Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2013 | Page 52
OBITUARY
Kenneth Kendall: a popular
and highly respected person
By Peter White
The Island recently lost one of its
characters and gentlemen with the
passing of former BBC news reader
Kenneth Kendall.
Kenneth, who was the face and voice
of BBC News for more than 25 years,
died aged 88. He spent more than
20 years living on the Island with his
partner Mark Fear, and was a popular
and highly respected figure, especially
Kenneth with partner Mark Fear, and (right)
how television viewers may remember him
around Cowes, where he was often
seen at his Kendall’s Fine Art Gallery.
I was privileged to meet Kenneth
some 18 months ago, and believe it
was the last full interview he gave.
I found him a warm, welcoming
character, with a wealth of anecdotes
about his life in front of the TV
cameras. As a tribute to Kenneth, here
are parts of that interview.
He told me that in the initial years
while he was bringing television
viewers all the latest stories from
around the world he had to remain
totally anonymous.
He sat behind his desk in a small
studio, becoming the first newscaster
to appear in vision to deliver the news.
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But he told me he was not allowed to
say who he was, and his name did not
appear on the screen – simply because
the BBC did not want Kenneth and
his fellow newsreaders in those early
days to become stars.
“We had people ringing up all the
time asking what my name was, but
the editor of news didn’t want us to
become personalities,” he smiled. “I
was once looking in a shop window
in London’s Regent Street, and
two women were standing close by.
Suddenly one said ‘he looks a lot older
than he does on television’. I felt like
bashing them!”
After a successful Army career, he
initially joined BBC radio, transferring
to television in 1955. He said: “You
were aware that perhaps two to three
million people were watching you,
which made it very nerve-racking.
When I became the first person
in vision to read the news I was
absolutely terrified because I didn’t
know how to sit or behave. There was
no autocue; I had to read from a script
with my head down which was not
popular with the viewers.”
He was asked many times which
piece of news stood out in his memory.
He reckoned: “It had to be the first
space ship – sputnik – which went
around the world with a dog inside,
before the first spaceman Yuri Gagarin
went into space. When you think what
has happened as a result of that, it was
an earth-shattering achievement.”
There were lighter moments. He
revealed: “We were not allowed to
laugh or smile, but on one occasion
at the end of a bulletin there was a
funny story. I started laughing and the
editor was absolutely furious. He later
insisted no one be given a story that
made us laugh or smile!”
Kenneth last read the news on
television in 1981. He later became
the studio anchorman for seven years
for Channel Four’s ‘Treasure Hunt’, in
which Anneka Rice flew around the
country with couples trying to solve
clues to win money.
He first came to the Island as a
visitor in the 1960s and moved here
permanently in 1990, after realising
his native Cornwall was too far away
for regular commuting to London. He
was 87 when I interviewed him, and
he told me: “I have been awfully lucky.
During my time a lot has happened to
me and to the world. But I wouldn’t
change much.”
Kenneth Kendall: August 7, 1924 –
December 14, 2012