Melvyn Bragg

The Right Honourable
The Lord Bragg
CH HonFRS FRSL FBA
Official portrait, 2017
Born (1939-10-06) 6 October 1939 (age 85)
Carlisle, Cumberland, England
Alma materWadham College, Oxford
Occupations
  • Broadcaster
  • presenter
  • interviewer
  • commentator
  • novelist
  • screenwriter[1]
Years active1961–present
Notable workIn Our Time
TelevisionThe South Bank Show
Political partyLabour
Spouses
Marie-Elisabeth Roche
​
​
(m. 1961; died 1971)​
​
​
(m. 1973; div. 2018)​
Gabriel Clare-Hunt
​
(m. 2019)​
Children3; including Marie-Elsa
Melvyn Bragg's voice
Recorded May 2013 from the BBC Radio 4 programme Front Row

Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian.[2] He is the editor and presenter of The South Bank Show (1978–2010, 2012–2023), and the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 documentary series In Our Time.[3]

Earlier in his career, Bragg worked for the BBC in various roles including presenter, a connection that resumed in 1988 when he began to host Start the Week on BBC Radio 4. After his ennoblement in 1998, he switched to presenting the new In Our Time,[4] an academic discussion radio programme, which has run to more than one thousand broadcast editions and is also a podcast.[3] He served as Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1999 until 2017.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ba2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sherwin, Adam (25 March 2013). "Melvyn Bragg calls on new BBC boss to reverse 'shrinking arts coverage'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b Bragg, Melvyn (2023). "In Our Time's 1000th episode: The presenter reveals why his favourite subjects are the ones he knows nothing about and says hosting the series is "nothing but a pleasure"". bbc.co.uk. "You can't learn everything at school
  4. ^ Hepworth, David (2 March 2013). "In Our Time: Melvyn Bragg's superior radio masterclass". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Lord Bragg of Wigton (born 1939)". leeds.ac.uk. University of Leeds. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  6. ^ Gillen, Nancy. "Chancellor Melvyn Bragg to officially reopen Edward Boyle Library on 13 July". University of Leeds. Retrieved 28 July 2023.