Glyn Worsnip (2 September 1938 – 7 June 1996) was a British radio and television presenter. Born in
Highnam
Highnam is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. It is three miles northwest of the city on the A40, on the way to Ross, west of Alney Island and Over Bridge. It is connected by Segregated Bicycle Paths via ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, he was most famous for his appearances on ''
That's Life!
''That's Life!'' was a satirical TV consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving 10–15,000 letters a week.
The series broadcast on BBC1 for twenty-one years, ...
'' (where he was teamed with
Kieran Prendiville
Kieran Prendiville (born 25 December 1947) is an English-Irish television writer, producer, and presenter.
Early life
Prendiville was born on 25 December 1947 in Rochdale, Lancashire, the son of an Irish father from Killorglin, County Kerry, ...
from 1973 to 1978) and on ''
Nationwide''.
Biography
Worsnip attended
Monmouth School
Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...
and after two years service in the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
as a Photographic Intelligence Officer he graduated from
St John's College, Oxford, with an honours degree in English. He trained as a journalist and actor, was a prolific writer of revues and appeared on stage in
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
, farce and Shakespearian productions before his first appearance as a TV presenter on ''That's Life!''.
In the late 1980s Glyn began experiencing the symptoms af a
cerebellar
The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cereb ...
disorder. In 1986 he developed
dysarthria
Dysarthria is a speech sound disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor–speech system and is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes. In other words, it is a condition in which problems effectively ...
(slurred speech) as part of an initial
cerebellar ataxia
Cerebellar ataxia is a form of ataxia originating in the cerebellum. Non-progressive congenital ataxia (NPCA) is a classical presentation of cerebral ataxias.
Cerebellar ataxia can occur as a result of many diseases and may present with symptom ...
diagnosis. In his autobiography, ''Up the Down Escalator'', he mentions being diagnosed with
multiple system atrophy (MSA) at the
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the ...
.
[last page and last paragraph] MSA is a progressive, adult onset disorder characterised by any combination of
parkinsonism
Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome characterized by tremor, bradykinesia (slowed movements), rigidity, and postural instability. These are the four motor symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD), after which it is named, dementia with Lewy b ...
, autonomic failure (see
nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...
) and
cerebellar ataxia
Cerebellar ataxia is a form of ataxia originating in the cerebellum. Non-progressive congenital ataxia (NPCA) is a classical presentation of cerebral ataxias.
Cerebellar ataxia can occur as a result of many diseases and may present with symptom ...
.
The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', about his struggle with the disease, which would claim his life in 1996 at the age of 57, and which was broadcast on
in March 1988. It has been described as "the most engaging programme in Radio 4's history".