Richard John Davies (born 30 April 1933) is a retired British television sports presenter, who anchored '' World of Sport'' from 1968 until 1985.

Early life

Davies attended Oldershaw Grammar School after passing his eleven-plus; he then did

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 l ...

in the

Royal Air Force 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 ...

, and worked as a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

on the and

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

Career

His first job in broadcasting was as an announcer for

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

. In the early stages of his career, Davies was known by his full name, Richard Davies, but changed to Dickie Davies at the suggestion of his

ITV Sport ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...

. Davies began work on ''World of Sport'' (initially called ''Wide World of Sports'') in 1965 as an understudy to

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 ...

, who was paid £40,000 by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

to present it (about £825,250 at 2022 prices)—taking over the role of presenter in 1968 when Andrews left the show. After ''World of Sport'' ended in 1985, Davies stayed with ITV, presenting

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

, and

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

, as well as playing a part in their coverage of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He left ITV Sport in August 1989. After leaving ITV, Davies joined the original incarnation of

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...

, which was then owned by Sky, and the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

. He fronted their snooker coverage, including the one-off 1991 Mita World Masters. He presented sports bulletins from his home for Classic FM in its early days as its inaugural sports editor. In 1995, Davies suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, which forced him to give up his work on Classic FM. He eventually made a good recovery, although it was a year or two before his speech fully returned to normal. In the late 1990s, he fronted ''Dickie Davies' Sporting Heroes''.

In popular culture

Davies is mentioned in the songs "Dickie Davies Eyes" by

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 ...

and "Dead Cities" by

Sleaford Mods Sleaford Mods are an English post-punk music duo, formed in 2007 in Nottingham. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, musician Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explo ...

. He makes a cameo appearance at a racetrack in an episode of '' Budgie'' from 1972 ("The Outside Man"), and in a Series 3 episode of ''

Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' is a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by the London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979 and briefly reviv ...

'' ("

Guilty or Not Guilty ''Guilty or Not Guilty'' was a Television in Canada, Canadian panel quiz show television series which aired on CBC Television from 1958 to 1959. Premise Duncan Crux, a lawyer, hosted this Vancouver-produced series. Actual legal cases were pre ...

").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Dickie 1933 births Living people People educated at William Ellis School British sports broadcasters British television presenters People from Wallasey