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Francis Joseph Bough (; 15 January 1933 – 21 October 2020) was an English television presenter. He was best known as the former host of

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sports and current affairs shows including ''

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

'', '' Nationwide'' and '' Breakfast Time'', which he launched alongside

Selina Scott Selina Mary Scott (born 13 May 1951) is an English television presenter who co-hosted the first dedicated breakfast television programme in the UK before crossing the Atlantic to join '' West 57th'', a prime-time current-affairs show broadcast f ...

and

Nick Ross Nicholas David Ross (born 7 August 1947) is a British radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC TV programme ''Crimewatch'', whic ...

. Over his broadcasting career, Bough became known for his smooth, relaxed and professional approach to live broadcasts, once being described as "the most unassailable performer on British television". In 1987,

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the U ...

said: "If my life depended on the smooth handling of a TV show, Bough would be my first choice to be in charge." In 1988, Bough was sacked by the

...
, following revelations that he had taken

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

and used prostitutes. He later presented programmes on

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, Sky TV and on London's

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 broadca ...

radio before his retirement in 1998.

Early life

Francis Joseph Bough was born on 15 January 1933 in Fenton,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. He was educated at Oswestry Boys' High School (a Shropshire County Council secular grammar school),

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, after passing his

eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic ...

exam; and at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, where he studied shipping management. He played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for the university against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and did his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

Career

BBC

Bough joined the BBC as a presenter and reporter, presenting a new

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

-based show called ''Home at Six'', soon renamed ''North at Six'' and then in 1963 becoming ''

BBC Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: *'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region *'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC Yorkshire region *'' BBC Look ...

''. Between 1964 and 1968, he was the presenter of ''Sportsview'' and in 1964 became the presenter of the '' BBC Sports Review of the Year'', which he would host for 18 years. Between 1968 and 1983, he was a regular host for 15 years of the BBC's flagship Saturday afternoon sports programme ''

''. Bough was one of the BBC's football commentators for the 1966 World Cup in England and covered the match at Ayresome Park in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

where North Korea defeated Italy 1–0, in a game regarded as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Bough went on to present the early evening magazine programme '' Nationwide''. This made him one of the most familiar faces on British television throughout the 1970s. For ''Nationwide'' he covered the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

that brought down

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

, and for both ''Nationwide'' and ''Breakfast Time'' he covered five UK general elections between 1974 and 1987 and four US presidential elections between 1972 and 1984. In 1977, Bough was a guest on the ''

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

'' Christmas special, performing a song and dance routine in a sailor's outfit with other TV personalities, including film critic

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...

, TV presenter

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

commentator

Eddie Waring Edward Marsden Waring, MBE (21 February 1910 – 28 October 1986) was a British rugby league football coach, commentator and television presenter. Early life Waring was born on 21 February 1910 in Dewsbury in the West Riding of Yorkshire to Art ...

. The programme's 21.3 million viewers remain a British record. Bough later said that he had to give Waring dancing lessons before the sketch, which was based on a comic version of the song "

There is Nothing Like a Dame "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (for 4 part male voices, 2 tenors and 2 basses) is one of the songs from the 1949 musical '' South Pacific''. The song was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is widely popular in the ...

" from the musical '' South Pacific''. Bough was the main presenter of the BBC's coverage of the 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina. His prominence increased in January 1983 when he became the first presenter of the BBC's inaugural breakfast television programme, '' Breakfast Time'' along with

and

. Bough was chosen by

Ron Neil Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

for his experience of presenting three hours of live television every week on ''Grandstand''. As fellow presenter

recounted:

None of us had remotely the experience of long, unscripted slabs of live TV that Frank had from his sports broadcasting. He brought a sense of serenity and reassurance. His unruffled composure made us feel this had all been done before, and on the first morning, as the last minutes ticked down to our opening transmission, when hearts were thumping and nerves were jangling, he clapped his hands and—addressing the producers and the technicians as much as Selina and me—gently and firmly said, "Calm down." We did.Jones, Ian (2003). ''Morning Glory: A History of British Breakfast Television''. Kelly Publications.

