Melvyn Bragg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Bragg
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Born | 6 October 1939 Carlisle, Cumberland, England
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| Alma mater | Wadham College, Oxford |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
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Notable work
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In Our Time |
| Television | The South Bank Show |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) |
Marie-Elisabeth Roche
(m. 1961; died 1971)Catherine Haste
(m. 1973; div. 2018)Gabriel Clare-Hunt
(m. 2019) |
| Children | 3; including Marie-Elsa |
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is a well-known English broadcaster, author, and a member of the parliament. He is famous for being the editor and presenter of The South Bank Show, a long-running arts program. He also presents In Our Time, a popular discussion series on BBC Radio 4.
Earlier in his career, Bragg worked for the BBC in various roles. He later hosted Start the Week on BBC Radio 4. After becoming a Lord in 1998, he started presenting In Our Time. This show features academic discussions and has aired over a thousand episodes. It is also available as a podcast. He was also the Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1999 to 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Melvyn Bragg was born on 6 October 1939 in Carlisle, England. He grew up in Wigton, Cumberland. His father, Stanley Bragg, was a stock keeper who later became a pub owner. His mother, Mary Ethel, worked with his father in the pub. Both sides of his family had worked as farm laborers and in other jobs.
His mother named him Melvyn after seeing the actor Melvyn Douglas at a local cinema. He attended Wigton primary school and later The Nelson Thomlinson Grammar School, where he was a Head Boy. He was an only child. His father served in the Royal Air Force for four years during the war. Melvyn's childhood experiences were typical of working-class families at that time.
From age 8 until he went to university, his family lived above the Black-A-Moor Hotel, a pub in Wigton. He was a member of the Scouts and played rugby for his school team. A teacher encouraged him, helping him get into university through the grammar school system. He studied Modern History at Wadham College, Oxford, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Career Highlights
Broadcasting Journey
Bragg started his career at the BBC in 1961 as a trainee. He was one of only three people chosen for this program that year. He spent his first two years working in radio for the BBC World Service and other BBC radio programs. He then joined the production team for Monitor, an arts series on BBC Television.
He presented and edited the BBC books program Read All About It from 1976 to 1977. He also worked on The Lively Arts, a BBC Two arts series. From 1978 to 2010, he edited and presented The South Bank Show for London Weekend Television (LWT). His interview with playwright Dennis Potter before Potter's death is remembered as a very powerful television moment. Bragg helped make the arts more accessible to everyone, not just a select few.
He was Head of Arts at LWT from 1982 to 1990 and Controller of Arts from 1990. He has created many programs for BBC Radio 4, including Start the Week (1988 to 1998) and The Routes of English, which explored the history of the English language. His show In Our Time began in 1998 and is still running today. In 2011, it broadcast its 500th program.
In 2012, he brought The South Bank Show back to Sky Arts 1. In December 2012, he started The Value of Culture, a five-part series on BBC Radio 4. In June 2013, Bragg wrote and presented The Most Dangerous Man in Tudor England for the BBC. This program told the story of William Tyndale's mission to translate the Bible into English. In February 2012, he began Melvyn Bragg on Class and Culture, a three-part series on BBC Two that looked at popular media and the British social class system.
Writing Achievements
Melvyn Bragg decided to become a writer after university. He knew that writing might not immediately provide a living, so he took a job at the BBC. While working there, he continued to write. He published his first novel in 1965 and then left the BBC to focus on writing full-time.
As a novelist and non-fiction writer, Bragg has also written screenplays for television and films. Some of his early television work was with Ken Russell. He wrote biographical dramas like The Debussy Film (1965) and Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (1967). He also wrote the film The Music Lovers (1970) about Tchaikovsky. Many of Bragg's novels are based on his own life and childhood in Wigton. In 1972, he helped write the script for Norman Jewison's film Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).
Although Bragg published several books, he found it hard to make a living from writing alone. This led him to return to television in the mid-1970s. From 1996 to 1998, he wrote a column for The Times newspaper. He has also written for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, and The Observer.
Public Life and Advocacy
Role in Parliament
Melvyn Bragg has friends who were important figures in the Labour Party, such as Tony Blair and Neil Kinnock. In 1997, he was one of 100 people who donated more than £5,000 to the Labour Party. The following year, Tony Blair appointed him to the House of Lords as a life peer, becoming Baron Bragg, of Wigton in the County of Cumbria. This appointment, along with others given to Labour donors, led to some criticism from the Conservative Party.
