David Dimbleby
Encyclopedia
David Dimbleby is a British
BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs
and political programmes
, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history
and history
series. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby
and elder brother of Jonathan Dimbleby
.
and educated at two independent schools, the then Glengorse School in Battle, East Sussex
, and Charterhouse School
in Godalming
, Surrey
(where he was a contemporary of Adam Raphael
). After learning French
in Paris
and Italian
in Perugia
, he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Christ Church, Oxford
and graduated with a third-class honours degree. While at Oxford he was President of the Christ Church JCR, a member of the Bullingdon Club
- a socially exclusive student dining society - and editor of the student magazine, Isis
.
in the 1960s and has appeared in news programmes since 1962, early on co-presenting the televised version of the school quiz Top of the Form
. In 1974, he became the presenter of Panorama
, which had been presented by his father, Richard Dimbleby
, and was involved in a number of projects which combined his established role as presenter and interviewer with documentary making. An early example of this was Yesterday's Men (1971), a film held to have ridiculed the Labour opposition and led to a major conflict between the BBC and the Labour Party; Dimbleby had his name removed from the credits for concessions that were made. Later films were not the source of such controversy, they include The White Tribe of Africa (1979), an award-winning four-part history of South Africa's Afrikaans community and the rise of apartheid, An Ocean Apart (1988), an examination of the history of Anglo-American relations, and Rebellion! (1999), a history of Britain's troubled relations with Zimbabwe
).
In 1980, he appeared in an episode of comedy sketch show The Goodies
as "David Dimbumblum" in which he parodied himself, after being caught on camera during the 1979 election
night coverage eating a sandwich
, by carving and eating a roast turkey during a spoof election.
Dimbleby was the main presenter of the BBC's flagship 1980s political series This Week Next Week, broadcast on Sunday early afternoons from 1984 to 1988, as a competitor to ITV's long-running Weekend World
series. Both the BBC and ITV series came to a permanent end in the same year. This Week Next Week was replaced in 1988 by the On the Record political series.
Dimbleby anchored his first General Election Night results programme for the BBC in 1979, when he presented alongside Bob McKenzie, David Butler, Sir Robin Day
, and Angela Rippon
. He has anchored every general election results programme for the BBC since then: in 1983 and 1987 with Sir Robin Day and Peter Snow
; in 1992 with Peter Snow and Peter Sissons
; in 1997, 2001 and 2005 with Peter Snow and Jeremy Paxman
;, and in 2010 with Jeremy Paxman and Jeremy Vine
. He is also seen on BBC Budget specials, and was a presenter of the BBC early evening weekday current affairs series Nationwide
, on which he famously addressed Paddy Ashdown as "Panty Ashdown". During the same period (beginning in 1979), Dimbleby has also been the anchor for the BBC's European Elections results programmes and in 2008 anchored the BBC's coverage of the US Election night.
Since 1994, Dimbleby has been chairman of Question Time
, the BBC
's flagship programme of topical debate. This is the role in which he is now best known. One of the most memorable moments from Question Time was when Dimbleby accidentally referred to Robin Cook
as "Robin Cock", to which Cook responded by jokingly referring to Dimbleby as "David Bumblebee".
Dimbleby has also covered outside broadcast events of national importance, such as the State Opening of Parliament
, the Trooping the Colour
, the Remembrance Day
service at the Cenotaph
in Whitehall
, London
, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, royal weddings, and visits of US presidents. He commentated on the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales
in 1997 and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
in 2002, and the state visit of U.S. President George W. Bush
to Britain the following year. In 1999, he opened BBC 2000 Today, the BBC's coverage of the millennium celebrations, from Greenwich, England.
There were reports in 2004 that Dimbleby was shortlisted for the Chairmanship of the BBC. However, the position was eventually awarded to Michael Grade
. As early as 1987, he was a contender for the position of Director General of the BBC (losing out to Michael Checkland
) and for the chairmanship in the Corporation's tumultuous period following 2001, which went to Gavyn Davies
. He has instead remained best known for his role as a frank yet eminently impartial narrator, and occasional moderator, of British politics. He remains outspoken about the Corporation he has served for much of his life, but has stated that he will not apply for the chair or directorship again.
