Fred Dinenage
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Frederick Edgar Dinenage
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
(born 8 June 1942) is an English author and retired broadcaster and television presenter. His television career spanned nearly 60 years, including the long-running children's programme ''
How How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
'' and ITV's regional programming in the south of England. Dinenage retired from
ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned an ...
on 16 December 2021, after 38 years as a news anchor.


Early life and education

Dinenage was born in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. He was educated at
Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a boys' school and is located on Portsmouth High Street. History In 1732, ...
(a state grammar school during the time he attended it; it later became an
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
).


Career

Dinenage has appeared as presenter of many British television programmes (many of them produced by
Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
, and its successors TVS and
Meridian Broadcasting ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned an ...
), such as '' Tell The Truth'', ''
How How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
'' and its successor ''
How 2 ''How 2'' is an informative educational programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1991, and STV Studios (Scottish Television) from 1992 to 2006. The original show ('' How)'' was produced by Southern Television from 1966 up until 1981 when the ...
'', as well as the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
'' Pass The Buck'' and ''
Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word ''gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe simi ...
'' (produced by Anglia).


News anchor

Dinenage began his career at
Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
in 1964, as a presenter on ''Three Go Round'', a part-networked children's programme, alongside actress
Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom ''The Cuckoo Waltz'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera ''Doctors''. She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from 19 ...
and future television producer
Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft, 14 December 1943) is a British writer, producer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (later re-titled ''Thomas & Friend ...
. He later moved onto the station's local news magazine programme, ''Day By Day'', as a reporter and presenter. In later years, he concentrated on sports coverage, hosting the programme's weekly ''South Sport'' feature. Dinenage transferred from Southern to TVS in January 1982, chiefly as a sports presenter and reporter, working on '' Coast to Coast'', ''Sportshow'' and ''The Saturday Match''. The following year, he took over from Khalid Aziz as the main anchor for the South edition of ''Coast to Coast'', co-presenting alongside Christopher Peacock,
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 ...
,
Debbie Thrower Debbie Thrower (born 17 November 1957 in Nairobi, Kenya) is an English journalist and broadcaster who presented BBC national news bulletins in the 1980s and ITV Meridian's flagship news programme ''Meridian Tonight'' (southern edition) from its ...
and
Mai Davies Mai Davies (born 1964) is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. Born in Carmarthen, South Wales, she started her career at HTV Wales in Cardiff as a reporter and presenter on '' Wales at 6''. She then moved within the regional ITV network ...
. After TVS lost its franchise, Dinenage was retained by Meridian as anchor for the South edition of ''Meridian Tonight'' and other non-news regional programmes. His co-anchors included Debbie Thrower,
Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
, Jane Wyatt and
Sangeeta Bhabra Sangeeta Bhabra (born 19 February 1974) is a co-presenter of the regional news programme ''ITV News Meridian''. Life Bhabra was born in 1974, and describes herself as a "child of the 80s" and a lifelong avid fan of George Michael. Bhabra t ...
. In October 2021, it was announced that Dinenage would step down from ITV, after 38 years as a news anchor in the south of England. His final edition of ''ITV News Meridian'' aired on 16 December 2021.


Other work

Dinenage spent a brief period in the late 1970s covering regional sport for
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
. He also appeared as a relief presenter of the networked
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 ...
Saturday afternoon show, '' World of Sport'' - a role which earned him an appearance on the children's Saturday show ''
Tiswas ''Tiswas'' (; an acronym of "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile") was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV. It was c ...
''. He also has his own weekly column featured on the magazine of the
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
local newspaper, ''
Southern Daily Echo The ''Southern Daily Echo'', more commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' or simply ''The Echo'', is a regional tabloid newspaper based in Southampton, covering the county of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The newspaper is owned by Newsquest, o ...
''. Alongside his television career, Dinenage has written several factual books, including ghosting on autobiographies '' My Story'' and ''
Our Story Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...
'' for the
Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...
. He is a keen
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 ...
follower and was on the board of directors at
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
between 1998 and 2007. He was a team captain on the ITV game show ''Never Had It So Good'', shown in 2002. He also narrated Driver's Eye Views for railway filming company "Video 125". In February 2014, he celebrated his 50th anniversary as a reporter and presenter with
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 ...
, announcing that he hoped to continue broadcasting into the future. ''Fred Dinenage: Murder Casebook'', a crime documentary series on 20th century murders was first broadcast on the
Crime & Investigation Network Crime & Investigation (stylized as Crime + Investigation) is an American pay television channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Hearst Communications and the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. The cha ...
in 2011. He has also narrated ''
Most Evil Killers Britain's Most Evil Killers and World's Most Evil Killers are British crime television programmes on Pick (TV channel). First aired in 2017, the series are narrated by Fred Dinenage, and focus on the most notorious and depraved serial killers th ...
'' for Pick since 2017. Dinenage was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...
, for services to broadcasting. On 16 October 2020, it was announced Dinenage would appear in a new series of ''How'', alongside
Vick Hope Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British TV and radio presenter, journalist and published author. Vick hosts three shows a week across BBC Radio 1 "Going Home with Vick and Jordan", "Life Hacks" and "Official Chart: F ...
, Sam Homewood and Frankie Vu. A year later in December 2021, Dinenage announced his retirement from ITV Meridian, ending a career that has lasted nearly six decades.


Family

Dinenage's second daughter Caroline (born 1971) is the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Member of Parliament for
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
(elected at the 2010 general election). She also served as the Digital and Culture Minister between February 2020 and September 2021.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dineage, Fred Living people 1942 births English television presenters British reporters and correspondents ITV regional newsreaders and journalists Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at The Portsmouth Grammar School