Robertson was born in
Dacca,
Bengal Presidency, to British parents. The family moved back to
England when he was seven years old, he then attended
Haileybury, the independent school. In 1935, he left
Clare College, Cambridge, for an expedition to what is now
Papua New Guinea. Afterwards he spent a few years in
Sydney, where he worked as a schoolmaster. In 1937 Robertson gained his first job in broadcasting with the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The first main tennis event he covered was the final of the
Australian Open between
Vivian McGrath and
Jack Bromwich. Robertson returned to England in 1939, and spent the war years in the army. He joined the BBC in 1946, covering not only tennis but also
athletics,
swimming,
skiing and even sports he had no genuine interest in, like
motor racing. His style of commentary was much livelier than what BBC listeners were used to in the pre-war years. It gained him enough popularity for BBC staff to give him other assignments. In 1953 Robertson became the first regular host of the television series
Panorama, which was not originally the heavyweight current affairs programme it became. He was also a commentator at major news events like the funeral of King
George VI in 1952 and the coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II a year later. From 1965 to 1977 he presented the television programme about antiques
Going for a Song. During his long career Robertson made the occasional blooper. In the early 1980s he was watching a
men's doubles match at
Wimbledon, and was so impressed by the play of
Peter Fleming and
John McEnroe that he asked, "Who are they going to play in the final? Do we know yet?", to which his
astonished colleague replied, "This is the final..." Unable to pronounce the name of
Serbian player
Slobodan Živojinović, he settled, to the bewilderment of his colleagues and the audience, on 'Bobo'. This was what he thought to be Živojinović's nickname; it is in fact Boba. Robertson also wrote a number of books, mainly about sports and antiques, his best known work probably being
Wimbledon 1877–1977. He retired in 1986 after describing
Boris Becker's second Wimbledon victory: "Beckermania forever! Becker the Boy King last year, now King Emperor...". Robertson lived in
Guernsey during the latter years of his life. Both his marriages ended in divorce. He had two sons by his first wife, Australian Nancy Suttor. He had a son and daughter by his second wife, children's author and creator of the
Wombles,
Elisabeth Beresford; they were married from 1949 until 1984. He died aged 94 in Guernsey. ==References==