In 2005, he hosted a major BBC One series, A Picture of Britain
, celebrating British and Irish paintings, poetry, music, and landscapes. In June 2007 he wrote and presented a follow-up, the BBC series, How We Built Britain
, in which he explored the chronological history of British architecture by visiting a region of Britain and its historic buildings each week. David Dimbleby has, as of February 2010, recently started to present a new series on BBC One
, Seven Ages of Britain
. In early editions of the programme, he has looked at the Bayeux Tapestry
and exhibits to do with Thomas Becket
.
On 12 November 2009, Dimbleby missed his first Question Time
in over 15 years, having been taken to hospital as a precaution after being briefly knocked out by a rearing
bullock
at his farm in Sussex
.
Dimbleby hosted the third of three televised election debates featuring the leaders of the three main political parties held in the run up to the 2010 general election. On the night of the 2010 Election, Dimbleby hosted the BBC coverage, along with Jeremy Vine
, Jeremy Paxman
, Nick Robinson
, and Emily Maitlis
. Presenting from a specially built set in BBC Television Centre
Studio 1, he was an anchor and involved commentary contributions, guest interviews, and introducing live outside broadcasts. He presented the election in 2010 for 18 hours.
of the University of Essex
in 2005, and is the President of the Institute for citizenship
.
war correspondent Richard Dimbleby
and Dilys (née Thomas, from Wales) elder brother of Jonathan Dimbleby
, also a current affairs commentator and presenter of both BBC
and ITV
programmes. David Dimbleby was a director of the Dimbleby Newspaper Group, former publishers of the Richmond and Twickenham Times, acquired by the Newsquest Media Group
in 2001 for a reported £12 million.
The younger Dimblebys made their television debuts in the BBC's first holiday travelogue programme Passport in the 1950s, when the entire family would visit locations in Switzerland or Brittany
, for example. Several episodes of this series and the UK-based variant No Passport still exist in the BBC and BFI archives. Despite the brothers presenting election coverage on competing channels, when asked in an interview about rival ITV
's plans to include a riverboat party with the likes of Kevin Spacey
and Richard Branson
in their broadcast, David Dimbleby commented "They've got Jonathan Dimbleby, what do they need Kevin Spacey for?"
Dimbleby has three children by his first wife, Josceline Dimbleby, a cookery writer: Liza, artist; Henry, chef and co-founder of the healthy fast food chain Leon; and Kate, musician. Henry Dimbleby had a brief television career in a BBC
TV adaptation of Arthur Ransome
's children's novels Coot Club
and The Big Six
.
In 2000 Dimbleby married Belinda Giles, a granddaughter of Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
. They have one son, Fred. Dimbleby lives in Polegate
, East Sussex
with a second home in Dartmouth, Devon
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
and political programmes
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history
Architectural History
Architectural History is the main journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain .The journal is published each autumn. The architecture of the British Isles is a major theme of the journal, although it includes more general papers on the history of architecture. Member of...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
series. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history.-Early life:...
and elder brother of Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
.
Early life
Dimbleby was born in SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and educated at two independent schools, the then Glengorse School in Battle, East Sussex
Battle, East Sussex
Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south southeast of London, east of Brighton and east of the county town of Lewes...
, and Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
in Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
(where he was a contemporary of Adam Raphael
Adam Raphael
Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael is an award-winning English journalist and author. In the British Press Awards of 1973, he was named Journalist of the Year for his work on labour conditions in South Africa, and he has also been a presenter and editor of BBC Television's Newsnight. Since 2004, he has...
). After learning French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
in Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
and graduated with a third-class honours degree. While at Oxford he was President of the Christ Church JCR, a member of the Bullingdon Club
Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club is a socially exclusive student dining club at Oxford University. The club has no permanent rooms and is notorious for its members' wealth and destructive binges. Membership is by invitation only, and prohibitively expensive for most, given the need to pay for the uniform,...
- a socially exclusive student dining society - and editor of the student magazine, Isis
Isis magazine
The Isis Magazine was established at Oxford University in 1892 . Traditionally a rival to the student newspaper Cherwell, it was finally acquired by the latter's publishing house, OSPL, in the late 1990s...
.
Career
Dimbleby joined the BBC as a news reporter in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in the 1960s and has appeared in news programmes since 1962, early on co-presenting the televised version of the school quiz Top of the Form
Top of the Form
Top of the Form was a BBC radio and television quiz show for teams from secondary schools in the United Kingdom which ran for 38 years, from 1948 to 1986.-History:...
. In 1974, he became the presenter of Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
, which had been presented by his father, Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history.-Early life:...
