Former BBC Nationwide and Gardeners’ Question Time presenter Michael Barratt has died aged 94.
Barratt’s son Olly announced the news on Twitter on Sunday, posting:
“We’re very sad to report that our lovely Dad/Husband/Mike/Michael Barratt died this morning. He was 94. He spent his final days being cared for at the wonderful Thames Hospice in Berkshire, surrounded by his family. A life lived to the full.”
Leeds native Barratt hosted Nationwide from 1969-1977 and became a household name as the face of the BBC’s popular current affairs show. Nationwide audiences regularly topped 10m viewers in the seventies, and its rosta of presenters also included familiar names such as Esther Rantzen and David Dimbleby.
Among those to pay tribute to Barratt on social media was former GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly. She posted: “Sad to hear of the death of your dad. Class act.”
Actor, writer and broadcaster Mar Gatiss added: “Very sorry for your loss. A great broadcaster and childhood fixture whose face brings back warm and happy memories. RIP.”
Prior to his role on Nationwide, Barratt was a reporter for the BBC’s Midlands Today show. He also hosted Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time from 1973-1977, was a regular host of the BBC’s Sunday evening religious show Songs of Praise and wrote several books over the course of his career.
