| John Suchet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1944 Alloa, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Education | University of Dundee |
| Occupation | News anchor, presenter |
| Spouse(s) | Bonnie Suchet |
| Children | 3 |
| Notable relatives |
David Suchet (brother) |
| Notable credit(s) | Early Evening News |
| Agent | David Foster Management |
| Official website | |
John Suchet ( /ˈsuːʃeɪ/ soo-shay; born 29 March 1944) is a British news reader and television presenter.
Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is David Suchet, a British actor. His father was Jack Suchet, who emigrated to England from South Africa in 1932, and trained to be a doctor at St Mary's Hospital, London. He is the uncle of broadcaster Richard Suchet.[1]
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Suchet's paternal grandfather was a Lithuanian Jew who shortened his name from Suchedowitz to Suchet, and Suchet's Jewish father emigrated from South Africa to England in 1932; he became a medical student at St Mary's Hospital, London in 1933, and, later, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, working with Alexander Fleming on the role of penicillin in treating venereal disease.[2] His mother, Joan, was Anglican. His maternal grandfather, James Jarché, was a famous Fleet Street photographer notable for the first pictures of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson and also for his pictures of Louis Blériot (1909) and the Siege of Sidney Street.
Suchet was brought up with his two brothers Peter and David. He attended the private Uppingham School, Rutland, and then the University of Dundee, from which he now holds an honorary doctorate. Peter is an advertising executive, and his younger brother David Suchet is an actor, best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie's Poirot.[3] His youngest son, Rory, is a news anchor at RT (previously known as Russia Today).[4]
Suchet began his career in journalism in 1967, when he was taken on as a graduate trainee by Reuters news agency. During that year he learned the rudiments of straightforward, unbiased news editing and reporting, under the tutelage of John Fawcus and Anton Wills-Eve.
He was on the Middle East desk at the time of the six days war in June that year, an event that taught him how to edit his copy that was fast, accurate and acceptable to newspapers in both Israel and the Arab world. This objective attitude towards journalism never left him.
Suchet is most famous for being a newsreader for ITV News from 1972 until 2004. During this time, he presented News at 12.30 / News at One and News at Ten, but became best known for presenting the Early Evening News between late 1991 (when it was introduced to replace the News At 5:40) and 1999 when the bulletin was dropped. Initially, he alternated with Carol Barnes as the regular presenter of the Early Evening News, but by 1994 he had become the sole main host and thereafter replaced predecessors Michael Nicholson and Alastair Stewart as "the face of the evening news".
He also anchored or contributed to countless special event programmes, including royal occasions (he was one of the main commentators on ITN's coverage of Princess Diana's funeral), the Budget and ITN's election coverage. He was voted fifth scariest TV and radio celebrity in the Radio Times poll.
He retired from ITN in March 2004, then made a return to TV news, presenting Five News, initially for a six-month period from March 2006, then extended to Christmas 2007.
Suchet has also been a guest presenter for ITV's This Morning, as well as being a guest panellist on Five's The Wright Stuff. He hosted the revival of the quiz show Going for Gold on Five and then later Wordplay on Five.
In July 2009, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the NASA moon landings, ITN produced five special 10-minute programmes for ITV titled Mission to the Moon – News from 1969. Suchet, a former ITN newscaster, was the presenter of these specials. The first aired at 10:35 on ITV on Wednesday 15 July and ran across the following Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday evenings.
In July 2010, Suchet joined Classic FM as the regular host of the Sunday lunchtime music show (12-3pm). He first appeared on the station in 2004 as guest presenter of the Composer's Notes series in which he examined the finances and wealth of famous composers. In September 2010 it was announced that he would be presenting the Classic FM weekday morning show from January 2011, taking over from the show's previous host Simon Bates.
John Suchet is a fan of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven and has become one of the UK's leading experts on the composer and his works, publishing five books about the composer.[5]
Suchet and his wife Bonnie have five grown-up sons between them from previous marriages, and live in London. In 2006, Bonnie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in her early 60s.[3] He appeared on the mainstream ITN / ITV and BBC news bulletins on 17 February 2009 to talk about this, to raise awareness of the disease and to campaign on behalf of Admiral Nurses. He explained that Bonnie would have no idea that he was on the news programmes.
Suchet is a huge fan of – and writer on – Ludwig van Beethoven and has toured with his material.
Suchet lives in Docklands, London.
| Preceded by Henry Kelly |
Host of Going for Gold 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Series Ended |
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kirsty Young |
Main Presenter of Five News 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Natasha Kaplinsky |