Edward Walker Moult (11 February 1926 – 3 September 1986) was a British farmer at Scaddows Farm near
Ticknall
Ticknall is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Calke) at the 2011 Census was 642. Situated on the A514 road, close to Melbourne, it has three pubs, several small businesse ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, who became a radio and television personality.
Early life
Moult was born in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
. He left
Derby School
Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational an ...
at 17 in 1944 but, by 22, had his first
dairy farm
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...
in
Sinfin
Sinfin is a suburb of Derby, England, southwest of the city centre on its southern outskirts. The ward, which includes Osmaston as well as Sinfin itself, had a population of 15,128 in 2011. Historically, Sinfin and Osmaston were separate vill ...
, on the outskirts of the city.
He has been credited with the concept of "
pick-your-own
A You-Pick ("U-Pick") or Pick-Your-Own (PYO) farm operation is a type of farm gate direct marketing (farm-to-table) strategy where the emphasis is on customers doing the harvesting themselves. A PYO farm might be preferred by people who like to se ...
" strawberries at his farm; he began in 1961, and always made a point of greeting his customers.
Showbiz career
Moult first came to public attention in the 1950s on
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
's
general knowledge
General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various mediums and sources. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General kn ...
quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...
''
Brain of Britain
''Brain of Britain'' is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
History
It began as a slot in ''What Do You Know?'' in 1953. The main part of the show was the "Brain of Britain" quiz itself, originally called "Ask Me Ano ...
'', although he was knocked out in the first round.
He consolidated his fame with appearances on discussion programmes such as ''
Any Questions?
''Any Questions?'' is a British topical discussion programme "in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media, and elsewhere are posed questions by the audience".
It is typically broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Fridays at 8 p ...
'' and panel games such as ''
Ask Me Another'', and was a household name by the mid-1960s.
The presenter
Franklin Engelmann
Henry Franklin Engelmann (4 March 1908 – 2 March 1972) was a radio personality popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly as the host of ''Down Your Way'' and ''Gardeners' Question Time''.
Life and career
Franklin Engelmann was bor ...
gave him the nickname 'Ticknall Ted'. In December 1959, he was the week's castaway on BBC Radio 4's ''
Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
''. He was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life'' in February 1964 when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...
at the
BBC Television Theatre
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
.
He appeared in six episodes of ''
What's My Line
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' in 1958 as a panellist; ''
The Sooty Show
''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous adv ...
'' in 1984; ''
Bullshot Crummond
''Bullshot Crummond'' is a parody stage play of the British pulp hero Bulldog Drummond. The play was based on an idea by Ronald E. House and Diz White, was written in 1974 and first performed that year, by House, White, John Neville-Andrews, Al ...
'' in 1984; ''Scarf Jack'' in 1981; ''
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
'' in 1978; ''
An Audience with Kenneth Williams
''An Audience with...'' is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television (now part of ITV Studios), in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed ...
'' in 1983; ''Milk for all It's Worth'' documentary in 1982; ''
Connections'' in 1982; ''Calendar Countdown'' in 1982; ''Punchlines!'' in 1981; ''
It's a Knockout
''It's a Knockout!'' is a British game show first broadcast in 1966. It was adapted from the French show ''Intervilles'', and was part of the international ''Jeux sans frontières'' franchise.
History
The series was broadcast on BBC1 from 7 Au ...
'' in 1981; ''An Audience with Dame Edna Everage'' in 1981; ''Country Game'' in 1976–1979; ''M'Lords... Ladies and Gentlemen...'' in 1978; ''
Whodunnit?'' in 1978; ''Television Club'' in 1978; ''
Celebrity Squares
''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show ''The Hollywood Squares, Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Mon ...
'' in 1976–1977; ''
Parkinson'' 1974; ''A Question of News'' in 1971; ''Play School'' in 1964–1971 as the Story Teller; ''
Ev'' in 1971; ''
Call My Bluff
''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir.
Format
The g ...
'' in 1966–1979; ''
Farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
'' documentary as the presenter 1959–1969; ''Quiz Ball'' 1966; ''
Know Your Onions
"Know Your Onions" is the second episode of the seventh season of the American television series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson and his team of S.H. ...
'' 1966; ''The Eamonn Andrews Show'' in 1965; and ''Laugh Line'' in 1960.
He appeared in the opening edition of
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's first show ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' and had a number of small cameo roles in films and television, playing Harold Carter, the love interest of the housekeeper Mrs Hall in a 1980 episode of the TV series ''
All Creatures Great and Small''.
In 1983, Moult appeared on the third series of ''
Bullseye
Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to:
Symbols
* ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block
* (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click
Animals and plants
* Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...
'' as a celebrity guest throwing darts for charity. He threw 9 darts scoring a total of 180 and therefore winning £180 for the contestants' chosen charity. He played the part of Bill Insley in the Radio 4 soap opera ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural settin ...
'' from 1983 to 1986.
The band
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...
recorded a track called 'Do y'ken Ted Moult?' on their second album.
Advertising
In 1976, he appeared on the advert for
Jacob's
Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, which produces snacks for the Irish market. ...
Cream Crackers
Cream cracker is a flat, usually square, savoury biscuit. The name "cream crackers" refers to the method in which the mixture is creamed during manufacture. The cream cracker is traditionally prepared using fermented dough.
They are made from ...
a popular hit throughout
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Moult was the front man for a series of adverts for
Everest Double Glazing in the 1980s,
featuring the selling line: "You only fit double glazing once, so fit the best: Everest".
Death
Ted Moult died by
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
by gunshot in 1986 after a period of
depression after several weeks of wet weather that worried arable farmers.
After a private funeral, his life was celebrated at a public ceremony in
Derby Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, w ...
. He is buried at
Ticknall
Ticknall is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Calke) at the 2011 Census was 642. Situated on the A514 road, close to Melbourne, it has three pubs, several small businesse ...
churchyard. He was survived by his wife Marie Rose (Maria) (1932–2014), and children.
Books
* ''Down to Earth: The Life and Views of Ted Moult'' (Autobiography)
References
External links
*
Ted Moult's appearance on Desert Island Discs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moult, Ted
1926 births
English farmers
English television personalities
People from Derby
Suicides by firearm in England
People from Ticknall
1986 suicides