj_dies_1_1429230 BBC Radio Kent and Invicta Radio DJ dies (Kent-online / Kent Messenger, 3 July 2012)]
Death of DJ who loved 'beautiful Kent' (Kent on Sunday, 8 July 2012)

Former matchday voice dies (Medway Messenger, 29 June 2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durbridge, Don British broadcasters BBC newsreaders and journalists British radio presenters British radio personalities British radio DJs 1939 births 2012 deaths