Former BBC Radio 2 newsreader and Eurovision Spokesperson Colin Berry has died at the age of 79.
Born 29th January 1946 in Welwyn Garden City, Colin Berry started working with the BBC in 1973 after several years in both pirate radio and commercial television. He became a pillar in broadcasting, presenting a variety of programmes on Radio 2 – which included Early Breakfast, overnights and deputising for many big personalities, including Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce, Ray Moore and John Dunn (all of whom had commentated on the Song Contest for the BBC over the years).
In Europe, he was best known as the United Kingdom spokesperson, delivering the UK jury votes and later televotes for 25 years, with the exception of two years, in 1980 and 1998.
The Voice Of The Jury
As a spokesperson, it was more than just a couple of minutes of screen time. In the early days, you were responsible for overseeing the jury and counting up their marks. Colin was also the standby television commentator in case there was a connection issue between London and the host venue. Although this never happened in Colin’s 25 years, he did reveal in Gordon Roxburgh’s ‘Songs for Europe‘ book that it almost happened on one occasion.
Although Colin would only appear for a couple of minutes a year during the Eurovision final, he made sure they were memorable. Between 1977 and 1993, all of the spokespeople for the jury were connected via telephone and every year, when it came to the UK’s chance to deliver their results, he would greet the presenters with “This is BBC London calling, and here are the results of the United Kingdom Jury”. In 1992, Malmö initially had troubles contacting the United Kingdom jury, but within a few seconds, Colin managed to come through,h and the votes were delivered without a problem.
Colin Berry’s Highlights
In 1994, thanks to technology, the spokespeople were now connected via satellite. Colin continued this role as UK spokesperson, right through til 2002. There were two memorable moments during this time. The first was in 1996 when host Ingvild Bryn asked Colin if he had an announcement to make, which Colin proudly said it was his twentieth year presenting the votes, before giving the points from the UK jury.
The following year, the UK were the second to last jury to vote and were on the cusp of a fifth victory – as host Carrie Crowley made contact with the UK jury – Colin asked “Is it time to go home, I ask myself. Well I won’t count my chickens,” leading to an amusing remark from both TV and Radio Commentators Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce, respectively.
Retirement
Colin Berry continued to act as UK spokesperson for the United Kingdom until 2002, but continued to work for the BBC until 2012.
I contacted him to conduct an interview with him for my Radio Glamorgan show, which he very kindly agreed to take part in. On a Saturday morning in May 2019, I sat down with Colin for 15 minutes, and he shared with me his time as spokesperson and what he thought about the UK entry that year (you can listen to the second half of that interview below). I found Colin to be incredibly kind and a real gentleman, and interviewing him was one of the reasons I wanted to start my ‘Radio Greats‘ podcast.
Earlier this year, I decided to make contact with Colin again to ask if he would consider being a guest, but sadly, I was informed by his beloved wife Sandra that for the last couple of year,– Colin had been seriously unwell and had withdrawn from broadcasting life. It came as a great shock when I discovered he had sadly passed away.
The Colin Berry I remember was an extraordinarily kind and delightful individual, and for those 15 minutes I had the fortune of interviewing him, I will always say it was the most incredible privilege of my life.
Colin Derek Berry, 29 January 1946 – 16 April 2025.