ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News (ITN). The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the ITV Evening News held the title of "RTS News Programme of the Year". The flagship ITV News at Ten has won numerous BAFTA awards, the most recent in June 2010.

ITV News has the second-largest television news audience in the United Kingdom, second only to BBC News (other broadcasters such as Sky News, Channel 4 News and 5 News count their audiences in hundreds of thousands). However, its £43 million^[1][2] annual news budget is dwarfed by that of the publicly funded BBC, which spends £89.5 million annually on news-gathering, plus a further £23.1 million on its rolling news channel.^[3]

History[link]

September 1955 to July 1967[link]

ITN was set up by the Independent Television Authority to provide a new type of news service for the upcoming commercial television service Independent Television (ITV). Both ITN and ITV were launched on 22 September 1955, and the news service immediately broke new ground by introducing in-vision newscasters and reporter packages (incidentally, the first roster of regular ITN newscasters and reporters included marathon runner Christopher Chataway, Robin Day, and Reginald Bosanquet). The unique, probing reporting style of Robin Day caused shock among politicians, finding themselves questioned continually for information - this had never been the case with the BBC. ITN also boasted the first British female newsreader, Barbara Mandell, in 1956. Into the 1960s, reporters such as George Ffitch, Alastair Burnet, Gordon Honeycombe, Huw Thomas and Sandy Gall emerged as aspiring newscasters, under the leadership of editor Geoffrey Cox.

The original ITN logo, featuring the letters "I" and "N" with an oversized "T" (all in the centre of a circle), was used from 1955 up to 1969 and the advent of colour television. The original ITN theme tune was an excerpt of Non-Stop, a piece of light music composed by John Malcolm, used from 1955 up to 1982. By its end it was only used on generic bulletins, with each of the other regular ITN bulletins - First Report (which became News at One), News at 545 and News at Ten - having its own look and feel.

July 1967 to January 1991[link]

In 1967, ITN editor Geoffrey Cox suggested launching a half-hour news bulletin for ITV, every weeknight. ITV executives, however, were sceptical of that idea, because it was thought that viewers would not want a full 30 minutes of news every Monday to Friday (there had only been one half-hour news programme in Britain previously - BBC2's Newsroom, launched in 1964). However, the idea was approved on the condition it ran for a 13-week trial, and News at Ten was born on 3 July 1967. ITN's head newscasters - Alastair Burnet, Andrew Gardner, and George Ffitch - presented the first News at Ten, and the bulletin became so popular with viewers that it was kept in the schedules after its initial 13 weeks. The programme's titles utilised an excerpt of The Awakening, a piece of dramatic music composed by Johnny Pearson. The famous chimes of the Westminster Clock Tower - affectionately known as the bongs - separated each headline as it was read out. The early opening title sequences were simplistic; a (live) night-time camera pan across London and the Houses of Parliament, followed by a sharp zoom into the face of "Big Ben" showing the time of 22:00. The text "Independent Television News" was shown at the start of the sequence, followed by the individual words "NEWS", "at" and "TEN", all in time to the title music.

1969 saw the beginning of colour television. As such, a new ITN logo was introduced - it was simply a sans-serif outline of the phrase "ITN" (the basic concept of the logo remains today). On 16 October 1972, a twenty-minute lunchtime bulletin was introduced into the ITV schedule - First Report, which was hosted by Robert Kee and ran from 12:40 to 13:00. This was followed on September 6, 1976 by the introduction of a new evening bulletin, the News at 545, which ran from 17:45 to 18:00; Michael Nicholson and Leonard Parkin alternated in the newscaster chair. By this time, with three regular ITN bulletins throughout the day - and each having their own look and specially composed music - the original ITN Non-Stop theme music was only seen on generic summaries and weekend bulletins. In 1982, it was finally replaced with a synthesised alternative.

First Report was moved to 13:00 and retitled News at One in 1976; Leonard Parkin and Peter Sissons alternated in the presenter's chair. Michael Nicholson continued as main newscaster of the News at 545, with Martyn Lewis replacing Parkin as the relief presenter. In 1986, Nicholson left newscasting to return to war reporting and was replaced by Alastair Stewart. Leonard Parkin retired in 1987, and Peter Sissons became a main newscaster for ITN's Channel 4 News (before moving to the BBC in 1989) - it was at this point that the programme revamped. It was moved to 12:30, and appropriately became the News at 12:30. Julia Somerville joined ITN from the BBC's Nine O'Clock News to host the new programme, with John Suchet and Jon Snow acting as relief presenters. In 1988, the programme returned to its original slot and once again became the News at One; the presenting line-up remained unchanged. In 1989, Somerville left the programme to become a main presenter of News at Ten, leaving Suchet to become the main lunchtime newscaster - the programme was revamped once more. In 1991, the programme moved back to the 12:30 slot, but retained the studio setting. In 1992, graphics were relaunched to bring it in line with other ITN news bulletins.

