Peter Snow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the New Zealand doctor, see Peter Snow (doctor).
Peter Snow using the Swingometer during the 2005 general election
Peter Snow using the Swingometer during the 2005 general election

Peter Snow CBE (born April 20, 1938 in Dublin, Ireland) is a British television and radio presenter. He is the cousin of Jon Snow, the main presenter of Channel 4 News, and the brother-in-law of historian-writer Margaret MacMillan.

He was educated at Wellington College and subsequently read Greats at Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he was taught by R.M. Hare.

Snow was a newscaster for Independent Television News (ITN) from the 1960s, but gained most fame when recruited to present the BBC Two in-depth news programme Newsnight in 1980. He retired from Newsnight in 1998 and has since presented Tomorrow's World and the BBC Radio 4 quiz Masterteam, amongst other projects.

He has been involved in the live general election results programmes for many years, first at ITN and later for the BBC. He presents statistical analyses of the election results, and took over responsibility for the "Swingometer" following the death of Robert McKenzie. He is known for his somewhat excitable style of presentation and ever-more elaborate props and graphics, though perhaps his most famous prop was the most basic - a sandpit which he used to illustrate the progress of the First Gulf War.

He survived a plane crash in the state of Washington on 1 October, 1999.

Along with his son, Dan, Peter Snow presented a TV series Battlefield Britain, covering battles on British soil from Boudicca's struggle with the Romans to the Battle of Britain. Sometimes they point out the hardships of that the much smaller soldiers must have faced (Peter is 6'5" and Dan is 6'6").

On 6 October 2005, the BBC announced that Peter Snow would be standing down from his electoral reponsibilties and concentrate more on journalism. Mr. Snow himself is quoted as saying "I shall be over 70 at the next general election and that, frankly, is a bit old to be dancing around in front of huge graphic displays"

[edit] Trivia

  • He once auditioned for the part of James Bond.
  • Father of Dan Snow and five other children including a French son born before his first marriage.
  • He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to broadcasting in the 2006 Queen's New Year's Honours List.
  • He married Alison Carter in 1964 and the couple had a son and a daughter but divorced nine years later.
  • He married Ann MacMillan (of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since 1981) in 1976 and the couple now have a son and two daughters.
  • His wife and sister-in-law are great-granddaughters to former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

[edit] External links

Amazon Link for 20th Century Battlefields [3]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/e/t/Peter_Snow_0db6.html"