David Hamilton (broadcaster)

He attended Glastonbury Road Grammar School at St Helier in Surrey, until aged 17. While at school he became a columnist on the weekly national magazine Soccer Star.

On leaving school Hamilton became a script-writer for the TV series Portrait of a Star.

In 1960 he became an in-vision television announcer for ABC TV (Associated British Corporation) based in Didsbury, Manchester and appeared with Ken Dodd in the TV series Doddy's Music Box, acquiring the nickname, 'Diddy'. Throughout the 1960s he hosted shows for the ITV franchises Tyne Tees, Anglia and Westward.

He joined the then-new Thames Television as an announcer in 1968, subsequently hosting many shows for them including Miss TV Times, TV Times Gala Awards, The World Disco Dance Championships, as well as many outside broadcasts, circus and sports shows. He appeared alongside comedians Benny Hill and Tommy Cooper and hosted Thames TV's showcase weeks on television in New York City and Los Angeles. Later he hosted ATV's Saturday night series Up For the Cup, and four series of ITV's hangman-style game show All Clued Up.

For BBC TV he hosted Top of the Pops and Seaside Special and the Eurovision Song Contest Previews in 1986. For seven years he was the main host of one of the earliest satellite TV stations, Lifestyle. Hamilton was one of the final people on the network when it closed on 24 January 1993, appearing on the final segment wishing viewers goodbye.[1]

In February 2012 at the age of 73 he danced to the 1988 hit "Push It" with fellow DJ Tony Blackburn as contestants on the charity show Let's Dance for Sport Relief

On stage Hamilton has compered shows by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Cassidy and many other pop acts. He has hosted shows at the Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium, and headlined in four major pantomimes.

In 2016 he embarked on a 40-theatre tour, David Hamilton's Rock 'n' Roll Back The Years, with band The Fugitives, and singers.

Hamilton was the compere for the Wembley Lions Speedway team in 1970 and 1971. During the 1970s Hamilton was also the match day presenter for the Reading Racers Speedway Club. Latterly he was seen frequently on BBC1's Match of the Day and BSkyB's Football First as he was the matchday compère at Fulham F.C.[5]

Hamilton is the author of four books: The Music Game (autobiography) 1986, A Fulhamish Tale, 2012, The Golden Days of Radio One, 2017 and Commercial Radio Daze 2020.

By 2015 Hamilton was hosting daily four-hour shows for The Wireless, and The Million Sellers for Decades Radio. He also presents a weekly Sunday show on 45 radio, an up-beat over-45s station. He is heard regularly on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey. His programme, The Million Sellers, is heard on several radio stations in the UK and abroad. In 2019 Hamilton celebrated 60 years in broadcasting, and today is in demand as lunch/dinner speaker, talking about his experiences and many of the celebrities he has worked with.

On 10 January 2021, Hamilton was a guest newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.[6]

• David Hamilton's Official website
• David Lloyd's Radio Moments With David Hamilton
• British Entertainment History Project. David Hamilton
• Neil Sean Meets David Hamilton.
• David Hamilton Facebook Group.
• Tailor Made Radio: David Hamilton's Million Sellers.