Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE was an English television presenter, writer and
producer. During the 1980s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years
appeared on 50 weeks of the year. His shows regularly topped the charts, beating Coronation
Street and EastEnders on one occasion. He was the first mainstream television presenter
to have a physical disability. Behind the scenes, he worked as a script doctor on many
television shows as well as presenting many corporate events.
Early life Beadle was born in Hackney, east London, on
12 April 1948. His father, a Fleet Street sports reporter, abandoned Jeremy's mother,
Marji, when he learned that she was pregnant. Before Jeremy reached the age of two he was
frequently hospitalised and had undergone surgery for Poland syndrome, a rare genetic
disorder that stunted growth in his right hand.
His mother worked as a secretary to help pay to raise him, including a stint for the boxing
promoter Jack Solomon. Beadle did not enjoy school and was frequently in trouble. He was
eventually expelled from his secondary school, Orpington County Secondary Boys' School. A
teacher remarked, "Beadle, you waffle like a champion but know nothing."
After his expulsion, he travelled and worked in Europe. He had a number of jobs, at one
point taking photographs of topless models, and worked as a skin-diving instructor, lavatory
attendant and tour guide. He often said that he gave the best London tour because he realised
that what people wanted was stories of blood, sex and death.
Beadle was chosen in 1970 by Tony Elliott, the founder of Time Out, to set up a Manchester
edition of the magazine, a venture that was short-lived, though he subsequently maintained
a connection with the publication in London. In 1972, North West Arts Association asked
him to organise the Bickershaw Festival, and he worked on further musical events over the
next couple of years. In 1973, as an early member of the Campaign for Real Ale, he was
elected to their National Executive and secured the campaign's first television or radio coverage
in a one-hour programme on BBC Radio London, which he hosted. It was during this period
that his talent for practical jokes became evident, although occasionally this rebounded
on him, such as when colleagues left him naked in front of 400 women arriving for their shift.
He then started writing for radio and television, going on to provide material for stars such
as Terry Wogan, Michael Aspel, Noel Edmonds and Kenny Everett.
Later public life Radio and television
Beadle began supplying odd facts and questions to radio and television game shows, such as
Celebrity Squares. He sent a number of questions to Bob Monkhouse, the host, without the answers
and Monkhouse was so impressed he rang Jeremy to ask him to work on the show. His presenting
style on the phone-in programme Nightline on LBC in London, which he hosted between
September 1979 and 22 June 1980, led to a cult following. He introduced himself as Jeremy
James Anthony Gibson-Beadlebum: "Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle is my name and a bum
is what I am," he explained. He teased his producer as 'Butch' Bavin Cook.
On 31 May 1980, he began co-presenting the children's television show Fun Factory with
his LBC co-star Therese Birch, Kevin Day and Billy Boyle. On Capital Radio Beadle presented
Beadle's Odditarium, a music show concentrating on strange, bizarre and rare recordings all
taken from the archives of producer Phil Swern. From 5 October 1986, Beadle presented Beadle's
Brainbusters on the independent local radio network, with questions written by Beadle
and Paul Donnelley. He also became renowned for his off-air pranks and intellectually
challenging quizzes. He wrote, devised and presented many television pilots for the highly
successful game show company Action Time, then run by Jeremy Fox, son of Sir Paul Fox.
Beadle wrote and presented The Deceivers, a BBC2 television series recounting the history
of swindlers and hoaxers. The success of this led to using the same format for Eureka, which
told the background behind everyday inventions. Beadle then went on to become nationally famous
as one of the presenters of LWT's Game for a Laugh, the first show made by ITV to beat
the BBC's shows in the Saturday night ratings battle. This was followed by a hidden-camera
style practical joke show, Beadle's About, which became the world's longest continuously
running hidden-camera show. From 1990 Beadle presented You've Been Framed!,
a family show featuring humorous clips from viewers' home video recordings. An offshoot
of this was Beadle's Hotshots featuring viewers' intentionally funny parodies and sketches,
some of which were re-edited and even reshot by a young Edgar Wright in his first industry
job; other sketches and scripts were produced by writer/director Chris Barfoot). In total,
Beadle hit the UK Number One ratings slot four times.
In 1995, reflecting his days on LBC, he presented a relatively short-lived but popular Sunday
late-evening show on the newly launched Talk Radio UK. As well as his considerable television
output as writer, presenter and producer, he appeared in numerous pantomimes and acted
as ringmaster for many circuses, notably for Gerry Cottle's. He also worked as a consultant
for many television companies, wrote books, and presented quizzes both commercially and
for charity. As a radio presenter, he chaired a brief revival of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?
on BBC Radio 4. In 2007 he started to work on the Bickershaw Festival 40th Annversary
Boxed set project for 2012 in conjunction with Chris Hewitt, who had worked with Beadle
on the original event in 1972. He was the subject of This Is Your Life on
26 January 1994 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel during a school carol concert at a church
in Hampstead on 8 December 1993. Writing
Beadle wanted to be the British Robert L. Ripley. A love of trivia was born when his
mother bought him The Guinness Book of Records for Christmas when he was a small boy. This
led him to write Today's the Day, researched in his own library of 27,000 volumes. The
book recounts – for any given day of the year – around half a dozen notable births,
deaths or events that occurred on that date, linked to odd or amusing facts. Beadle briefly
performed a similar duty on television's TV-am, informing each morning's viewers of prominent
events on this date in past years. The scripts were written by Beadle and Paul Donnelley.
For more than two years Beadle wrote a daily cartoon series of Today's the Day for the
Daily Express. He worked alongside Irving Wallace and his son David Wallechinsky and
daughter Amy Wallace as the biggest contributor to the sex and death chapters of The Book
of Lists and was the London editor of The People's Almanac 2. The Wallaces' book The
Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People Hutchinson, 1981) was researched in part in Beadle's library,
which contained an extensive collection of erotic literature.
