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{{short description|British radio announcer and newsreader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| caption =
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|8|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Cairo]], [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2015|11|2|1945|8|23}}
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| occupation = [[Journalist]], [[News presenter|Presenter]], [[News presenter|Newsreader]]
| credits = [[BBC Radio 2]], [[Radio Hallam]], [[BBC Radio 4]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Aileen Crerar|1973}}
| children = 3
}}▼
'''Peter Ian Donaldson''' (23 August 1945 –
==Early life==
Donaldson was born in [[Cairo]], [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], and moved to [[Cyprus]] in 1952 at the time of the overthrow of [[King Farouk]]. He was a frequent listener to the [[BBC World Service]] and the [[
On his return to Britain, Donaldson was educated at [[Woolverstone Hall School]], a state boarding school in [[Suffolk]], from the age of 14. He left after taking [[O-level]]s at 16 and joined [[Sadler's
In 1968 his father, who was still living in Cyprus, heard about an on-air vacancy for announcers with BFBS and Donaldson applied. He passed the audition and subsequently worked in Cyprus, [[Aden]], [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
==BBC Radio career==
He joined [[BBC Radio 2]] in 1970 as a presenter and newsreader but switched to [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] in 1973. However, in the autumn of 1974 he joined the presentation team of [[Radio Hallam]], the commercial independent local radio station located in [[Sheffield]] and serving [[South Yorkshire]] and the [[North Midlands]], before it began broadcasting on 1 October that year. He returned to the BBC after about a month and was promoted to Chief Announcer in 1988.
He gave up the post of Chief Announcer and Head of Continuity in 2003 and retired in July 2005.
Over the years he was involved in many disagreements with management. When the then [[Director-General of the BBC|Director-General]] [[Greg Dyke]] announced a plan to "cut the crap" from the BBC and sent plentiful publicity material to all members of staff, Donaldson threw his in the bin before writing to Dyke informing him that he had "..taken your [Dyke's] advice - and cut the crap". One morning in the 1970s he criticised the short-lived Radio 4 programme ''[[Up to the Hour]]'' on air, naming himself "Donald Peterson" and was very nearly sacked for doing so.<ref>
Donaldson stressed, in interviews, the importance in his view of "understanding and being interested in the material in front of you in order to involve the listener". He commented that there were some newsreaders (unspecified; but not within Radio 4) who "clearly have no understanding of what they are reading" and that thereby the quality of the broadcast suffered. Donaldson had a distinctive form of [[Received Pronunciation]] "BBC accent" - one of the few left on British radio in the 21st century - and his delivery incorporated idiosyncratic pauses in the middle of sentences. In 2000 he played the resentful and sarcastic butler Theremin, homicidal manservant to the celebrated occult investigator Lord Zimbabwe, in the BBC Radio 4 comedy ''[[Ectoplasm (radio show)|Ectoplasm]]'', and he also featured in a series of short Radio 4 programmes on the end of [[World War II]] reading news reports of the time. He appeared to remain at loggerheads with BBC management, and in 2006 it was reported that he would no longer read the news on ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'', in opposition to the changes made by management to start that shift earlier and include an extra ''News Briefing'' programme. He retired on 31 December 2012, his last broadcast being the midnight news on New Year's Eve.
==Retirement and death==
In retirement Donaldson lived in [[Pulborough]], [[West Sussex]], where his interests included gardening, current affairs, drama, walking, swimming and
Donaldson is survived by his wife Aileen, whom he married in 1973, and their daughter, Emma, sons, Jamie and Bin, and grandson, Jack.<ref name=groves/>
On his death BBC newsreader [[Corrie Corfield]] wrote: "He was a huge part of my life for over 27 years - a good friend, a superb broadcaster, a mentor, an ally, a rock, and the best boss I've ever had." Presenter of ''[[BBC News at Ten]]'' [[Huw Edwards (journalist)|Huw Edwards]] tweeted: "Peter Donaldson. Wonderful friend and generous colleague. We will miss him." Fellow BBC Radio 4 broadcaster [[Libby Purves]] said he had been an "icon" among staff for leading a revolt against BBC management in the 1970s. BBC Director-General [[Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead|Tony Hall]] described Donaldson as "the quintessential voice of the BBC".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34707749 |title='Voice of Radio 4' Peter Donaldson dies at 70|publisher=BBC News|date=3 November 2015 |accessdate=4 November 2015}}</ref>
==See also==
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==External links==
*[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14934-1667888,00.html Peter Donaldson retires]
*{{YouTube|0Z_5gK6KIsk|Peter Donaldson interviewed on his warning messages during the cold war. It contains excerpts of the official statement }}.
▲| NAME =Donaldson, Peter
▲| DATE OF DEATH =
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Peter}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
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[[Category:British radio personalities]]
[[Category:Radio and television announcers]]
[[Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists]]
[[Category:BBC World Service people]]
[[Category:BBC Radio 4 presenters]]
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