Web
Page No 2410
28th
September 2017
First
Picture: Sylvia Peters in the early days
Second
Picture: Mary Malcom
Third
Picture: Robert Dougall
Fourth
Picture: Sylvia Peters 50 years after the Coronation
Sylvia Peters
Sylvia Peters, was not
the first woman to appear before the cameras on BBC television, but she was the first
to achieve fame, if not quite celebrity status, in the early 1950s. One of
three programme announcers at the time of the Queen’s coronation in June 1953 –
the first major and prolonged outside broadcast the corporation had ever
attempted – she was chosen to introduce the coverage and since up to half the
adult population managed to get in front of a television set to watch the
event, she found herself famous almost overnight. The other two main BBC
presenters at the time were Mary Malcolm and Robert Dougall.
Hers was the first face
viewers saw that morning, announcing what would be “a great and joyous day for
us all”. She was dressed in a flowery evening gown and, sitting in front of a
map showing the route of the coronation procession, it was her job to relate
what would be happening. Beside her was a six-page memorandum outlining what
she had to do if there was a technical fault or a break in transmission – which
in the event fortunately did not happen. She was in a studio at Alexandra
Palace and handed over to the main commentators, Richard Dimbleby at Westminster
Abbey and others along the route, to report the scene.
Sixty years later she
said that: “Part of the reason I was chosen was I had a very good memory. I was
given the script the night before and had to learn it in time. I was also the
same age as the Queen, which they liked.”
Afterward the broadcast
she found herself being stopped in the street by members of the public and,
even 40 years later, long after she had finished regular broadcasting, would
still be recognised.
She was born Sylvia
Petronzio, the daughter of Romelo Petronzio, who had a clock-making business in
London, and his English wife, Ethel Edwards. From an early age her mother took
her to ballet and acting lessons, and she appeared in revues, including one at
the Coliseum marking VE Day at the end of the second world war.
In 1947, however,
mother and daughter spotted an advertisement for announcers at the BBC, and
using her anglicised surname of Peters– was persuaded to apply. “My mother
forced me because she did not like me being on the stage,” she said years
later.
The audition included a
foreign language test, a pronunciation exam and screen tests, including a shot
walking downstairs – peculiarly, since announcers were not expected to move as
they broadcast. She got the job on £500 a year: “We were meant to be
decorative, charming hostesses. They wanted us to look pretty and feminine.”
At that stage just half a million
households had television sets, and coverage only reached as far as the
Midlands. Breakdowns and losses of transmission were common and broadcasting
was live. Female announcers wore patterned evening dresses – but not stripes or
checks which made the picture strobe – shoulders were covered by shawls and
cleavages disguised by plastic flowers. There was no autocue, rehearsals or
editing. “We were on every night. There was no one else,” she said. “When I
first went to the BBC, people did not admit they had a set. They would say, ‘the
servants have one and I occasionally see it downstairs’.”
The coronation
broadcast was seen live across France and Germany, with the film flown by jet
to be shown in the US and Canada that evening. It made television respectable
for the first time.
The following year, she
branched out to become one of the first hosts of Come Dancing. She went on to
record a training film in 1957 for the Queen, to prepare her for her first
televised Christmas broadcast. The Queen took it to Balmoral for the summer to
study by this time she was able to chose the autocue method which was new at
the time.
In 1958 Sylvia Peters
retired as an announcer, though she continued as an infrequent broadcaster for
a further 30 years, introducing Ladies’ Day at Ascot, presenting the early ITV
product placement show Jim’s Inn, appearing in occasional documentaries and
being interviewed in 2013 about her role on Coronation Day. She opened a
children’s clothing store in Wimbledon in 1963, and it was followed in 1977 by
a shop for women’s fashion.
In 1950 she married Kenneth
Milne-Buckley, her first studio manager at the BBC. He predeceased her and
Sylvia Peters died on 26th July 2016 leaving her daughter, Carmella.
Keep in touch
Yours
Peter
You
Write:
News
and Views:
On this day 28th September
1960-1965
On 28/09/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and
the number one album was Down Drury
Lane to Memory Lane - A Hundred and One Strings. The top rated TV show
was The Army Game (Granada) and
the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was
worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On
28/09/1961 the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton and the
number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation
Street (Granada) and the box office smash
was One
Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was
worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On
28/09/1962 the number one single was She's Not You - Elvis Presley and the
number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation
Street (Granada) and the box office smash
was Lawrence
of Arabia. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.89
and Everton were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 28/09/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The
top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's
money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming
the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 28/09/1964 the number one single was I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits
and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.24
and Manchester United were on
the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of
the day was Harpo Marx dies.
On 28/09/1965 the number one single was Make It Easy On Yourself - Walker Brothers and the number one album was Help - The Beatles.
The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's
money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming
the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Volcano erupts in Phillipines.