News at 545 was replaced by the News at 540 in 1989 (following the introduction of the ITV National Weather forecast), and a new presenting team was formed comprising Carol Barnes, Nicholas Owen, Trevor McDonald, Fiona Armstrong, and Alastair Stewart. The programme lasted until March 1992 when it was renamed and relaunched, in line with other ITN bulletins.

News at Ten continued to rate as the most popular news programme on television. In 1988, the programme launched specially made opening titles featuring a computer generated travel through London, up the River Thames until the camera stops at the "Big Ben" clockface.

ITN's regular newscasting team in the 1980s included Alastair Burnet, Sandy Gall, Leonard Parkin, Alastair Stewart, Trevor McDonald, Julia Somerville, Carol Barnes, Fiona Armstrong, John Suchet, Nicholas Owen, and a host of well-known reporters and correspondents.

January 1991 to February 2004[link]

In 1991, ITN moved into its new building at Gray's Inn Road, London (previously owned by The Sunday Times). From this year, ITN news programmes revamped and moved to be presented from the ITV newsroom, foremostly to show the impressive atrium in the newly purchased headquarters - with the exception of the lunchtime programme which continued with its own studio and music, but took on elements of the new revamp - such as the serif font style newly introduced for ITN bulletins. The News at 12:30 bulletin itself was renamed the Lunchtime News in 1992. The main lunchtime newscasters between 1992 and 1995 were Nicholas Owen and Carol Barnes. Dermot Murnaghan, Sonia Ruseler and Julia Somerville acted as relief newscasters until 1995, when Murnaghan and Somerville became the bulletin's regular newscasters. News at 540 was renamed the Early Evening News in March 1992 and presented from the ITV newsroom adjacent to the ITN atrium. John Suchet was the main newscaster for the Early Evening News, and relief presenters included Carol Barnes, Nicholas Owen and Dermot Murnaghan.

News at Ten underwent a revamp in November 1992 after the departures of newscasters Alastair Burnet (in August 1991) and Sandy Gall (in early 1992, though he did remain at ITN filing special war reports for News at Ten). A new set was created for the programme, featuring television monitors, a large video screen, and a curved desk with "News at Ten" inscribed into it. Trevor McDonald became the sole newscaster of the programme. John Suchet, Dermot Murnaghan, and Julia Somerville were relief presenters for the bulletin. Initially, the new-look News at Ten was presented from the same studio as the Early Evening News, adjacent to the ITV newsroom.

In 1995, all ITN programmes relaunched with a unified look, using blue colours (the corporate colour of ITN at the time). A new set was created in the former Early Evening News studio, adjacent to the atrium and next to the ITV newsroom. The glass walls were coated in semi-transparent blue perspex; the left wall looked onto the lobby of ITN's building, whilst the right showed the busy atmosphere of the ITV newsroom. Different variations on the theme music distinguished the main bulletins. Design firm Lambie-Nairn devised the new look, which saw special arrangements of the famous News at Ten music being used for the other bulletins (as composed by Dave Hewson).

1999 saw the biggest and largest change to news bulletins on ITV. On 8 March 1999, all ITN programmes were rebranded under the name ITV News. Under the leadership of Granada chairman Charles Allen, the channel also controversially decided to axe the flagship News at Ten bulletin.^[4] Replacing the 22:00 bulletin (and in turn the old 17:40 News at 540) as the flagship ITN programme was the ITV Evening News at 18:30 (fronted by Trevor McDonald). The ITV Nightly News was also introduced, presented by Dermot Murnaghan and airing at 23:00 every weeknight. However, the loss of News at Ten was a massive blow to both ITV and ITN. By the start of the year 2000, viewing figures for news programmes on ITV had dropped by about a million viewers due to the loss of the 22:00 bulletin. The regulating ITC ordered ITV to perform a review of the new news time slots and whether or not they were working. There was much opposition towards ITV from the viewing public, politicians such as Gerald Kaufman, former ITN faces including editor Nigel Ryan and newscaster Alastair Burnet, and some of ITN's then-current staff including political editor Michael Brunson. After a lengthy battle with the ITC, a half-hearted ITV News at Ten was introduced (hosted by McDonald) in January 2001, although as part of the agreement, the bulletin was only shown at 22:00 for 3 days a week in order to accommodate other programming. The programme returned with a massive 8 million viewers, but figures soon fell drastically. Cashing in on the 1999 loss of News at Ten, BBC director-general Greg Dyke announced that the Nine O'Clock News would be moved to 22:00. Whereas the 2001 ITV News at Ten was at 22:00 for only three nights a week, the BBC's Ten O'Clock News was a firm fixture at ten for six nights a week. ITV rarely started this incarnation of News at Ten on time; time starts ranging from 21:55 to 22:10 led to the programme being disparaged as "News at When?" and viewers soon switched to the BBC. Also in 2001, the ITN name was removed from the voiceovers at the start of bulletins and reporter name-checks. The ITN name and logo is now only seen on the production slide, and is only used in ITV bulletins when referring to footage shot by ITN camera teams working for other clients (for example: the ITN name is used when both News at Ten and Channel 4 News broadcast the same piece of footage).

