David Vine
Encyclopedia
David Martin Vine was a British
television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards.
, Devon
, he grew up in the north-west of the county, attending Barnstaple Grammar School (now called the Park Community School) on Park Lane in Barnstaple
. His father owned a newsagents in Barnstaple.
in Plymouth
. He joined Westward Television
in 1961, though he worked for the BBC
for the majority of his broadcasting career. He joined the BBC, to work on BBC2 in 1966. He was working at BBC2 even though Westward Television were not aware of this because at the time BBC2 could not be received in the South West. An article in the Daily Mail led to Westward TV learning about his BBC work and he had to resign from Westward TV.
Programmes he hosted include Sportscene
, It's a Knockout
(1967–1971), Jeux Sans Frontieres
, Miss UK, Miss World
, Quiz Ball, Rugby Special
, Match of the Day
, A Question of Sport
(1970–1978 and 1989), Grandstand
, Superstars
, Starshot
, Ski Sunday
(1978–1996) and the BBC's Winter and Summer Olympic Games coverage.
He provided the BBC TV commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
, also hosting the preview shows of the international entries, and compèred the 1975 Miss World
broadcast, the latter resulting in some embarrassment because he found it difficult to understand what many of the contestants were saying. He was the first presenter to introduce the tennis championships at Wimbledon
(1967) in colour. He presented Wimbledon highlights until 1982 and also BBC's Show Jumping coverage.
He was the anchorman at the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre
, Sheffield
, from 1978 – the first year the BBC covered the championships daily – until his retirement in 2000 as well as the Grand Prix
, UK Championship
and the Masters
. Vine's supposed friendship with Steve Davis
was parodied in a Spitting Image
sketch in which Davis boasted, "I'm a mate of David Vine".
His final work for the BBC was covering the weightlifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympics which he had done since the 1970s, after which he retired owing to a heart condition. Prior to his death, he had contributed to programmes on the ESPN Classic
channel. He had a coronary artery triple bypass operation
in 2001, and he died of a heart attack
on 11 January 2009 aged 74 at his home near Henley-on-Thames
, Oxfordshire.
. They had a son.
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...
television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards.
Early life
Born in Newton AbbotNewton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, he grew up in the north-west of the county, attending Barnstaple Grammar School (now called the Park Community School) on Park Lane in Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
. His father owned a newsagents in Barnstaple.
Career
He worked for the North Devon Journal Herald from the age of 17 and various newspapers, becoming the Sports Editor of the Western Morning NewsWestern Morning News
The Western Morning News is a politically independent daily regional newspaper founded in 1860 and covering Devon and Cornwall and parts of Somerset and Dorset.-Organisation:...
in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. He joined Westward Television
Westward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise holder for the South West of England from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not...
in 1961, though he worked for 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...
for the majority of his broadcasting career. He joined the BBC, to work on BBC2 in 1966. He was working at BBC2 even though Westward Television were not aware of this because at the time BBC2 could not be received in the South West. An article in the Daily Mail led to Westward TV learning about his BBC work and he had to resign from Westward TV.
Programmes he hosted include Sportscene
Sportscene
Sportscene is the name of a range of Scottish sports television programmes produced by BBC Scotland. Its main anchors are Dougie Donnelly, David Currie, Rob MacLean and Dougie Vipond, with Alison Walker and Richard Gordon acting as relief presenters...
, It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...
(1967–1971), Jeux Sans Frontieres
Jeux Sans Frontieres
Jeux Sans Frontières was a Europe-wide television game show.In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union and featured teams from different European countries in outlandish costumes competing to complete bizarre tasks in funny...
, Miss UK, Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
, Quiz Ball, Rugby Special
Rugby Special
Rugby Special was the main rugby union programme on the BBC in the UK. The show ran from 1966 and past presenters included David Vine, Keith Macklin, Cliff Morgan, Chris Rea, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Bill Beaumont and John Inverdale. The theme tune, "Holy Mackerel", was composed by The Shadows'...
, Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
, A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
(1970–1978 and 1989), Grandstand
Grandstand (BBC)
Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
, Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
, Starshot
Starshot
Starshot is a huge "half-circle target" that was designed as a new way to enjoy clay target skeet shooting. Invented in Scotland in the 1980s, the structure stands almost 30 feet high and is divided into 12 scoring segments. Clay targets are released on command and the shooter's score is valued...
, Ski Sunday
Ski Sunday
Ski Sunday is the BBC Sports weekly magazine-style television show covering winter sports, broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays in a late afternoon or an early evening time-slot...
(1978–1996) and the BBC's Winter and Summer Olympic Games coverage.
He provided the BBC TV commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
Eurovision Song Contest 1974
The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of the United Kingdom...
, also hosting the preview shows of the international entries, and compèred the 1975 Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
broadcast, the latter resulting in some embarrassment because he found it difficult to understand what many of the contestants were saying. He was the first presenter to introduce the tennis championships at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
(1967) in colour. He presented Wimbledon highlights until 1982 and also BBC's Show Jumping coverage.
He was the anchorman at the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, from 1978 – the first year the BBC covered the championships daily – until his retirement in 2000 as well as the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (snooker)
The World Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It has previously been known as the Professional Players Tournament, the LG Cup and the Grand Prix. During 2006 and 2007, it was played in a unique round-robin format, more similar to association football and rugby tournaments than the...
, UK Championship
UK Championship (snooker)
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...
and the Masters
Masters (snooker)
The Masters is a professional snooker tournament and the second longest running tournament outside the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, earning the second biggest prize money.-History:The tournament was held...
. Vine's supposed friendship with Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
was parodied in a Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
sketch in which Davis boasted, "I'm a mate of David Vine".
His final work for the BBC was covering the weightlifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympics which he had done since the 1970s, after which he retired owing to a heart condition. Prior to his death, he had contributed to programmes on the ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
channel. He had a coronary artery triple bypass operation
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in 2001, and he died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 11 January 2009 aged 74 at his home near Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, Oxfordshire.
Personal life
He married his first wife, Shirley, in 1958. They had met through amateur dramatics and had two girls and a boy; lived together in Castleton Close, Mannamead, Plymouth; she died in 1970. He married his second wife, Mandy, in 1972 in WokinghamWokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
. They had a son.