Timothy Grundy (4 July 1958 – 1 February 2009) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
television and radio presenter. He was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Biography
Grundy was born to a
Scottish mother and
Bill Grundy
William Grundy (18 May 1923 – 9 February 1993) was an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for his work as anchor of ''Today'', a regional magazine programme on Thames Television in London.
In the latter role, Grundy gained ...
, the broadcaster remembered for his expletive-filled interview with the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
.
In 1975, at the age of 17, Tim began work as a coffee boy at
Piccadilly Radio
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
in Manchester and over the next 14 years he rose to become the station's breakfast show presenter, and later, its Programme Controller. In September 1988, he was the first presenter on air upon the launch of
Key 103
''For the Network, see Hits Radio. For the National DAB station, see Hits Radio UK.''
Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester ...
(now 'Hits Radio').
He was a journalist, whose folksy relaxed style made him a popular television presenter, where he worked predominantly for the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
and other satellite broadcasting companies. His appearances were numerous, including from 1990: ''Showbiz People'', ''People Today'', ''See You Sunday'', ''The Forum'' and ''Pebble Mill''.
From 1995 onwards, he appeared in several of the by now highly successful ''
Two's Country'' series, including ''Two's Country Cooking'', ''Two's Country Spain'', ''Two's Country Caribbean'', ''Two's Country Eastern Europe'', ''Two's Country Get Stuck In'' and ''Two's Country Ship to Shore'', as well as ''Travelling Light'' (for
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 ...
).
In 1999 he appeared in ''Great Estates'', ''Two's Country'' which was renewed into 5 television series, ''Ship to Shore'', ''Show People'', ''Car Country'', and ''What's in a Word?'' among others. On 11 August, Tim presented the Discovery Home and Leisure channel's live coverage of the total solar eclipse.
In 2000 he appeared in ''The Villagers'', ''Cabin Fever'', ''Last in the League'' and ''A Room with a Clue''.
In October 2002, he was launch Programme Controller for
Reading 107
107 JACK fm Berkshire was an Independent Local Radio station in the English town of Reading. The station was based at studios in the Madejski Stadium, home of Reading F.C. and London Irish. The station's transmitter is located on the Tilehurst ...
, where he also hosted the breakfast show.
Whilst working at Reading 107, he lived in the hamlet of
Ufton Nervet
Ufton Nervet is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England centred west southwest of the large town of Reading and 7 miles
east of Thatcham. Ufton Nervet has an elected civil parish council.
Geography
Ufton Nervet is a strip parish ...
and on 6 November 2004 he was one of the first on the scene of the
Ufton Nervet rail crash
The Ufton Nervet rail crash was a collision between a train and car on a level crossing near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England, in 2004. Seven people, including the drivers of the train and the car, were killed. An inquest found that the crash w ...
, in which seven people died.
Grundy had two children and was chairman of the Children's Adventure Farm Trust. He also worked for other charities, including the Boys and Girls Welfare Society, until his death on 1 February 2009.
Death
Grundy suffered heart failure in 2006, and was in a coma for several weeks. He was fitted with a defibrillator, and his health remained poor. In 2009, he was admitted to hospital with a minor injury, but deteriorated very quickly in hospital and died of blood loss and multiple organ failure.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grundy, Tim
1958 births
2009 deaths
English people of Scottish descent
English radio presenters
English television presenters
Mass media people from Manchester