With the outbreak of warfare in Iraq in 2003, ITV replaced the ITV News at Ten with a special 45-minute long ITV News at Nine every Monday to Friday, hosted by Trevor McDonald in Kuwait City and John Suchet in the ITV News studio in London. The News at Nine proved to be very popular, reaching 9.1 million viewers on the first night in comparison to the 5 to 6 million for the BBC's late evening news. The ITV Evening News was extended to 60 minutes, and various ITV news specials ran throughout the schedules. A simulcast of the ITV News Channel aired from 00:00 to 05:30 every night on ITV1. ITN also managed to persuade big name newscasters to return to the organisation to present the special war coverage on ITV: Alastair Stewart, Carol Barnes, Angela Rippon, Jon Nicholson and Anne Leuchars were all back presenting news bulletins and regular slots on the ITV News Channel.

February 2004 to January 2008[link]

Since 2004, ITV plc's 40% stake in ITN has been held as part of (and the company's ITV News operations integrated into) the ITV News Group. The ITV News Group also comprises the ITV regions in England and Wales, and ITV Sport. Its director is Michael Jermey, formerly a programme editor with ITN.

On 2 February 2004, ITV News unveiled a £1 million virtual studio, with a rounded green screen (the set was nicknamed the "Theatre of News") for presenters to stand up in front of and present graphics to viewers. As part of the revamp, the ITV News at Ten was axed due to low ratings and replaced with the News at Ten Thirty, hosted once again by McDonald (from Monday-Thursday), and by Mark Austin on Fridays. The new programme did not fare any better in the ratings; News at Ten had once gained audiences of 10 million or more, though the News at Ten Thirty now struggled to reach 2 million viewers on any one night (though the flagship ITV Evening News regularly attracted audiences of around 6 million). In addition, ITV abandoned its 24-hour news channel towards the end of 2005, saying it was not "commercially viable". The ITV News Channel was replaced by mens channel ITV4 and the recently relaunched CITV channel in March 2006.

On 16 January 2006, to reflect the launch of the new ITV logo, ITV News revamped with a teal-coloured look. The music was remixed to become slightly 'heavier', and new opening titles were made based around the famous Big Ben clock face (see right). A specially made VR view of the ITN atrium now adorned the "Theatre of News" screen (an earlier version had been used for ITV's Election 2005 a year previously). In November 2006, the teal-colours of the name-strap designs and other on-screen graphics - including the atrium design - were replaced with blue. The teal-coloured opening titles and stings remained unchanged.

In April 2007 ITN announced that ITV had awarded it a 6-year contract to produce ITV News, at a cost of £250 million.^[5] However, ITN announced that the new budget meant it would have to cut staff despite already operating on a smaller budget than its two main rivals BBC News and Sky News.^[3]

On 2 December 2007, ITV News and the ITV regional newsrooms switched from the traditional 4:3 format to 16:9 widescreen.^[6]

January 2008 to November 2009[link]

In 2007, ITV plc's newly appointed chairman Michael Grade was reported as saying that the axing of the original News at Ten was "the worst mistake ITV ever made";^[3] not long afterwards, plans were made for the famous bulletin to return to ITV. News at Ten returned on 14 January 2008, with a revised version of the original theme tune, presented by Trevor McDonald (temporarily, until November of that year, after which point Mark Austin took over) and former Sky News presenter Julie Etchingham. The studio contained a VR view over night-time London (with an outline of the Big Ben clockface superimposed on top), with dark blue and black being the primary colour scheme; VR glass 'sheets' also provided News at Ten logos on them.

In 2007, The Guardian reported that ITV planned to take its news output "back to basics" by paring back graphics and having newscasters adopt a more formal style of presenting from behind the desk instead of standing up.^[7] This was confirmed when, on 9 February 2009, ITN refreshed ITV News to bring it more in line with the News at Ten studio set. All news bulletins began to be presented from behind a desk; a VR view over London appeared as the backdrop (different coloured versions were used depending on the time of day). Continuing the cohesive look across all programmes, VR glass screens also appeared in the studio to provide graphics and live links with correspondents and reporters. Almost all of the teal-coloured graphics of 2006 were replaced with reworked blue versions to provide some consistency with the rest of the ITV News look, but the teal clockface opening animation remained on the ITV News-branded bulletins. Jib camera pans across the studio replaced the previous title sequence; these shots were pre-recorded 10 to 15 minutes before transmission, because it is a difficult shot to achieve and cannot be done if other studio cameras are already in place.

