For nearly forty years, Bruce Parker was the ‘face' of BBC South as presenter of South Today. Subsequently, he was in charge of BBC South's political programming and as Political Editor was a member of the House of Commons Lobby and Press Gallery.
Nationally, Bruce helped devise BBC 1's Antiques Roadshow and was its first presenter in 1977. He also achieved worldwide prominence when he led coverage of the raising of the Mary Rose at Portsmouth in 1982, watched by a record-breaking TV audience of over 60 million viewers.
A regular presenter of the nightly magazine Nationwide, he also hosted BBC 1's music and arts series, Mainstream, was one of the Songs of Praise presenters and many other network programmes.
Brought up in Guernsey, he was educated at Elizabeth College and is a graduate of both the University of Wales and Reading University. Before joining the BBC, he returned to Elizabeth College to become a housemaster teaching English and now chairs the school's charity foundation.
While teaching in the 1960s, Bruce also spearheaded a local radio experiment in the Channel Islands which largely contributed to the setting up of the present BBC local radio network in the United Kingdom.
Retired as a broadcaster, Bruce continues a career as author and journalist. He is currently Chairman of the Winchester Cathedral Friends and a Winchester Cathedral Trustee.
