Michael Hugh Scully (5 March 1943 – 8 October 2015) was an English journalist, radio and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

. He was the host and longest-serving presenter of 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 ...

programme ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

'' from 1981 to 2000.

Early life

Born in

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, Scully spent much of his childhood in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where his father was stationed with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He was educated at Prior Park College, a boarding school in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, at the age of thirteen and after leaving, worked for a period with the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

company Steinway & Sons. For a short time he worked as a record producer at Saga Records in London.

Career

Scully auditioned successfully as a temporary newsreader on BBC radio, and made his debut regular radio broadcast reporting from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1963. Always a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

journalist rather than an employee, Scully worked on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

magazines and was a presenter on the BBC South West news programme '' Spotlight'' from 1965, before joining the networked news programme '' Nationwide.'' After a producer discovered that he collected

antiques An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

, he became chairman of the radio show ''Talking about Antiques'' in 1967 and ''Collector's World'' in 1970. Scully was chosen in 1981 to present ''

'', along with Arthur Negus. Negus retired in 1983, and Scully was the sole host on that show for 17 years. He resigned as presenter in 2000, to join Internet auction company QXL.com and help launch its on-line antiques business, and was replaced by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

. From 1988, Scully ran a television production company, Fine Art Productions; he also hosted the episode on Stately Homes part of the '' Britain's Finest''. series in 2003 for Channel 5. He was married to his wife Barbara for 43 years before she died on 9 March 2009.

Death

Scully died on 8 October 2015, at the age of 72, in his home in Tresillian, Cornwall. He is survived by his two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scully, Hugh 1943 births 2015 deaths BBC Radio 2 presenters English television presenters People educated at Prior Park College People from Bradford-on-Avon Television personalities from Wiltshire