Reginald Bosanquet

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Reginald Bosanquet bigraphy, stories - Journalists

Reginald Bosanquet : biography

9 August 1932 – 27 May 1984

Reginald Bosanquet (9 August 1932 – 27 May 1984) was a British journalist and broadcaster who was an anchor of News at Ten for ITN from 1967 to 1979.Eddie Dyja , BFI screenonline

Television

Bosanquet was on the staff of ITN from its earliest days, initially as a sub-editor. He later reported from many parts of the world and was diplomatic correspondent for four years. He briefly became head anchor of ITN from 1974–1976, when Alastair Burnet left to join the BBC’s Panorama programme.

His partnership with Anna Ford on News at Ten was popular with viewers in the late 1970s. As Ford has since revealed, this rapport could prove distressing: on one occasion Bosanquet, having somehow discovered the birth-date of Ford’s mother, wished the woman a "happy birthday" at the end of the broadcast, unaware that she had died some time previously.Bill Hagerty , British Journalism Review 18:3, 2007, p.7-16 Ford recalled in 2007: "Reggie was a dear. I mean, you wouldn’t have chosen a man who had epilepsy, was an alcoholic, had had a stroke and wore a toupée to read the news, but the combination was absolute magic."

Although held in considerable affection by the public (he was commonly addressed by family, friends and the media as "Reggie"), Bosanquet was not without his critics as a newsreader. At times he could appear puzzled by unfamiliar foreign names while his trademark slurred delivery fed contemporary suspicions that he was a heavy drinker.Evening Standard, 15 May 2000 Such rumours became raw material for wags and comedy writers: Bosanquet acquired such nicknames as "Reginald Beaujolais" and "Reginald Boozalot", and Richard Stilgoe noted that an anagram of ‘Reginald Bosanquet’ was ‘ITN Square Gone Bald’.

Early life

Bosanquet was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, (credited as the inventor of the googly) and great great grandson of Sir Nicolas Conyngham Tindal, Lord Chief Justice from 1829–1843.

Later career

Bosanquet was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1980 to 1984. He was a controversial choice. Shortly after his election he hit the headlines when he turned up at an official reception late and drunk, and insulted various guests, including the Lord Provost of Glasgow (and his eventual successor) Michael Kelly.

In 1980, Bosanquet "sang" (or, more accurately, narrated the lyrics in the style of a newscast) on the disco single "Dance With Me". It was voted #1 in the Bottom 30 by listeners of British DJ Kenny Everett.Everett, Kenny. , Capital Radio, 1980-04-04. Retrieved 2008-04-18.

Personal life

Bosanquet was married three times. He died from cancer aged 51, and was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery.

Education

Bosanquet was educated at two independent schools: at Wellesley House School, Publisher: Wellesley House School. Retrieved: 2 May, 2013. in the coastal town of Broadstairs in Kent, and at Winchester College, a boarding school in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, followed by New College at the University of Oxford, where he read History.