In the House of Lords, he is very interested in the arts and education. He has spoken out on various issues. For example, he campaigned against the Hunting Act because he believed it could harm the livelihoods of farmers in Cumbria. In August 2014, Bragg was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter to The Guardian newspaper. This letter opposed Scottish independence before the referendum that September.
Supporting Important Causes
Bragg has spoken in defense of Christianity, especially the King James Bible. He describes himself as a "believing unbeliever," meaning he appreciates faith but doesn't fully believe in a godly eternity. In 2012, he criticized what he saw as the "Animus and the ignorance" in debates about atheism.
In August 2016, Bragg publicly accused the National Trust of "bullying" in its purchase of land in the Lake District. He argued that this could threaten the Herdwick sheep, a rare breed, and the historic farming system of the Lake District. This region was nominated as a Unesco World Heritage site partly because of its unique farming.
Personal Life and Interests
In 1961, Melvyn Bragg married Marie-Elisabeth Roche. They had a daughter, Marie-Elsa Bragg, in 1965. Sadly, Marie-Elisabeth passed away in 1971. Bragg later married Cate Haste in 1973. Cate was also a television producer and writer. They had a son and a daughter together.
In June 2016, it was reported that Bragg and Haste had separated. Bragg later married Gabriel Clare-Hunt in September 2019 at St Bega's Church in Bassenthwaite, in the Lake District National Park. His eldest daughter, Marie-Elsa, who is a priest, led the service. His second daughter, Alice, read a lesson, and his son, Tom, was an usher. Guests included the Cumbrian mountaineer Chris Bonington.
Bragg has openly discussed challenges he faced with his mental well-being during his teenage years and in his 30s. He found ways to cope, including exploring the outdoors and developing a strong work ethic. He lives in Hampstead, London, but still owns a house near his hometown of Wigton. He is a member of the Garrick and Chelsea Arts clubs.
He enjoys football and supports both Carlisle United and Arsenal. He is the vice president of the Carlisle United Supporters Club London Branch. Melvyn Bragg is also related to William Henry Bragg and his son Lawrence Bragg. They won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915 for their work on X-ray crystal structure analysis. He presented a Radio 4 program about their work in August 2013.
Positions and Memberships
- President of the Words by the Water literary festival
- President of the National Campaign for the Arts (since 1986)
- Domus Fellow, St Catherine's College, Oxford (1990)
- Chairman of Border Television 1990–96 (deputy chairman 1985–90)
- Honorary Fellowship from Wadham College, Oxford (1995)
- Governor of the London School of Economics (since 1997)
- Peerage – Baron Bragg (since 1998)
- Chancellor of the University of Leeds (1999–2017)
- President of the charity MIND (2002)
- Honorary Fellowship of the British Academy (2010), for "public understanding of the arts, literature and sciences"
- Honorary Fellowship of Royal Society (2010)
- Honorary Fellowship from the University of Cumbria 2010
- Honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.), University College London (2014)
- President of the National Academy of Writing
- Vice President of the Friends of the British Library
- Chairman of the Arts Council Literature Panel
- Vice President of the Carlisle United Supporters Club London Branch
- Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) (2018)
- Honorary degree from the University of Oxford (2025).
Awards and Honours
Literary Prizes
- Writers' Guild Screenplay Award (1966)
- Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for Without a City Wall (1968)
- Time/Life Silver Pen Award for The Hired Man (1970)
- Northern Arts Association Prose Award (1970)
- WH Smith Literary Award for The Soldier's Return (2000)
- Crossing The Lines was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2003
Film & Television Awards
- Broadcasting Guild Award (1984)
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts Dimbleby Award (1986)
- BAFTA TV Award for An Interview with Dennis Potter (1995)
- BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award (2010)
- Best New Radio Series for Routes of English (2000)
- Royal Television Society Lifetime Achievement Award (2015)
- Sky Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2024)
Other Recognitions
- Ivor Novello Musical Award (1985)
- Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University. (1989)
- Namesake of Millom School Drama Studio (2005)
- The South Bank Show Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
- Sandford St.Martin Trust Personal Award (2014)
