Alan Towers
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alan Towers
| birth_date = 1934
| birth_place = Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{Death date|2008|5|24|df=y}}
| death_place = Warwickshire, England
| occupation = Newsreader
}}
Alan Towers (1934 – 24 May 2008) was a presenter of Midlands Today, BBC Midlands' regional news programme.
Career
After stints as a newsreader with ITN and Granada Television in Manchester,[http://www.transdiffusion.org/tmc/famous/ Before they were famous] - Transdiffusion.org Towers joined BBC Midlands in 1972 as the main presenter on Midlands Today and was also seen nationally as a presenter of features from the English Midlands on Nationwide.{{Cite news |date=2008-05-25 |title=TV presenter Alan Towers dies |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7419522.stm |access-date=2025-03-23 |language=en-GB}} His most famous item was the infamous "skateboarding duck" story. He regularly presented the programme with Kay Alexander.
Following a heart attack during the late 1980s, Towers left his role as main presenter but continued on Midlands Today as a sports presenter and reporter. During this time, he also raised thousands of pounds for charity by walking the Great Wall of China and riding a motorbike across Canada.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7419522.stm|title=TV presenter Alan Towers dies|publisher=BBC News|date=25 May 2008|accessdate=19 October 2020}} He appeared in a few episodes of the BBC's medical drama Dangerfield as a local TV news reporter.
In 1997, Towers announced his resignation from the BBC on-air and left viewers with a disparaging comment about the state of BBC management:{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bbc-man-explains-why-he-spoke-out-1252955.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021072302/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bbc-man-explains-why-he-spoke-out-1252955.html |archive-date=2020-10-21 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=BBC man explains why he spoke out|work=The Independent|date=28 July 1997|accessdate=19 October 2020}}
{{cquote|For me, this is a personal goodbye because I'm leaving the BBC after 25 years. When I joined the corporation, it was led by giants. Now, I'm afraid it is being led by pygmies in grey suits wearing blindfolds. How sad. But times do change. From me, for the final time, goodbye.[https://vimeo.com/177540339 Alan Towers BBC Midlands Today resignation broadcast 1997], vimeo.com{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081120085938/http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/presenters/t.html TV ARK - 'T' presenters profiles]}}}}
Despite these comments, Towers returned to Midlands Today as a special guest on the programme's last broadcast from the Pebble Mill studios in October 2004.
Personal life
Towers died at the age of 73 on 24 May 2008 at his home in Warwickshire, after a long illness.
References
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Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists
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