Redvers Kyle was born in
Germiston,
South Africa and named after General Sir
Redvers Buller, the British military commander in the early stages of the
Anglo-Boer War. During his university studies, he began his broadcasting career with the
South African Broadcasting Corporation in
Johannesburg, mostly in children's programmes, and appeared in dramatic productions including
Boy with a Cart, which won him an award at a national drama festival. before becoming a freelance radio and television broadcaster. His involvement with ITV began in its first month - September 1955 - when he appeared in the series
Sunday Afternoon for
ATV. He also made early contributions to
ITN, providing commentary to news film. He then hosted other schools and children's programmes produced by A-R in the late 1950s and early 1960s, voiced over local adverts for
ATV in the
Midlands, was heard as a narrator on a number of LP records, and composed light music such as "Busy Bachelor", which was used as startup music for
ABC in the late 1950s. Following Rediffusion's closure, Kyle moved to the new
Yorkshire Television in Leeds, where he served as its chief continuity announcer for nearly a quarter of a century. During this period, his voice was heard nationally on trails and promos for networked programming as well as the long-running schools series
How We Used To Live and during the 1980s, the YTV children's series
The Giddy Game Show. Kyle retired from YTV in 1993, alongside announcing colleague
Graham Roberts - both announcers made a rare in-vision appearance on the regional news programme
Calendar the same evening to mark their retirement although he continued to work freelance as a voiceover artist, providing announcing cover for both YTV and
Tyne Tees Television until around 1998. In recognition of his work for Rediffusion, his voice was also heard in programmes made by
Victor Lewis-Smith, who had revived the Associated-Rediffusion name for his own production company. Kyle was known for his rich voice, described as "deep and distinctive" by
BAFTA, and like "plum brandy" by former Yorkshire Television presenter
Austin Mitchell. Kyle died on 18 November 2015 at the age of 85, one week before his 86th birthday. ==References==