, and was involved in a number of projects which combined his established role as presenter and interviewer with documentary making. An early example of this was Yesterday's Men (1971), a film held to have ridiculed the Labour opposition and led to a major conflict between the BBC and the Labour Party; Dimbleby had his name removed from the credits for concessions that were made. Later films were not the source of such controversy, they include The White Tribe of Africa (1979), an award-winning four-part history of South Africa's Afrikaans community and the rise of apartheid, An Ocean Apart (1988), an examination of the history of Anglo-American relations, and Rebellion! (1999), a history of Britain's troubled relations with Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
).
In 1980, he appeared in an episode of comedy sketch show The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
as "David Dimbumblum" in which he parodied himself, after being caught on camera during the 1979 election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
night coverage eating a sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
, by carving and eating a roast turkey during a spoof election.
Dimbleby was the main presenter of the BBC's flagship 1980s political series This Week Next Week, broadcast on Sunday early afternoons from 1984 to 1988, as a competitor to ITV's long-running Weekend World
Weekend World
Weekend World is a British television political series, made by London Weekend Television and broadcast from 1972 to 1988.Created by John Birt not long after he moved to LWT, the series was broadcast on the ITV network at lunchtimes on Sundays...
series. Both the BBC and ITV series came to a permanent end in the same year. This Week Next Week was replaced in 1988 by the On the Record political series.
Dimbleby anchored his first General Election Night results programme for the BBC in 1979, when he presented alongside Bob McKenzie, David Butler, Sir Robin Day
Robin Day
Sir Robin Day, OBE was a British political broadcaster and commentator. His obituary in the Guardian stated that "he was the most outstanding television journalist of his generation...
, and Angela Rippon
Angela Rippon
Angela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...
. He has anchored every general election results programme for the BBC since then: in 1983 and 1987 with Sir Robin Day and Peter Snow
Peter Snow
Peter Snow, CBE is a British television and radio presenter. He is the grandson of First World War general Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow, and cousin of Jon Snow, the main presenter of Channel 4 News, nephew of schoolmaster and bishop George D'Oyly Snow, and the brother-in-law of historian-writer Margaret...
; in 1992 with Peter Snow and Peter Sissons
Peter Sissons
Peter George Sissons is a broadcast journalist in the United Kingdom. He was the presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and the BBC News at Ten between 1993 and 2003, as earlier a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4. He is also a former presenter of the BBC's Question Time...
; in 1997, 2001 and 2005 with Peter Snow and Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
;, and in 2010 with Jeremy Paxman and Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Guy Vine is a British author, journalist and news presenter for the BBC. He is known for his direct interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa...
. He is also seen on BBC Budget specials, and was a presenter of the BBC early evening weekday current affairs series Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
, on which he famously addressed Paddy Ashdown as "Panty Ashdown". During the same period (beginning in 1979), Dimbleby has also been the anchor for the BBC's European Elections results programmes and in 2008 anchored the BBC's coverage of the US Election night.
Since 1994, Dimbleby has been chairman of Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's flagship programme of topical debate. This is the role in which he is now best known. One of the most memorable moments from Question Time was when Dimbleby accidentally referred to Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
as "Robin Cock", to which Cook responded by jokingly referring to Dimbleby as "David Bumblebee".
Dimbleby has also covered outside broadcast events of national importance, such as the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
, the Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and the Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points...
, the Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
service at the Cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
in Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, royal weddings, and visits of US presidents. He commentated on the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in 1997 and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in 2002, and the state visit of U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to Britain the following year. In 1999, he opened BBC 2000 Today, the BBC's coverage of the millennium celebrations, from Greenwich, England.
There were reports in 2004 that Dimbleby was shortlisted for the Chairmanship of the BBC. However, the position was eventually awarded to Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
. As early as 1987, he was a contender for the position of Director General of the BBC (losing out to Michael Checkland
Michael Checkland
Sir Michael Checkland was Director-General of the BBC from 1987 to 1992, having been appointed after the forced resignation of Alasdair Milne.- Early life :...
) and for the chairmanship in the Corporation's tumultuous period following 2001, which went to Gavyn Davies
Gavyn Davies
Gavyn Davies, OBE was the chairman of the BBC from 2001 until 2004, a former Goldman Sachs banker and a former economic advisor to the British Government...
. He has instead remained best known for his role as a frank yet eminently impartial narrator, and occasional moderator, of British politics. He remains outspoken about the Corporation he has served for much of his life, but has stated that he will not apply for the chair or directorship again.
