William G Stewart obituary 1933 - 2017: Versatile Fifteen To One host.
WILLIAM G STEWART – the G stood for Gladstone – made his name as the presenter of Channel 4’s Fifteen To One, a programme that has been described as the toughest quiz show on television.
CHANNEL4
Over 15 years from 1988 to 2003 Stewart hosted 2,265 episodes, met almost
34,000 contestants and asked at least 350,000 questions.
He became renowned for his no-nonsense manner as he marshalled the 15
contestants who were given three “lives” and asked “properly tough” general
knowledge questions.
A stickler for rules, he sued Fifteen To One’s 1997 champion because he
had appeared on the show before, which was not allowed.
The idea for the concept came from a former BT sales manager who sent it
to Stewart after it had been rejected by nine other
producers.
The canny Stewart offered him £200 for a 12-month option to develop the
idea. “Well, that £200 was the best money I’ve ever spent in my life,” he said
later.
With a background as a producer he had never intended to host the show
himself but when he failed to sign up favoured target Jonathan Ross and other
candidates were found wanting he presented the pilot himself and proved such a
success that he carried on in the role.
Stewart, who was born in Habrough, Lincolnshire, had an astonishingly
varied career. After starting out as a Butlin’s redcoat, in the 1960s he became
secretary to the controversial Labour MP Tom Driberg, who had previously spent
14 years on the Daily Express where he founded the William Hickey column that
runs to this day.
In the late 1960s Stewart switched to television and produced and
directed a number of sitcoms including Father Dear Father, Love Thy Neighbour
and Bless This House.
William G Stewart hosts quiz show Fifteen To One back in 1988
It was while working on the latter series that he met and married his
second wife, actress Sally Geeson, who played Sid James’ daughter in Bless This
House. In the 1980s he turned to game shows such as ITV’s Family ForLives
remembered tunes, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush and The Price Is
Right.
Stewart had strong views on the issues of the day including the return of
the Elgin Marbles to Greece. He once threatened to give a speech on the Marbles
on Fifteen To One if too few contestants survived the first round to continue
the game.
This actually happened in a 2001 episode and he duly gave a lengthy
presentation stating the case for their return, a politically loaded
intervention for which the channel was later criticised. Stewart also backed
this newspaper’s campaign to scrap inheritance tax, joining a march to Downing
Street in 2006.
He is survived by his third wife Laura Calland, a voiceover artist for
Fifteen To One whom he married in 1997, and his five children from his three
marriages.
William G Stewart was born July 15, 1933 and died September 21, 2017 aged
84. Express.
( Incidentally, I won his series 27 Grand Final in 2000. My profoundest commiserations to the excellent Laura.)
