Ray Gosling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ray Gosling
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Gosling speaking to the Croydon Area Gay Society, 2 December 2008
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| Born |
Raymond Arthur Gosling
5 May 1939 Northampton, England
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| Died | (aged 74) Nottingham, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Journalist, author, broadcaster |
Raymond Arthur Gosling (5 May 1939 – 19 November 2013) was an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. He was known for his unique style.
He created many television and radio shows for BBC Radio 4 and Granada Television. These shows, from the 1960s to the 1980s, explored interesting parts of life in British towns. People described him as "one of the most uniquely talented figures in the history of British broadcasting."
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Early Life and Work
Gosling was born in Northampton in 1939. He went to Northampton Grammar School and the University of Leicester. He also worked briefly as a railway signalman.
Later, he managed a band and worked in a factory in London. He also became a youth worker in Leicester. In his twenties, he moved to Nottingham. There, he worked with young people in the St Ann's district.
At 23, he wrote a book called Sum Total. This book was about his experiences as a youth worker. Gosling always kept a home in Nottingham. However, he spent much of his broadcasting career in Manchester.
Broadcasting Career Highlights
Gosling started in radio when he was interviewed. He spoke about helping people who rented homes in Nottingham. After that, he made a series of talks. These talks were mostly interviews with everyday people. They were played during breaks in classical music shows on BBC radio.
Over the years, Gosling wrote and presented many television and radio shows. He made over a hundred TV documentaries and hundreds of radio shows. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a very well-known face in TV documentaries.
Exploring British Life
He hosted a weekly show on Granada TV called On Site. In this show, people in different towns talked about their worries. His 1974 series Gosling's Travels was highly praised. He was good at looking at everyday British life. He explored topics like working-class people and old seaside towns.
On BBC Radio, he used his special writing style. He showed the rich variety of people and places in Britain. Some of his most remembered radio shows were about different towns. In 1982, he wrote and narrated a TV show called Great Little Railways. This episode featured northern Portugal.
His TV work also included The Human Jigsaw in 1984. He also narrated a series about football fans called The People's Game.
Return to Television
In 2000, he returned to television. He made a series of shows about his recent personal life. This led to him joining BBC East Midlands in 2004. He became a regular presenter on Inside Out.
His first film for Inside Out revisited his first TV documentary. That first film, Two Town Mad, was made in 1962. It compared Leicester and Nottingham. Gosling went back to the places and people from his original film.
He then made films about garden gnomes, statues, and bus travel. He also covered older workers and saving money. His film on Joe Orton helped a program win an award in 2008.
His BBC Four show Ray Gosling OAP was about his decision to move into special housing for older people. This show won an award in 2007. It followed other popular shows like Bankrupt and Pensioned Off. He also contributed to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours.
Preserving His Work
In 2005, Nottingham Trent University helped save Gosling's work. They saved his films, tapes, scripts, and notes. This collection shows 40 years of social history. It is now kept safely at the School of Arts and Humanities.
Personal Life
In the 1990s, his career faced challenges. His long-term partner, Bryn Allsopp, became ill. Gosling cared for him until he passed away in November 1999. In 2000, Gosling faced financial difficulties.
In an interview in 2013, Gosling said he had planned to write his life story. But he never got around to it. He said, "Life is for living, not for writing."
Death
Ray Gosling passed away at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. He was 74 years old. This was on 19 November 2013.
