John Edmunds is a British academic who set up the Drama Department at the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

where he was Head from 1973 to 1985. Edmunds trained as an actor but is best known as an ABC TVTransdiffusion Systems website
and

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, ...

continuity announcer.

Early years

Born in Aberystwyth, Edmunds attended Ardwyn Grammar School in the town before attending the

where he studied English and French in the late 1940s and early 50s where he also performed as an amateur actor before being asked to join a local

repertory company A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

during the holidays. After doing 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 ...

. Alongside his early TV announcing work, Edmunds was a part-time teacher in English. He taught at

Battersea Grammar School Battersea Grammar School was a Voluntary-Controlled Secondary Grammar School in South London. It was established in Battersea in 1875 by the Sir Walter St John Trust and moved to larger premises in Streatham in 1936. The school closed when it ...

in Streatham,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from the early to mid sixties. He also did a spell of teaching - French this time - at Henry Thornton Grammar School in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

in 1954–5. Edmunds is best known as an ABC TV and

continuity announcer who later presented BBC Children's TV's '' Top of the Form'', 1966 - 1967. He was a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

TV newsreader from September 1968 until September 1973, and then again in October 1974 and between September 1979 and June 1981.The TV Room Plus
Edmunds also presented the BBC's regional London TV magazine, ''Town and Around'' in 1968/1969 and BBC Radio 4's ''

You and Yours ''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News. History ''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...

'' in 1972.

Later career

From 1973 to 1985 Edmunds was Head of Drama at the

, where his students included

Neil Brand Neil Brand (born 18 March 1958) is an English dramatist, composer and author. In addition to being a regular silent film accompanist at London's National Film Theatre, Brand has composed new scores for two restored films from the 1920s, '' The ...

and

Sharon Maguire Sharon Maguire (born 17 August 1963) is a film director best known for directing '' Bridget Jones's Diary''. The film was based on the book by her close friend Helen Fielding, and one of the main characters – "Shazza" – is allegedly based ...

. He was Professor of Drama at the University of the Americas,

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, and

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

, Santa Cruz, from 1985 to 1997. He returned to the UK and appeared in several theatre productions including his own drama, verse and prose recitals. His translations of works by French dramatists

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

have been published by Penguin and performed on BBC Radio. Edmunds also appeared in cameo roles in the films '' Lifeforce '' (1985), ''Love in Limbo'', (1993), ''Rendezvous with Zack'' (2000) and ''The Faces of the Moon'' (2002).Internet Movie Database
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References

External links

* * * Living people 1930s births British television presenters British male journalists Gay academics British LGBT broadcasters British LGBT journalists BBC newsreaders and journalists Radio and television announcers English LGBT people People from Aberystwyth Academics of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the University of Wales {{UK-tv-journalist-stub