Tim Gudgin – the voice of Saturday afternoons to retire

November 6, 2011   ·   4 Comments

He has one of the most recognisable voices in television history but few will recognise his face -  Tim Gudgin the voice of the BBC football results service is to hang up his microphone after more than 60 years. 

Best known for his distinctive rising and falling intonation as he delivers the scores to fans around the country, the veteran broadcaster will deliver the football results for the last time on Saturday 19 November during the BBC’s Final Score – a week before his 82nd birthday.

Having started out on British Forces Network Radio in Germany in 1950, Gudgin came to the BBC two years later to take up the job of studio manager for the corporation’s European Service, where he was also a news reader.

In 1976 he joined Grandstand, one of the broadcaster’s longest running sports programmes, where he read out the racing and rugby results in the final score segment of the programme.

Following the death of Len Martin in 1995, Gudgin became only the second person to read out the football results for BBC television on Saturday afternoons.  After Final Score became a separate programme in 2004, he continued in this role.

Speaking of his retirement, Tim told the BBC : “It will be emotional. But as far as I am concerned I will go in and do it and that will be it,”.

“It is a triple reason why I am going, age, distance – I am down on the south coast and the (BBC) team is going to be up in Salford – and my granddaughter’s wedding in Australia which I have to be there for.”

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker described Gudgin as “one of the most familiar voices in sport” and “a quintessential part of Saturday afternoons in this country”.

Tim will be replaced by Mike West, presenter of sports bulletins on BBC Radio Lancashire.

Video below shows Tim Gudgin making a rare on-screen appearance in Grandstand’s 40th Anniversary programme on Saturday 10 October 1998.

Tags: BBC, Final Score, Gary Lineker, Grandstand, Tim Gudgin