William G. Stewart

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William Gladstone Stewart (15 July 1933 – 21 September 2017) was an English television producer, director, and television presenter, best known as the presenter and producer of the Channel 4 general quiz show Fifteen to One from 1988 to 2003.

Early life

Stewart was born on 15 July 1933 in Lancaster. He was orphaned as a child before the age of three, and he was raised in a children's home in Sidcup, Kent. After leaving Shooters Hill Grammar School (now called Shooters Hill Sixth Form College), Stewart was employed in jobs working in an office. He undertook his National Service in Kenya and worked as a teacher in the Royal Army Educational Corps as part of his attachment to the King's African Rifles.

In 1958, Stewart ventured to Southampton to join the Merchant Navy, though an industrial action prevented him from doing so. Instead, he applied to be a redcoat with the seaside resort chain Butlins at Butlin's Pwllheli in North Wales. Stewart said of the opportunity, "I thought I’d have a great time and perhaps work in the kitchens. But, while I was having an interview, a chap asked if I wanted to be a redcoat. He must have seen something in me." There, he organised a talent contest won by Jimmy Tarbuck and led the teenager to become a redcoat and a stand-up comedian.

Personal life

He was thrice married:

He was a long-standing supporter of the campaign to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. He joked that if, on an episode of Fifteen to One, too few contestants survived the first round to continue the game, he would give a speech on the Marbles to fill the time. This happened in a 2001 episode, where he gave a lengthy presentation stating the case to return them, for which the channel was criticised.

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Broadcasting career

Stewart went to speak with producer T Lesley Jackson about a television career at the YMCA in Brixton, south-west London, and it inspired him to speak to Jackson and apply for the job of a call-boy for the BBC's Light Entertainment output. He began working as an assistant floor manager and a stage manager before being promoted to production assistant. Stewart started working as private secretary to Labour Member Tom Driberg after the 1959 general election. Driberg introduced Stewart to art, classical music, and literature, as well as expanding his social circle.

In 1965, comedian Eric Sykes advised Stewart to enroll in a television director's program. Stewart was advised that his best career path would be to remain in the entertainment business, and Sykes recommended that he meet fellow light entertainment comedian Frank Muir. Stewart produced episodes of Call It What You Like and Sykes in the same year. In 1967, he joined rival TV and was a director on The Frost Programme and The Frost Report for Associated-Rediffusion.

Father, Dear Father, Love Thy Neighbour, Bless This House, My Good Woman, Spooner's Patch, The Rag Trade, Family Fortunes, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, and The Price is Right. He also hosted Famous People, Famous Places, a 1992 quiz show produced by his company, Regent Productions (which also produced Fifteen to One for Thames Television, which was exclusive to London audiences). Regent was later sold by Pearson Television (which also bought Thames) and the British arm of FremantleMedia, as they have now integrated (along with Grundy Productions) into Talkback Thames.

Trevor Montague, a nineteenth to One contestant who had lied to reappear on the program in 1998, won. In 2009, Tom Driberg appeared in a documentary.

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