Harry John Gration (22 October 1950 – 24 June 2022) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was one of the main anchors for the

BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...

regional magazine programme ''

Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: * ''BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region * ''BBC Look North (Y ...

''. He was often referred to as ''Mr. Yorkshire'' by the media.

Early life

Born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Nina (née Smith) and Morris Gration, Gration was raised in a

back-to-back house Back-to-backs are a form of terraced houses in the United Kingdom, built from the late 18th century through to the early 20th century in various forms. Many thousands of these dwellings were built during the Industrial Revolution for the urbanisat ...

in the city. His father was a chemist who was a manager at a

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

store in the city and promotion took the family first to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, then

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. Gration was educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

and at St Peter's School in York, and after leaving education, he initially spent five years as a history teacher and eventually, a head of history at

The Rodillian Academy The Rodillian Academy (formerly Rodillian School) is a mixed secondary School and sixth form with academy status located in Lofthouse, West Yorkshire, England. The school has 1,556 pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school also has Specialis ...

, a school in Lofthouse, near

Career

Whilst still teaching, Gration became a sports commentator on rugby league games which led to a three-month contract with the BBC. He then ended up resigning from his teaching post and went into broadcasting full-time when he joined

BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...

in 1978. Gration started presenting ''Look North'' in 1982. By 2018, Gration had been broadcasting with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for 40 years, although he had a spell at

BBC South Today ''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. The service is produced and bro ...

where he co-presented with Sally Taylor between 1995 and 1999. He presented alongside Judith Stamper,

Clare Frisby Clare Kathleen Frisby (born 27 December 1966, Orpington) is a newsreader for ''Look North'' based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early life She first attended Bennett Memorial Diocesan School. Later she was the head girl of Combe Bank Schoo ...

Christa Ackroyd Christa Marion Ackroyd is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as a former presenter for the regional TV news programmes ''Calendar'' (for ITV Yorkshire) and ''BBC Look North''. Early life Ackroyd, whose father was a policeman, at ...

, and his last co-anchor was

Amy Garcia Amy Garcia (born 24 May 1981) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She is currently the main anchor of the BBC Yorkshire regional magazine programme ''Look North''. Early life Garcia was born in Wakefield; her mother is English and her fa ...

. He appeared on ''Top Gear'' in 2010. While supposedly reporting from Braithwell,

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

crashes a

Reliant Robin The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions (Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3) over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in histor ...

in the background. Gration was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. Gration regularly appeared in the annual Christmas pantomime at the

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

in a filmed segment with its main star and writer,

Berwick Kaler Berwick Kaler (born 31 October 1946) is a British actor most famous for playing the pantomime dame, dame in York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime, which he also wrote and directed until 2020. In 2021 he parted ways with York Theatre Royal and t ...

. In the 2016 production of Cinderella, Gration appeared in women's underwear. On 13 October 2020, Gration announced his retirement from the BBC. His final appearance as lead presenter on ''Look North'' was 21 October 2020, the day before his 70th birthday.

Public office

In December 2009, Gration followed in the footsteps of his ''

'' colleague and Mayor of Wetwang, Paul Hudson, when he was declared honorary Mayor of

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

. In June 2018, Gration performed the wedding ceremony between Keeley Donovan and Johnny I'Anson in Knaresborough; Donovan is a ''Look North'' weather presenter and reporter and I'Anson also broadcasts for the BBC. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

Personal life

Gration was married three times and had six children. His first two marriages, to Hilary Gardner (m.1974) and Rowena Cluness (m.1984), ended in divorce. He married his third wife, Helen Chene, in 2001. Gration died suddenly after collapsing on 24 June 2022 at the age of 71. It was later revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer, but this was unrelated to his death. A memorial service was held for Gration on 1 August 2022, which is

Yorkshire Day Yorkshire Day is a yearly celebration on 1 August to promote the historic county of Yorkshire, in England. It was celebrated by the Yorkshire Ridings Society in 1975, initially in Beverley, as "a protest movement against the local governmen ...

, at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

. It was attended by

Geoff Boycott Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...

Dickie Bird Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933) is an English former cricketer and retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence ...

and former

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

Dr John Sentamu.

References

External links

*
BBC presenter profile

TV Newsroom profile

Returning to the BBC Leeds studio in 1999
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gration, Harry 1950 births 2022 deaths BBC newsreaders and journalists English reporters and correspondents Deputy lieutenants of North Yorkshire English rugby league commentators English television presenters Mass media people from Bradford Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Leeds Grammar School People educated at St Peter's School, York Television personalities from West Yorkshire People from York