Donald B. MacLeod (1 July 1932 – 6 September 1984), popularly known as Donny MacLeod and Donny Bee, was a Scottish

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

. MacLeod is best known for appearing on the BBC 1 afternoon show '' Pebble Mill at One''.

Early life and career

MacLeod was born in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. After National Service 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 Fr ...

, he studied in

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and then at Gray's School of Art in

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, before returning to teach art at the

Nicolson Institute The Nicolson Institute ( Gaelic: ''Àrd-sgoil MhicNeacail'') in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland. The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. With the Sir E. Scott School in Harris, they provide e ...

in Stornoway.Stornoway Broadcasting legend fondly remembered
, ''Hebrides News'', 7 December 2010 He stood for election to the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

at the 1959 United Kingdom general election for his home constituency of The Western Isles as a Liberal Party candidate, in a campaign described as "one of the most charismatic in Island memory". The local

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

did not contest the election and were happy to recommend him to their supporters. However, he was defeated by the Labour candidate. At the 1964 United Kingdom general election he again contested The Western Isles for the Liberal Party, but this time, the Conservatives decided to run their own candidate. He finished second, again behind the Labour candidate. After occasional print journalism pieces MacLeod joined Grampian Television in Aberdeen as a reporter, before moving to the BBC and in 1970 joining the presenting team of its early evening magazine programme '' Nationwide'', where features he fronted included a dieting item, Slim '72. As a result of their success on the programme, he and another ''Nationwide'' reporter Bob Langley transferred to

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in 1972 to launch a new lunchtime features programme '' Pebble Mill at One'', which became an immediate success. MacLeod remained a key presenter on the show (as well as a weekend evening show called "Saturday Night at the Mill") from its beginning in 1972 until his death. MacLeod was also known for his role as the presenter of the 1982 and 1983 World's Strongest Man competitions as well as several acclaimed travel documentaries including "MacLeod's America", "MacLeod's Russia" (where MacLeod and his crew were given previously-unknown access behind the Iron Curtain), "MacLeod's Japan", and "Macleod's Singapore".

Death

MacLeod died from a heart attack in 1984, aged 52, after a short struggle with bowel cancer.Heartbreak of Donny's death: as Pebble Mill closes we find out what's become of its famous faces
''

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'', 17 December 2000

Personal life

Macleod's oldest son is

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

David MacLeod. His second son Iain is executive director of the

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (SLNSC) is an environmental education center and zoo founded in 1966 and opened to the public on July 1, 1969. The science center is located in Holderness, New Hampshire, United States. The mission of the science ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and is a noted expert on birds. His third son Kevin was a star of the popular Scottish theatre group The Singing Kettle. He is now co-director, writer and performer with

Funbox A funbox is a standard element of a skatepark. It generally consists of a box shape with a flat top and a ramp on two or more sides. A funbox may also include other elements that allow for more complicated skateboarding tricks.''Thrasher'' ma ...

. His daughter Catherine is a business owner in Aberdeenshire.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Donny 1932 births 1984 deaths Scottish television presenters BBC television presenters People from Stornoway Scottish Liberal Party parliamentary candidates