Graham Skidmore

Graham George Skidmore (22 September 1931 – 27 December 2021)[1][2] was a British voice artist and game show announcer, best known for providing the voice-over for the television dating gameshow Blind Date on ITV from 1985 until 2002, in which host Cilla Black referred to him as "Our Graham". He was also known for the BBC comedy panel game Shooting Stars.

Graham Skidmore
Born
Graham George Skidmore

(1931-09-22)22 September 1931
West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England
Died (aged 90)
Margate, Kent, England
OccupationAnnouncer
Years active1959–2010
Television
Spouse
Pauline Mickleburgh
​
(m. 1966)​
Children3

Early life

Skidmore was born in West Bromwich in 1931, the son of a Woolworths manager. He grew up in London, and carried out his National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps after leaving school.[3] Skidmore had wanted to be a physician, but he missed his final exams due to an ear infection;[4] he was also due to fight in the Korean War, but missed this for the same reason.[5][6]

Career

In 1959, after taking singing lessons, Skidmore successfully auditioned for the musical Marigold at the Savoy Theatre in London.[7][3] He could be seen in a background role in the 1960 film The Pure Hell of St Trinian's,[4] and also played a minor role in the 1961 film The Day the Earth Caught Fire.[3]

Skidmore was best known for being the voiceover on London Weekend Television's dating gameshow Blind Date from 1985 to 2002.[8] Host Cilla Black referred to him as "our Graham".[6] In 2002, Skidmore was sacked from Blind Date amid falling viewing numbers for the show; he was told of his sacking by letter,[3] and replaced by Tommy Sandhu.[9]

Skidmore also had a similar role as a voiceover artist on the BBC comedy panel game Shooting Stars with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, from 1993 to 2002, in which he introduced the show's contestants.[3][4]

He was a background character in the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut,[4] and appeared in person on The Justin Lee Collins Show in 2009.[10] Skidmore found work as a photographic model, and appeared on advertising posters, as well as in television commercials, including as the 'Vaseline Hair Cream' man. He featured on posters for an "Unzip a banana" campaign, and with his family in adverts for P&O Travel and the Abbey National building society. Skidmore also did voiceovers in adverts for B&Q and Texas on British television.[3]

Personal life and death

Skidmore married Pauline Mickleburgh in 1966. The marriage produced three children: a son and two daughters.[3]

He attended the funeral of Blind Date host Cilla Black in 2015.[11] Skidmore suffered from vascular malignancy and vascular dementia, which also affected his speech, during the last decade of his life, and spent his final years living in Kent.[12][13]

He died on 27 December 2021,[1][2] aged 90, in Margate, Kent, but his death was not made widely known until it was reported by the entertainment union Equity in June 2022.[14][3][15][16]

References
  1. Hayward, Anthony (15 July 2022). "Graham Skidmore obituary" – via The Guardian.
  2. "Graham Skidmore, The Voice Of Blind Date, Has Died At The Age Of 90". HuffPost UK. 27 June 2022.
  3. "Graham Skidmore, singer, actor and model who became the voice of Blind Date – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  4. "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". Sky News. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. "Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". The Guardian. 27 June 2022.
  6. "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date voiceover artist dies aged 90". BBC News. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  7. "Marigold (Original London Production, 1959) | Ovrtur". ovrtur.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  8. "Blind Date voiceover artist Graham Skidmore has died aged 90". The Independent. 27 June 2022.
  9. "Graham Skidmore dead: Blind Date's Our Graham's death confirmed". Liverpool Echo. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  10. "The Justin Lee Collins Show". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  11. "Cilla Black Funeral: Stars And Thousands Of Fans Mark Final Return To Liverpool". HuffPost. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  12. "'Our Graham': Voice of Blind Date Graham Skidmore dies aged 90". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  13. "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date voiceover artist dies aged 90". BBC News. 27 June 2022.
  14. "Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". ITV News. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. "Graham Skidmore dead: Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90 as tributes paid". Wales Online. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  16. "Graham Skidmore obituary". 18 June 2023 – via The Times.
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