Yorkshire broadcasting institution Harry Gration dies aged 71

The broadcaster fronted the BBC’s Look North programme between 1982 and 2020.

24 June 2022

Former BBC regional news presenter Harry Gration has died at the age of 71.

The broadcaster became a Yorkshire institution after fronting the BBC’s Look North programme between 1982 and 2020 in a career spanning more than 40 years.

BBC director-general Tim Davie said Gration was “loved everywhere, but especially in Yorkshire”.

He added: “Harry Gration MBE was an outstanding broadcaster and commentator.

“He had a real connection with the public who saw him as one of their own.

“He will be hugely missed by his many fans and friends. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Jason Horton, acting director of BBC England, described Gration as “one of the true broadcasting greats”.

“He was a natural on the television and on radio, adored by our audiences, especially as the trusted face of Look North and South Today,” he added.

“He loved news, sport, his colleagues and fundraising for Children in Need and Comic Relief. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and everyone across the BBC who he worked with.”

Bradford-born Gration joined the BBC in 1978 after working as a history teacher, and joined Look North in 1982, although he left for a spell working on BBC South Today in the 1990s.

He covered nine Olympic Games for the BBC and won two Royal Television Society (RTS) awards for his sports documentaries: White Rose In Africa in 1992 and Dickie Bird: A Rare Species in 1997.

And he won the RTS Best Presenter award twice.

He was made an MBE for services to broadcasting in 2013.

Speaking after it was announced he was leaving the BBC in 2020, Gration said: “I’ve interviewed every prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, covered every major Look North story even at the expense of my holidays, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“I’ve always lived the story. Horrendous events such as the devastating news of Jo Cox’s death, the disastrous floods of recent times, the Bradford riots, Hillsborough, have always affected me. They were always an assault on my county.

“Stand-out moments include raising over £800,000 on a tandem, pushing a sofa and being tied to Paul: three challenges my body will never forget.”

In 2019, Gration became a father again at the age of 68, when his wife, Helen, gave birth to his sixth child.