In autumn 2007, three new books by Beadle were published: Firsts, Lasts & Onlys: Crime,
Firsts, Lasts & Onlys: Military and Beadle's Miscellany, the first hundred quizzes from
his weekly puzzlers in The Independent. He guest-edited the January 2008 edition of True
Detective, which featured contributions from his friends who are crime experts including
James Morton, Paul Donnelley, Andrew Rose and Matthew Spicer.
In 1995, Beadle wrote the foreword to "Who Was Jack the Ripper?", a collection of theories
and observations about the Victorian serial murderer, published by the veteran true crime
book dealer Camille Woolf. It included contributions from experts such as Martin Fido, Colin Wilson,
Donald Rumbelow, Colin Kendell and Richard Whittington-Egan. In his foreword Beadle coined
the collective noun to describe those interested in the subject "a speculation of Ripperologists".
General knowledge Renowned for his general knowledge, Beadle
was host of Win Beadle's Money. Beadle lost his money only eight times in 52 shows. He
wrote and presented a notoriously difficult quiz at London's The Atlantic Grill restaurant
then owned by Oliver Peyton, often attended by celebrities and members of the press. He
also wrote a quiz for The Independent every Saturday. He occasionally appeared as a panellist
on BBC Radio 4's Quote... Unquote and in dictionary corner for Channel 4's Countdown.
Beadle was also a winner on the game show 19 Keys, presented by Richard Bacon, defeating
Nick Weir, Nicholas Parsons, and fellow Game for a Laugh presenter Henry Kelly.
Charity work It is estimated that Beadle's total charitable
fund raising was of the order of £100 million. In the 2001 New Year Honours Beadle was made
a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to charity. He was a keen
supporter of the charity Children With Leukaemia, a disease he suffered from himself in 2005.
He spent much time raising money for many different charities with Plastermind his 'outrageous
quiz for those who don't like quizzes', as well as a school video venture called CamClass.
Beadle was a patron of The Philip Green Memorial Trust, and he annually hosted a quiz party
to raise money for disadvantaged children. Beadle was also the patron of Reach, an organisation
providing support and advice for children in the UK with hand or arm deficiencies, and
their parents. He was a member of Westminster City Council
freemason Lodge No. 2882. Although he did not join this organisation until after his
television heyday was over, he quickly became involved with all aspects of English Freemasonry,
and particularly its charitable work, often using his celebrity status to assist in raising
funds for masonic charities. Health and disability
Beadle had Poland syndrome and was one of the first TV presenters with a visible disability,
which manifested itself as a disproportionately small right hand. In 2004, Beadle was diagnosed
with cancer of the kidney and underwent a successful operation to remove it. In April
2005, a blood test during a routine post-op medical check-up led to him being diagnosed
with CLL. Beadle was successfully treated for this, though two serious illnesses in
such a short space of time were detrimental to his general state of health.
Death
On 25 January 2008, it was reported that Beadle had been admitted to The London Hospital and
was subsequently placed in a critical care unit due to severe pneumonia. He died on 30
January 2008, at the age of 59. On 2 February 2008 ITV1 dedicated that day's episode of
You've Been Framed to Beadle and promoted a tribute webpage to him over the show's credits.
ITV1's official tribute to Jeremy Beadle was broadcast on 4 February 2008 where various
celebrity friends including Lord Sugar paid tribute.
Beadle was cremated at Marylebone Crematorium on 14 February 2008 and interred in Highgate
Cemetery. A further tribute was aired on Friday 16 May, An Audience Without Jeremy Beadle,
hosted by Chris Tarrant and with contributions from Alan Sugar, Henry Kelly, Ken Campbell,
Anneka Rice and others. Beadle's obituary in The Daily Telegraph claimed
that he "was the most avidly watched presenter on television". On 15 August 2010 he was the
subject of an ITV documentary, The Unforgettable Jeremy Beadle.
TV appearances April Fool
Fun Factory The Deceivers
Eureka Game for a Laugh
Definition The Saturday Show
TV-AM People Do the Funniest Things
Beadle's About Chain Letters
Beadle's Box of Tricks Born Lucky
It's Beadle! You've Been Framed!
Beadle's Daredevils GMTV
A Fistful of Fingers Is This Your Life?
Sooty and Co Beadle's Hotshots
This Morning with Richard and Judy Win Beadle's Money
Celebrity Sleepover Ant & Dec's Banged Up With Beadle
Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do: University Challenge
Celebrity Mastermind Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Partner
Sir Alan Sugar The Trial of Jack the Ripper Winner
Countdown The All Star Talent Show
Get Me The Producer Dickinson's Real Deal
Publications Books
Today's the Day – A Chronicle of the Curious, a book of anniversaries
The Book of Outlawed Inventions Beadle's About
How to Make Your Own Video Blockbuster Watch Out! My Autobiography
The Gossip's Guide to Madame Tussaud's Firsts, Lasts & Onlys Crime
Firsts, Lasts & Onlys Military Beadle's Miscellany
Videos The Best of Beadle's About
You've Been Framed You've Been Framed Again
Jeremy Beadle's Beginners Guide to Practical Joking
The Story of Crime Bickershaw Festival 1972
Bickershaw Festival Volume 2 Magazine
True Detective January 2008 References
External links Jeremy Beadle at the Internet Movie Database
The Times obituary Jeremy Beadle's appearance on This Is Your
Life Jeremy Beadle: Loved and loathed TV prankster
The Beadlean Library Actor & playwright Ken Campbell on BBC Radio 3