Timothy Denis Brinton (24 December 1929 – 22 March 2009) was a British broadcaster and Conservative Party politician. The son of a neurologist, he was educated at Summer Fields School in Summertown,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, followed by

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

Early life

Timothy Denis Brinton was born on 24 December 1929, the son of Dr Denis Brinton, a neurologist. He was educated at Summer Fields School in Summertown,

, followed by

and the

. After national service with the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

, he studied acting and production at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

Career

Brinton joined 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 ...

as an announcer and newsreader and moved in 1959 to

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

, where he was a newscaster until 1962. He was also a regular presenter of ''Roundabout'' on the BBC Light Programme between 1964 and 1967. Brinton was a

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

lor from 1974 to 1981 and Member of Parliament (MP) for the marginal seat of

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(gaining the seat from Labour) to 1983, and, following boundary changes, for the new Gravesham constituency from

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

until he stood down in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. He was a member of the

Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...

from 1980 to 1983. In 2003, he became a member of the

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

(UKIP).

''Alternative 3''

Brinton was the presenter and narrator of the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

'' Alternative 3'', and lent it the ''gravitas'' it needed to be a successful hoax. The programme had been due to be broadcast on

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

, 1977, but industrial action meant that it was broadcast in June. Sometimes cited as a British parallel to

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

's radio production of ''The War of the Worlds'', ''Alternative 3'' purported to be an investigation into Britain's contemporary " brain drain". ''Alternative 3'' was supposedly a plan to relocate a cross section of Earth's scientific and philosophical population to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

in the event of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

or some other planetary catastrophe. When the DVD was released in October, 2007, it had a 30-minute featurette in the extras, featuring an interview with Brinton, as well as his fellow "conspirators", David Ambrose and Christopher Miles who also directed ''Alternative 3'', alongside a production stills gallery and contemporary press cuttings. Tim Brinton was narrator for a film documentary called 'Murder Bag' from the 'Look At Life' series, on 35mm colour film stock. Filmed 1/1/1966. Filmed by Bill Hooker and Reg Coast, edited by Roy Drew, script by Wilfred Greatorex and Ex Producer, George Grafton Green.

Personal life

He married Jane-Mari Coningham in 1954 (marriage dissolved, one son, three daughters, one of whom is the Liberal Democrat politician

Sal Brinton Sarah Virginia Brinton, Baroness Brinton (born 1 April 1955), known as Sal Brinton, is a British politician who served as president of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2020. In November 2010 she was nominated to the House of Lords, taking he ...

), and in 1965 married Jeanne Frances Wedge (two daughters). He died on 22 March 2009, aged 79. After his death it was revealed that he had been suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

for five years.

Filmography

*''

Information Received ''Information Received'' is a 1961 British B movie, second feature ('B') crime film directed by Robert Lynn (director), Robert Lynn and starring Sabine Sesselmann, William Sylvester and Hermione Baddeley. The screenplay was by Paul Ryder from a ...

'' (1961) – TV announcer *''The Avengers (1962)'' TV announcer in M. Teddy Bear (season 2) *'' Heavens Above!'' (1963) – TV Commentator (uncredited) *'' The Counterfeit Constable'' (1964) *'' Bunny Lake Is Missing'' (1965) – Newscaster *'' Man at the Top'' (1973) – Newsreader *'' Carry On Emmannuelle'' (1978) – BBC Newscaster (final film role)

References

*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Ltd, 1983 & 1987 *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinton, Timothy 1929 births 2009 deaths People educated at Eton College People educated at Summer Fields School University of Geneva alumni Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama BBC newsreaders and journalists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deaths from dementia in the United Kingdom Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United Kingdom ITN newsreaders and journalists Scots Guards officers UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK Independence Party people Councillors in Kent Conservative Party (UK) councillors