Ian Stirling (28 October 1940 – 30 June 2005) was a British actor and television presenter, best known for his work with Westward Television and TSW. Stirling, a stage actor originally from Fife, joined the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

in 1974. He also appeared on television in many acting roles, including parts in ''

A Family at War ''A Family At War'' is a British drama Television program, series that aired on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1970 to 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by ITV Granada, Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubled ...

'', ''

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

'', Pathfinders (TV series, one episode) and ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

''. Stirling freelanced at Westward before becoming a full-time staff announcer in 1975. Alongside announcing duties, he read regional news bulletins and presented the hugely popular children's birthdays spot alongside station mascot rabbit puppet

Gus Honeybun Gus Honeybun was the station mascot for Westward Television, and later Television South West, from 1961 to December 1992. A puppet rabbit, and star of ''Gus Honeybun's Magic Birthdays'', he achieved a longevity for a TV puppet second only to the S ...

. He continued as an announcer and presenter with Westward's successor, TSW, when the station began its sole franchise period on 1 January 1982. He later took over from colleague Roger Shaw as the station's chief announcer, handling most of the peak-time continuity shifts on weekdays, and remained with the company until the end of its final day of transmission on 31 December 1992. On that same evening, Stirling closed the station for the last time alongside announcing colleague Ruth Langsford. Stirling continued his acting career both on the stage and on television, including productions of ''

The Caretaker ''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers an ...

'', '' Entertaining Mr Sloane'' and ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

''. For Westward, he starred in a two-handed play called ''High Water'', and he appeared alongside

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

in the one-off TSW drama ''Where There's A Will''. When

Westcountry Television ITV Westcountry, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry, was the ITV franchise holder for the south west of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The com ...

took over from TSW on 1 January 1993, Stirling went freelance but did present a thrice-weekly ''Soap Review'' for the station's evening news magazine '' Westcountry Live'' and was involved in a number of regional programmes for the station. He presented a four-part series entitled ''40 Years of ITV'' in 2001, celebrating 40 years of ITV regional broadcasting in the South-West of England. Whilst freelance, he also worked for Gemini Radio in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

during the mid-1990s. He retired in 2003 and moved to northern France. Stirling died on 30 June 2005 in a hospice in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

after a short battle with cancer, at the age of 64. Shortly after his death,

ITV Westcountry ITV Westcountry, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry, was the ITV franchise holder for the south west of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The com ...

paid tribute to Stirling with a special half-hour programme entitled ''Stirling Salute''.

References

1940 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer Radio and television announcers British television personalities Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland {{UK-tv-bio-stub