John Toye (c. 1936 – 28 April 1992) was a presenter and newsreader on

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is th ...

for over 20 years, and is best known as the former anchor on its flagship news programme ''

Scotland Today ''Scotland Today'' is a Scottish regional news programme covering Central Scotland, produced by STV Central (formerly Scottish Television). Despite its name suggesting a national remit, the programme was actually limited to stories around STV's C ...

''.

Life and career

Toye was born into a musical family. His father was the conductor and composer Geoffrey Toye, and his mother was Dorothy Fleitman. As a child, he spent time in America and was once rescued from a cruise ship torpedoed en route to Britain 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 opposi ...

. He studied classical music in America and spent time living with Navajo Native Americans before attending drama school in London. Toye began his career in the theatre, spending ten years in jobs ranging from Shakespearean roles to building stage scenery. He married Sheila Ward, a scenic designer, in the early 1960s while still a struggling actor. After working in touring theatre, he applied for a job with STV (then known as

) in 1964. His first role on television was as a presenter on ''Today Is Tuesday'' before becoming the main anchor on the station's main early evening flagship news programme, ''

'', in September 1972. His almost nightly appearances on STV in the 70s turned Toye into a well-known figure in central Scotland, and he regularly appeared off screen, opening shows or making presentations for charities and other worthwhile causes. A revamping of ''Scotland Today'' in 1984 brought his news presenting to an end, although he remained with STV for a brief spell presenting a weekly consumer programme, ''What's Your Problem?'' before being sacked during the summer of 1986, as part of an overhaul of the current affairs at STV. In 1986 Toye appeared in court for drunk driving, for the second time in three years, and was warned that if he appeared again he would be sent to prison. He moved to

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in 1990 to start a new life, but failed to relaunch his career and spent the next few years battling against alcoholism combined with depression and financial worries.

Death

Toye was found shot dead at his Devon flat on 28 April 1992. A shotgun lay next to his body. He was 56 years of age. His funeral was held at South Molton Parish Church in Devon on 15 May 1992, and he was later cremated. His wish was that his ashes should be scattered on the River Clyde. At an inquest held on 29 May 1992, the coroner recorded a verdict of suicide. Shortly after his death the ''

Scottish Daily Record The ''Daily Record'' is a national tabloid newspaper which is published online also based in Glasgow, Scotland. The newspaper is published Monday-Saturday while the website is updated on an hourly basis, seven days a week. The ''Records sis ...

'' ran the headline "John Toye may have fired the trigger but STV loaded the gun", a quote that was attributed to his one time co-presenter on ''Scotland Today'', Bob Cuddihy. Cuddihy maintained that Toye never recovered from being axed as the presenter of ''Scotland Today'' and was treated very poorly by STV. When once asked how he'd like to be remembered, Toye replied "just as a nice guy who tried to do a good job". John Toye's ashes are interred in

Rosneath Rosneath (''Ros Neimhidh'' in Gaelic) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited ...

cemetery, close to his former home at

Clynder Clynder is a place on the western shore of the Gare Loch, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Historically in the County of Dunbarton, Clynder is one of a string of small settlements on the Rosneath Peninsula. It is almost directly opposite Rhu, and overlo ...

on the

Gare Loch The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands. The loch is well used for recreational boating, water sports and f ...

. A headstone marks the spot, titled 'John Toye Actor'.

References

Daily Record (Scotland) The ''Daily Record'' is a national tabloid newspaper which is published online also based in Glasgow, Scotland. The newspaper is published Monday-Saturday while the website is updated on an hourly basis, seven days a week. The ''Records sist ...

30 April 1992 * Herald (Glasgow) 30 April 1992 *

16 May 1992 * Herald (Glasgow) 30 May 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Toye, John British television presenters STV News newsreaders and journalists Suicides by firearm in England 1992 suicides Year of birth uncertain 1992 deaths