Scott later said that Bough would deliberately undermine her by interrupting mid-question and in other ways; when she attempted to complain she said that senior management simply wasn't interested: "they seemed to have no emotional intelligence, and they let men like Frank Bough roam the BBC without any check on them". She said that there was a very sexist atmosphere at the BBC, "this malevolence". Presenter

Fern Britton Fern Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English author and television presenter. She co-presented '' Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s, coming to mainstream national attention when hosting cookery game show ''Ready Steady Cook'' between 1994 and 200 ...

found Bough equally difficult to work with. In her autobiography, published in 2008, Britton said early in their professional relationship, Bough asked her: "Well, young lady, I wonder how long it will be before I'm having an affair with you." He was dismissive of Britton at pre-programme briefings: "Oh, hers can wait. Now back to mine." Britton felt too junior to be able to complain. Bough left breakfast television at the end of 1987 to concentrate on the ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

'' programme where, having been a roving holidaymaker, he took over as the main presenter when

Cliff Michelmore Arthur Clifford Michelmore (11 December 1919 – 16 March 2016) was an English television presenter and producer. He is best known for the BBC television programme ''Tonight'', which he presented from 1957 to 1965. He also hosted the BBC's tel ...

left the series in 1986. In February 1989, Bough was hired by

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

to present the ''Frank Bough Interview'' for Sky TV for two series. In September 1989 he also joined

where he fronted '' Six O'Clock Live'' until it was axed in Summer 1992. In between his news duties he presented

's coverage of the 1991

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

tournament.

Sex and drugs scandal

On 13 June 1988, Bough left the BBC for a rest before being sacked, after the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'' reported he had taken

and worn

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

at parties involving sex workers. The newspaper's former deputy editor

Paul Connew Paul Norman Connew (born 1946) is a British former newspaper editor. Born in Coventry, Connew attended King Henry VIII Grammar School, an independent school in the city, followed by the LSE. He entered journalism working for the '' Coventry Expr ...

later said of the scandal: "It caused a sensation at the time, given Bough's public image as the squeaky clean front man of breakfast and sports television."

Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...

, professor of journalism at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

, said that Bough made a "terrible mistake" by agreeing to speak to newspapers prior to publication of personal allegations, worsening the story. In August 1992, Bough was reported to have been involved in a dungeon orgy. The press published photographs of him leaving the flat of a sex worker who specialised in

sadomasochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

. Bough later spoke of his regret over his actions, saying his behaviour had been "exceedingly stupid". He said in a television interview: "Everybody, when they have difficulties with their marriage or sexuality, surely has the right to sort out these things in the privacy of their own home." His role as a rugby presenter ended after this second scandal.

Late career

In 1993, after his activities were regularly ridiculed in

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

s on '' Have I Got News for You'' by

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

(who himself would years later be dismissed from the show following cocaine and prostitute use), Bough agreed to appear as a guest on the programme. In the early 1990s he was a presenter on London's

radio, staying on for the launch of London News Talk and moving to the News 97.3 service where he remained until 1996. He then presented ''Travel Live'' for the cable channel

Travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

. In 2009, he contributed to a programme looking back on ''Nationwide'', broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

Personal life and death

Bough met Nesta Howells while he was completing his

, and they married after he left the army in 1959. They had three sons: David, Stephen and Andrew. Nesta stayed in the relationship after the exposés that affected Bough's later career. From 1994, he was a regular member of a

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

-based choir, the Royal Free Singers. Bough had a liver transplant in 2001 after

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

was found, and later lived in retirement in

Holyport Holyport (pronounced ''Hollyport'') is a suburban village in the civil parish of Bray (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), about 2 miles south of Maidenhead town centre in the English county of Berkshire. Etymology The nam ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. A family friend said that Bough died on 21 October 2020, aged 87.

References

External links

Frank Bough's career on the BBC website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bough, Frank 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Association football commentators BBC sports presenters and reporters BBC television presenters English radio presenters English reporters and correspondents English sports broadcasters English television presenters Liver transplant recipients Olympic Games broadcasters People from Bray, Berkshire People from Fenton, Staffordshire Royal Tank Regiment soldiers Sex scandals