RIP, Bill.

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.

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William G Stewart died on September 21, 2017

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.

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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.)