Anthony Clive Morris (30 September 1962 – 1 August 2020) was an English newsreader for ''

Granada Reports ITV News ''Granada Reports'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Granada. Overview ''Granada Reports'' is produced and broadcast from studios in the Orange Tower at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Before this, the ...

'', produced by

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. He previously worked as a reporter and bulletin presenter for ''

BBC North West Tonight ''BBC North West Tonight'' is the BBC's regional television news programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 1.30pm (as ''North West Today''), 6.30pm and 10.30pm, with shorter bu ...

'' and for a brief period was a reporter for the BBC national news.

Biography

Early life

Morris was born and brought up in the city of

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 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, but later moved to

St Helens, Merseyside St Helens () is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 176,843 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census. St Helens i ...

Education

Morris was educated at St. Luke's Church of England School, now known as the

Ark Charter Academy Ark Charter Academy (formerly St Luke's CofE VA Secondary School) is a co-educational Church of England secondary school and sixth form. The school is located in the Landport area of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. History St Luk ...

, in the

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

area of Portsmouth.

Career

Prior to being a television journalist and news presenter, Morris worked as a DJ and served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

BBC

''North West Tonight''

Morris joined ''

'' initially as a reporter for the flagship programme based 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 ...

, later going on to present shorter bulletins, usually weekend bulletins and the regional bulletin following the ''

BBC News at Ten ''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...

''. For a brief period in his latter years with the BBC, he worked as a reporter for the national news, being based in London.

''The Really Useful Show''

Morris also co-hosted

BBC Birmingham BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham. It was the first region outside London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio (in 1922) and television (in 1949) transmissions, the latter from th ...

's morning programme ''The Really Useful Show'', in 1997.

ITV

''Granada Reports''

In 2003, Morris joined ITV Granada as the new male co-anchor alongside

Lucy Meacock Lucy Meacock is an English journalist and presenter employed by ITV Granada. She has been one of the main female news presenters of ITV regional news programme, ''Granada Reports'' since 1988 and celebrated 30 years presenting the programme in Nov ...

for ''

''. This came following the departures of

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder of ...

and So Rahman. More recently, he had alternate lunchtime and late bulletins added to his role. He celebrated 10 years on ''Granada Reports'' in September 2013. The programme became the first regional news programme ever to win a BAFTA.

''ITV Weekend News''

In 2007, Morris stood-in on the ''

ITV Weekend News ''ITV Weekend News'' is the national news bulletins on the British television network ITV at a weekend. However it is often referred to on guides as ''ITV News'' (morning), ''ITV Lunchtime News'' (lunchtime), ''ITV Evening News'' (evening) and ...

'', which followed ''Granada Reports''.

Personal life and death

Morris had two adult daughters. He died at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

Hospice on 1 August 2020, aged 57. He had been diagnosed with

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include spr ...

in 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Tony 1962 births 2020 deaths ITV regional newsreaders and journalists BBC North West newsreaders and journalists Mass media people from Portsmouth English people of Grenadian descent Black British television personalities Deaths from kidney cancer in the United Kingdom Deaths from cancer in England Royal Air Force personnel