Neville Wanless 

28 October 2001 tbs.pm/3377

There are just some announcers you can never beat – welcome Tyne Tees’s king of smooth, Neville Wanless.

Neville in the early 1980s

For many years Neville was the voice that opened Tyne Tees. Viewers watching as the station started the day would hear the immortal words “This is Tyne Tees Television, broadcasting to North-East England from the Pontop Pike, Bilsdale and associated transmitters of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.” Or similar, depending on the year, the transmitters and the regulating authority.

Neville’s voice was heard doing this from 1971 when he joined Tyne Tees, until 1988 when he retired. Announcements of this type have long since disappeared at the start of the day but idea lived on until March 1999, when there was a similar announcement just before North East Tonight.

Announcing in 1985

Neville was the king of smooth before Mr Bill Steel arrived. He always winked at the end of his announcements, giving one of his ‘knowing looks’, making the job look effortless. Neville also used to read the Saturday morning news for the North East on Radio Four when it used to have a North East regional service.

Despite retiring, he continued to work as an announcer on and off until 1991 and still appears on radio every so often. His radio work included stints at Radio Tees and the now defunct Teesside station, GNR.

Indeed, Neville is still broadcasting today on Radio Tyneside – a hospital radio station for patients across Newcastle and Gateshead, presenting a show on Sunday evenings.