Dave Lee Travis

Born in Buxton, Derbyshire, Travis was raised in Manchester. His father was a stage manager and he attended Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys. Travis's first jobs were as a graphic designer, a designer of shop interiors and a photographer. Giving up his other jobs, he went on a self-created and promoted UK tour of clubs, ballrooms and theatres presenting his own DJ shows. Consequently, he was asked by Herman's Hermits to become the tour manager and warm-up DJ on their next tour of the United States, supporting Bobby Vee and Freddy Cannon. On his return to the UK, Travis returned to the north of England and continued to promote his own shows in Blackpool, Bury and the surrounding areas. ==Radio==

Radio Caroline In September 1965, Travis started work at the offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline South from the MV Mi Amigo off the Essex coast, later moving onto Radio Caroline North from the MV Fredericia off the Isle of Man until mid-August 1967. From spring 1966 until early 1969 he co-presented the monthly Beat-Club pop programme, In January 1981, Travis moved to weekday afternoons from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Later that year he moved back to the weekday lunchtime slot from 11:30am to 2pm, before moving to a Saturday morning show in 1983 from 10am to 1pm, then Sunday mornings from 10am to 1pm in 1987, taking over both Saturday and Sunday in September 1988. On-air resignation On 8 August 1993, Travis resigned on-air during his Sunday morning show, stating that he could not agree with changes that were being made to Radio 1. Travis told his audience that changes were afoot that he could not tolerate "and I really want to put the record straight at this point and I thought you ought to know – changes are being made here which go against my principles and I just cannot agree with them". A Jolly Good Show From 1981 to 2001, Travis presented the BBC World Service music request programme A Jolly Good Show, having taken over from Noel Edmonds. In June 2011, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said the programme had given her a lifeline. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who had spent 15 years under house arrest from 1989, told the BBC that A Jolly Good Show had made her "world much more complete". Travis said he was "touched" but "not surprised" that she had remembered it. Since 1993 On leaving Radio 1, Travis hosted a networked Sunday morning show (10am–1pm) across some of the UK's commercial radio stations. He later worked at Classic Gold. In 2002, Travis left Classic Gold to work for the British Army's Garrison FM. From March 2003 to March 2007, Travis returned to the BBC, and presented a Sunday morning show from 9am to noon on BBC Three Counties Radio, his local BBC radio station. Travis is a member of the Radio Academy Hall of Fame. Travis worked at the Magic Network from July 2006 until 2012. Following his arrest on sexual assault allegations, the station suspended him and did not renew his contract. Travis returned to the radio in April 2018 presenting a Saturday show on United DJs Radio. He left in September 2018 due to back pain but returned on 29 February 2020. United DJs Radio closed down in May 2021. In February 2025, it was announced that Travis would be joining Heritage Chart Radio to host a Sunday morning programme between 10am–12pm, starting on 2 March 2025. ==Television==

Travis presented the German TV show Beat-Club, where he introduced such acts as Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Steamhammer. In November 1973, Travis first presented BBC1's Top of the Pops as a replacement for Kenny Everett. Travis remained a regular presenter until 1984. He was also the presenter of The Golden Oldie Picture Show in the mid-1980s, an attempt by the BBC to create videos for classic pop songs that pre-dated the video age. Travis provided the UK commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 in Dublin, Ireland, and in 1985 presented the Eurovision Song Contest Previews on BBC1. On 14 February 2000, Travis was the subject of the This Is Your Life programme on British TV. Travis narrated various Granada Men & Motors programmes, such as Top Ten Bikes. In 2007, Travis appeared in the video for the Comic Relief version of the Proclaimers song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", performed by Peter Kay and Matt Lucas. Other TV appearances include The Weakest Link, ''Noel's House Party, The Mrs Merton Show, Stars Reunited, Kick Start, Dave's Lee's and Travis's and Today with Des and Mel''. == Conviction for indecent assault==

In October 2012, two former BBC employees alleged that Travis had sexually assaulted several women during his time at the BBC. One of the women, who was 17 at the time, claimed in the media after making a formal statement to police that Travis put his hand up her skirt in 1977. On 15 November 2012, Travis was arrested at his home by the Metropolitan Police as part of the Operation Yewtree inquiry. He was the fourth person to be arrested as part of the investigation. In October 2013, Travis was charged with 14 allegations of indecent assault and one of sexual assault between 1976 and 2008, relating to 11 female complainants aged between 15 and 29 at the time of the alleged offences. On 28 March 2014, it was reported Travis would face another charge of indecent assault as well as the retrial on the two outstanding counts. On 15 April, it was reported he was facing another charge of indecent assault on a woman aged over 16 in 1995. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 24 April, where he denied the charges. His trial began on 5 September at Southwark Crown Court. On 23 September, Travis was found guilty of indecently assaulting a female researcher working on The Mrs Merton Show in 1995. He was found not guilty of indecently assaulting another woman while appearing in a production of Aladdin in 1990. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third charge from 2008, involving a journalist who visited his home. On Friday 26 September 2014 he was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years. The Attorney General's office rejected four complaints that the sentence was too lenient. On 8 December 2015, the Court of Appeal rejected Travis's bid to overturn his conviction. As a result of his conviction, episodes of Top of the Pops that were presented by Travis are no longer repeated. ==Personal life==

, Travis lived in Buckland, Buckinghamshire. On 6 May 1971, he married Marianne Bergqvist, who is originally from Sweden. His interests include photography and classic cars. In the 1970s, Travis was a regular drag racer. ==References==