William G. Stewart
Encyclopedia
William Gladstone Stewart (born 15 July 1935 in Habrough
, Lincolnshire
) is an English
television producer
and director
of comedy and game shows, now best known as the former presenter (and producer) of the Channel 4
quiz show Fifteen to One
.
Among the many shows he has produced or directed are Father, Dear Father
, Love Thy Neighbour
, Bless This House, My Good Woman, Spooner's Patch, The Rag Trade
, Family Fortunes
and The Price is Right
. He also presented the short-lived 1992 quiz show Famous People, Famous Places, made by his company, Regent Productions (which also made Fifteen to One) for Thames Television and shown only in the London region. He later sold Regent to Pearson Television, (which, ironically, also purchased Thames) and they have now been amalgamated (along with the likes of Grundy Productions) into Talkback Thames, the UK arm of FremantleMedia
.
In 1998, he successfully sued a Fifteen to One
contestant who had lied to get onto the programme.
His catchphrases were:
"That's it for today, we'll be back tomorrow, see you then."
"That's it for this week, we'll be back on Monday, see you then."
"Two questions each in the first round, one correct answer from you to survive."
"No place on the finals board but well done."
(1976–86). He had his eldest child, Nick, by Harrison. He has two children by Geeson, who starred in Bless This House, called Barnaby and Hayley. He also has two more children by Calland named Isobel and Hannah, and also has a nephew, Alistair, and two nieces, Lucy and Helena. He also has a grandson named Rhys who is the son of Barney.
Stewart is a long-standing supporter of the campaign to return the Elgin Marbles
to Greece
. He joked that if, on an episode of Fifteen to One, too few contestants survived the first round to continue the game, he would give a speech on the Marbles to fill the time.
He is an avid Manchester United fan, and has been a supporter of the club since childhood. He attributes this to meeting a boy during the Second World War who claimed his father played for the club. Many years later, he met Sir Matt Busby
, who checked the club's records and discovered that the boy's father had never played for the side. Nevertheless, he continued to support them.
Stewart is a keen bee keeper and member of the British Beekeepers' Association.
He is good friends with Nicholas Parsons
. This was often referred to when a Nicholas Parsons related question was asked on Fifteen to One. He is also a keen morris-dancer.
In 2007, he made a return to television on the new National Lottery
show The People's Quiz.
Habrough
Habrough is a village in North East Lincolnshire, England. Habrough railway station serves the village and the town of Immingham. The name Habrough is found in many old records as "Haburgh"....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
of comedy and game shows, now best known as the former presenter (and producer) of the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
quiz show Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One was a popular general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 4 January 1988 to 19 December 2003, and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart...
.
Career
In the 1960s, he worked as private secretary to Tom Driberg, about whom he made a documentary in 2009.Among the many shows he has produced or directed are Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973....
, Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
, Bless This House, My Good Woman, Spooner's Patch, The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade....
, Family Fortunes
Family Fortunes
Family Fortunes is a British game show, based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002 before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of All Star Family Fortunes...
and The Price is Right
The Price Is Right (UK game show)
The Price Is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth, and Joe Pasquale. It ran from 24 March 1984 to 12 January 2007.-Crowther era :...
. He also presented the short-lived 1992 quiz show Famous People, Famous Places, made by his company, Regent Productions (which also made Fifteen to One) for Thames Television and shown only in the London region. He later sold Regent to Pearson Television, (which, ironically, also purchased Thames) and they have now been amalgamated (along with the likes of Grundy Productions) into Talkback Thames, the UK arm of FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
.
In 1998, he successfully sued a Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One was a popular general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 4 January 1988 to 19 December 2003, and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart...
contestant who had lied to get onto the programme.
His catchphrases were:
"That's it for today, we'll be back tomorrow, see you then."
"That's it for this week, we'll be back on Monday, see you then."
"Two questions each in the first round, one correct answer from you to survive."
"No place on the finals board but well done."
Personal life
In 1997, he married his third wife Laura Calland — the voice-over artist from Fifteen to One. His first marriage was to Audrey Harrison (1960–76); his second wife was actress Sally GeesonSally Geeson
Sally Louise Geeson is a British actress with a career mostly on television in the 1970s. Her most famous role was as Sid James' daughter, Sally, in Bless This House. The series was one of the first in colour in the UK; indeed the first seven episodes of Series One were in black and white...
(1976–86). He had his eldest child, Nick, by Harrison. He has two children by Geeson, who starred in Bless This House, called Barnaby and Hayley. He also has two more children by Calland named Isobel and Hannah, and also has a nephew, Alistair, and two nieces, Lucy and Helena. He also has a grandson named Rhys who is the son of Barney.
Stewart is a long-standing supporter of the campaign to return the Elgin Marbles
Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He joked that if, on an episode of Fifteen to One, too few contestants survived the first round to continue the game, he would give a speech on the Marbles to fill the time.
He is an avid Manchester United fan, and has been a supporter of the club since childhood. He attributes this to meeting a boy during the Second World War who claimed his father played for the club. Many years later, he met Sir Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
, who checked the club's records and discovered that the boy's father had never played for the side. Nevertheless, he continued to support them.
Stewart is a keen bee keeper and member of the British Beekeepers' Association.
He is good friends with Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
. This was often referred to when a Nicholas Parsons related question was asked on Fifteen to One. He is also a keen morris-dancer.
In 2007, he made a return to television on the new National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
show The People's Quiz.