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William Gladstone Stewart (15 July 1933 – 21 September 2017) was an English television producer, director, and television presenter, best known as the presenter and producer of the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
quiz show '' Fifteen to One'' from 1988 to 2003.


Early life

Stewart was born on 15 July 1933 in Lancaster. He was orphaned as a child before the age of three, and he was raised in a
children's home Residential child care communities or children's homes are a type of residential care, which refers to long-term care given to children who cannot stay in their birth family home. There are two different approaches towards residential care: The fam ...
in Sidcup,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. After leaving Shooters Hill Grammar School (now called Shooters Hill Sixth Form College), Stewart was employed in jobs working in an office. He undertook his
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
in Kenya and worked as a teacher in the
Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gen ...
as part of his attachment to the
King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...
. In 1958, Stewart ventured to Southampton to join the Merchant Navy, though an industrial action prevented him from doing so. Instead, he applied to be a redcoat with the seaside resort chain
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
at
Butlin's Pwllheli Butlin's Pwllheli (latterly Starcoast World) was a holiday camp located near Pwllheli in Wales. The site is now used by Haven Holidays for a caravan park and has been renamed '' Hafan y Môr''. When originally opened in 1947, it was named Butli ...
in
North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...
. Stewart said of the opportunity, "I thought I’d have a great time and perhaps work in the kitchens. But, while I was having an interview, a chap asked if I wanted to be a redcoat. He must have seen something in me." There, he organised a talent contest won by
Jimmy Tarbuck James Joseph Tarbuck (born 6 February 1940) is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host. He was a host of ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in the mid-1960s, and hosted numerous game shows and quiz shows on ITV ...
and led the teenager to become a redcoat and a stand-up comedian.


Broadcasting career

In the following year, Stewart went to a talk organised by the producer T Lesley Jackson about a career in television at the YMCA in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...
in south-west London, and it encouraged him to speak to Jackson and apply for the job of a call-boy for the BBC's Light Entertainment output. He later became an assistant floor manager and a
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
, before ending up as a
production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...
. After the 1959 general election, Stewart began working as
private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...
to Tom Driberg, the Labour
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
. Driberg taught Stewart about art, classical music and literature, and broadened his social circle. Stewart was encouraged by the comedian
Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...
to enrol on a television director's course in 1965. He was advised his best career path would be to remain in the entertainment industry, and Sykes recommended Stewart to his fellow light entertainment comedian
Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wro ...
. That same year, Stewart directed episodes of the sitcoms ''Call It What You Like'' and '' Sykes and a...'' He moved to the rival broadcaster ITV in 1967, and was a director on ''The Frost Programme,'' and '' The Frost Report'' for
Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...
. Among the many shows he produced or directed were ''
Father, Dear Father ''Father, Dear Father'' is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973. An Australian sequel ...
'', '' Love Thy Neighbour'', '' Bless This House'', ''My Good Woman'', ''
Spooner's Patch ''Spooners Patch'' is a British television sitcom, written by Ray Galton (best known for his writing collaborations with Alan Simpson, including ''Steptoe and Son'') and Johnny Speight (best known for ''Till Death Us Do Part''). It ran for 3 s ...
'', '' The Rag Trade'', ''
Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...
'', ''
Don't Forget Your Toothbrush ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was a British light entertainment TV programme that aired on Channel 4 from 12 February 1994 to 25 February 1995 and was hosted by Chris Evans. Background ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was written ...
'' and ''
The Price is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
''. He also presented the short-lived 1992 quiz show ''Famous People, Famous Places'', made by his company, Regent Productions (which also produced ''Fifteen to One'') for
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
and shown only in the London region. He later sold Regent to
Pearson Television Pearson Television was the British-based television production and distribution arm of a British company Pearson PLC. History In 1994 after a bidding war, Pearson PLC bought the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television. Then in 1995 i ...
, (which also purchased Thames), and they have now been amalgamated (along with the likes of Grundy Productions) into
Talkback Thames Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames ...
, the UK arm of
FremantleMedia Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television i ...
. In 1998, he successfully sued the '' Fifteen to One'' contestant Trevor Montague, who had lied to reappear on the programme. He made a documentary of Tom Driberg in 2009.


Personal life

He was thrice married: * 1. Audrey Harrison (1960–1976) with whom he had one son, Nick. * 2.
Sally Geeson Sally Louise Geeson (born 23 June 1950) is an English actress with a career mostly on television in the 1970s. She is best known for playing Sid James's daughter, Sally, in '' Bless This House'' and for her roles in '' Carry On Abroad'' (1972) ...
(1976–1986) with whom he had one daughter, Hayley, and one son, Barnaby. Geeson is an actress and played Sally Abbot in the sitcom Bless This House for which Stewart was the producer. * 3. Laura Calland (1997–2017) with whom he had two daughters, Isobel and Hannah. Calland was the voice-over artist for ''Fifteen to One.'' He was a long-standing supporter of the campaign to return the
Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
to
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
. He joked that if, on an episode of ''Fifteen to One'', too few contestants survived the first round to continue the game, he would give a speech on the Marbles to fill the time. This happened in a 2001 episode, where he gave a lengthy presentation stating the case to return them, for which the channel was criticised.


Death

He died on 21 September 2017 at the age of 84.


References


External links

*
UK Gameshows Page: William G. Stewart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, William G 1933 births 2017 deaths Butlins Redcoats English game show hosts English television presenters English television producers People from the Borough of North East Lincolnshire Elgin Marbles