In 2005, he hosted a major BBC One series, A Picture of Britain
A Picture of Britain
A Picture of Britain is a 2005 BBC television documentary series presented by David Dimbleby, which describes the British landscape and the art which it has inspired...
, celebrating British and Irish paintings, poetry, music, and landscapes. In June 2007 he wrote and presented a follow-up, the BBC series, How We Built Britain
How We Built Britain
How We Built Britain was a series of six television documentaries produced by the BBC in 2007 and repeated in 2008. The series was written and presented by broadcaster David Dimbleby...
, in which he explored the chronological history of British architecture by visiting a region of Britain and its historic buildings each week. David Dimbleby has, as of February 2010, recently started to present a new series on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, Seven Ages of Britain
Seven Ages of Britain (BBC series)
Seven Ages of Britain is a BBC television documentary series which is written and presented by David Dimbleby. The seven part series was first aired on Sunday nights at 9:00pm on BBC One starting on 31 January 2010....
. In early editions of the programme, he has looked at the Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
and exhibits to do with Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
.
On 12 November 2009, Dimbleby missed his first Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
in over 15 years, having been taken to hospital as a precaution after being briefly knocked out by a rearing
Rear (horse)
Rearing occurs when a horse or other equid "stands up" on its hind legs with the forelegs off the ground. Rearing may be linked to fright, aggression, excitement, disobedience, or pain. It is not uncommon to see stallions rearing in the wild when they fight, while striking at their opponent with...
bullock
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
at his farm in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
Dimbleby hosted the third of three televised election debates featuring the leaders of the three main political parties held in the run up to the 2010 general election. On the night of the 2010 Election, Dimbleby hosted the BBC coverage, along with Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Guy Vine is a British author, journalist and news presenter for the BBC. He is known for his direct interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa...
, Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
, Nick Robinson
Nick Robinson
Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Robinson is a British journalist and political editor for the BBC. Robinson was interested in politics from a young age, and went on to study a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at Oxford University, where he was also President of the Oxford University Conservative...
, and Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis is a Canadian-born British journalist and newsreader, currently employed by the BBC.-Career:Raised in Sheffield, she was educated at the local King Edward VII School...
. Presenting from a specially built set in BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
Studio 1, he was an anchor and involved commentary contributions, guest interviews, and introducing live outside broadcasts. He presented the election in 2010 for 18 hours.
Honours
He was made an honorary graduateHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
in 2005, and is the President of the Institute for citizenship
Institute for citizenship
The Institute for Citizenship is a UK national independent charity. Their aim is to promote informed, active citizenship and greater participation in democracy and society through a combination of community projects, research, education and discussion and debate.The Institute for Citizenship was...
.
Family
He is the son of the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
war correspondent Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history.-Early life:...
and Dilys (née Thomas, from Wales) elder brother of Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
, also a current affairs commentator and presenter of both BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
programmes. David Dimbleby was a director of the Dimbleby Newspaper Group, former publishers of the Richmond and Twickenham Times, acquired by the Newsquest Media Group
Newsquest
Newsquest is the third largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom with 300 titles in its portfolio. Newsquest is based in Weybridge, Surrey and employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK...
in 2001 for a reported £12 million.
The younger Dimblebys made their television debuts in the BBC's first holiday travelogue programme Passport in the 1950s, when the entire family would visit locations in Switzerland or Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, for example. Several episodes of this series and the UK-based variant No Passport still exist in the BBC and BFI archives. Despite the brothers presenting election coverage on competing channels, when asked in an interview about rival ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's plans to include a riverboat party with the likes of Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
and Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
in their broadcast, David Dimbleby commented "They've got Jonathan Dimbleby, what do they need Kevin Spacey for?"
Dimbleby has three children by his first wife, Josceline Dimbleby, a cookery writer: Liza, artist; Henry, chef and co-founder of the healthy fast food chain Leon; and Kate, musician. Henry Dimbleby had a brief television career in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV adaptation of Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
's children's novels Coot Club
Coot Club
Coot Club is the fifth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1934. The book sees Dick and Dorothea Callum visiting the Norfolk Broads during the Easter Holidays, eager to learn to sail and thus impress the Swallows and Amazons when they return to the...
and The Big Six
The Big Six
The Big Six is the ninth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1940. The book returns Dick and Dorothea Callum, known as the Ds, to the Norfolk Broads where they renew their friendship with the members of the Coot Club...
.
In 2000 Dimbleby married Belinda Giles, a granddaughter of Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...
. They have one son, Fred. Dimbleby lives in Polegate
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
with a second home in Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
.