'Arthur Clifford (Cliff) Michelmore
CBE' (born
11 December 1919 in
Cowes,
Isle of Wight) is a
British television presenter and
producer. He is best known for the
BBC television programme ''
Tonight'', which he presented from
1957 to
1965.
Notably, he also hosted the
BBC's television coverage of the
Apollo moon landings and the
1964,
1966 and
1970 UK general elections. He was awarded the
CBE in
1969.
Early life and broadcasting career
Michelmore attended Cowes High School, Loughborough College and Leicester College of Technology and Art. He was an
RAF Squadron Leader during
World War II, and began his broadcasting career on
British Forces Network radio. After the war, he worked for BBC radio and television on a
freelance basis; initially as a sports
commentator, then as a
news reporter and as a producer of children's programmes, including ''
All Your Own''.
On
4 March 1950, he married
Jean Metcalfe a BBC announcer. They went on to have a daughter, actress
Jenny Michelmore, and a son, broadcaster and composer
Guy Michelmore.
From
1955 to
1957 Michelmore presented the BBC TV programme ''Highlight'', a current affairs show with a reputation for hard-hitting interviews. On
18 February 1957 he was made
anchorman of BBC TV's new topical magazine show ''Tonight'', which was broadcast on weekday evenings at 6.05pm and designed to fill the airtime provided by the abolition of the
Toddlers' Truce. ''Tonight'' ran for 8 years and at its peak attracted an audience of 8 million viewers. In
1958 Michelmore was awarded the accolade of ''Television Personality of the Year'' by the
Guild of Television Producers.
When ''Tonight'' finished its run in
1965, Michelmore hosted a
BBC One series called ''24 Hours'', which ran until
1968. In
1967 he presented ''
Our World'', an ambitious worldwide TV broadcast featuring
The Beatles. At this point he left full-time work in television and headed EMIs nascent video division. He was a regular presenter on BBC One's ''
Holiday'' programme from
1969 to
1986, and has presented numerous other shows for BBC TV,
ITV, and
BBC Radio.
Michelmore has now retired from TV presenting and resides in
Hampshire.