Alan Dedicoat
Alan Dedicoat (born 1 December 1954) is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One; he is probably best known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes on BBC One, a name referred to him by Sir Terry Wogan. He also read the news on BBC Radio 2 until his retirement on 27 March 2015. Dedicoat is also known as the announcer on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and its American version, Dancing with the Stars.
Alan Dedicoat | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 December 1954 Hollywood, Worcestershire, England |
| Other names | The Voice of the Balls, Deadly, The Wealdstone WeatherBoy |
| Occupation | Announcer, Newsreader |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Employer | BBC |
| Website | Official Website |
Early life
He was born on 1 December 1954 in Hollywood, Worcestershire. The son of a newsagent, Dedicoat was educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham, and the University of Birmingham. Dedicoat originally worked in the Civil Service as an Executive Officer before joining the BBC.
Career
Dedicoat joined BBC Radio Birmingham at Pebble Mill in 1979 as a presenter, before moving to BBC Radio Devon four years later. After his time in the West Country, he moved to London to join the Presentation Department of BBC Radio 2 in 1986 at Broadcasting House, and later became its head, a position he retained until his retirement on Friday 27 March 2015. As part of this job, he read the news on BBC Radio 2's weekday breakfast programme, Wake Up to Wogan, before its demise in December 2009, as well as on Sarah Kennedy's show until she left the station in August 2010. He then became the newsreader for Vanessa Feltz in January 2011, but following a reshuffle of newsreaders in September 2012, his final shift was reading the news on weekdays between 10 am and 5 pm. He was also the voice of Radio 2's "emergency CD" (played when there is a fire alarm or other unforeseen break in programming) and their multiple choice automatic phone menu.
After 28 years at the station, Dedicoat's final news bulletin on BBC Radio 2 was at 5pm on Friday 27 March 2015, as he retired from Radio 2 broadcasting. However, he continues voicing the National Lottery programmes, Strictly Come Dancing and BBC's Children in Need, In 2017 he joined Bauer Radio's digital station Mellow Magic, as the breakfast show newsreader for his former Wake Up To Wogan colleague Fran Godfrey.
It was as part of Wake Up to Wogan that Dedicoat acquired the nickname "Voice of the Balls" from Sir Terry Wogan; he also acquired the nickname "The Wealdstone WeatherBoy" due to the town's closeness with Dedicoat's home town of Harrow.
On television, as well as his role on the National Lottery, he also takes part in the BBC's telethons such as Children in Need, announcing the totals at certain intervals and also voicing previews and the voice-overs in Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One. Since 2005, Dedicoat has been the announcer for Dancing with the Stars, the American version of Strictly Come Dancing which broadcasts annually on ABC in the United States.[1] Since 2009 he has been the voice-over for the CBBC show Copycats. He was formerly, in the late 1980s and 1990s, a regular voiceover for trailers on BBC Television.
Dedicoat also works as an after dinner speaker.[2]
Personal life
He is the co-owner of a number of an AEC Routemaster (one of London's famous red buses) with fellow broadcasters Charles Nove, Ken Bruce and Steve Madden.[3]
He is Patron of the Hospital Broadcasting Association and has taken part in the National Hospital Radio Awards both as the voiceover and in person.
He is also the President of Hospital Radio Bedside, a hospital radio station that broadcasts to hospitals in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Wimborne in the UK.[4][5]
Dedicoat lives in Harrow on the Hill, London.
References
- Alan Dedicoat Credits TV.com
- Jla Alan Dedicoat
- The red brigade, The Guardian 9 April 2005
- "Hospital Radio Bedside Charity". Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- Durkin, Jim (1 March 2014). "Poole Hospital radio staff walking on air after four decade milestone". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 July 2014.