In July 2009, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the NASA moon landings, ITN produced five special 10-minute programmes for ITV titled Mission to the Moon - News from 1969. The programmes took the form of news bulletins, reporting on the day's events of 1969. John Suchet, a former ITN newscaster, was the presenter of these specials; he was aided by a team of correspondents including Andrea Catherwood (who had left ITV News in 2006) and Peter Snow, who was an ITN newscaster and correspondent between 1962 and 1979. The first Mission to the Moon programme aired at 22:35 on ITV on Wednesday 15 July and continued the following Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday (Friday in Scotland, on STV).

In August 2009, it was announced that after 16 years co-hosting London Tonight, Alastair Stewart was to leave the regional magazine programme to become the main co-anchor of the ITV Evening News. Mark Austin concentrates his energies on News at Ten but continues to present some editions of the 18:30 bulletin.^[8] It was also revealed that, following his successful stint as presenter of Election Night Live: America Decides in 2008, Stewart was to present the ITN/ITV coverage of the UK general election in 2010.

The semi-circular "Theatre of News" studio set, in use for five years, was last broadcast on Sunday 1 November 2009.

November 2009 to Present[link]

On 22 October 2009, it was jointly announced by ITN and ITV that ITV News would be rebranded from Monday 2 November. At the heart of the revamp was the removal of the famous image of the Big Ben clock tower from the opening sequence of ITV News programmes including News at Ten; ITV executives felt, after "months of deliberation", that the imagery of the landmark promoted London-centricity to viewers outside the capital.^[9] A clockface remains as part of the studio backdrop and also appears within the opening titles and the headline bongs have also been retained. The November revamp included a newly designed rectangular set and new graphics featuring a colour scheme of black and gold to complement the ITV1 image and branding. A newly composed piece music called 'News Centre' was introduced, which incorporates only a few elements of 'The Awakening', the previous ITV News theme.^[10] The ITV News revamp was developed by ITN, ITV and design agency Bruce Dunlop Associates. ITV-plc regional news programmes continue to use their studio sets introduced in 2004, but with an updated colourscheme and news titles reflecting the ITV News rebrand.

In December 2009, the ITV News at Ten won the award for Best National Television Programme from the Plain English Awards.

In April 2010, it was announced that after 12 years working at ITN, Katie Derham was to leave the organisation to front the BBC's coverage of the Proms for BBC Two and BBC Radio 3. A spokesman for BBC Radio 3 confirmed the appointment but declined to give any further details.^[11]

'Big Ben' branding[link]

Trademarks of ITN and ITV News are the inclusion of the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament in its programme titles, along with the chimes of Big Ben (known popularly as the "bongs") between headlines. The "bongs" were originally introduced for News at Ten in 1967; the other ITN bulletins utilised different studio designs, individual graphic sets and individual music. In 1992, News at Ten was relaunched following the decision to move to a single newscaster - Trevor McDonald won the role - and composer Dave Hewson was assigned with the responsibility of musical changes. The famous theme tune was re-arranged by Hewson and re-recorded in a slightly higher pitch but the timpani and chimes remained. In 1995 ITN adopted a unified look for all ITV bulletins except News at Ten, extending the use of the Big Ben clockface and branding to all bulletins on the channel; Hewson again composed the music. In March 1999, the "ITV News" brand was introduced and, with the loss of News at Ten, the "bongs" were extended to all ITN bulletins (despite all but one of them starting on the half-hour). The ITN name was dropped from the start of bulletins and, in 2001, from reporter sign-offs. "The Awakening" was re-arranged again in February 2004 as part of a major revamp of ITV News, and again in January 2006 with a further revamp of ITV News bulletins. Despite the 2008 return of News at Ten, the other bulletins continued to use the "bongs".

In February 2009, ITV News bulletins were refreshed to be more cohesive with the branding and look of News at Ten, with the studio featuring a VR view of London and an outline of the Big Ben clockface filling the "theatre of news" screen.

On 22 October 2009, it was announced that the "Big Ben" branding would be removed from ITV News from 2 November to avoid perceptions of London-centricity,^[9] thus marking the first time that the clock tower has not been used in programme titles for ITN bulletins on ITV since before 1967. However, a clockface was retained as part of ITV News studio design.

Election coverage[link]

ITN has, like the BBC, run special through-the-night coverage on the day of general elections in Britain since its formation in 1955. Election 64 - The Result was hosted by Alastair Burnet, the fast-rising face of politics on ITV, and contained many visual gimmicks to keep the audience interested in the coverage. The BBC started the trend with its "swingometer" device. ITN's 1964 coverage presented a contraption referred to by Burnet as "KDF9" which aimed to pull in the results faster than its competitor over at the BBC. ITN's Election 66, again hosted by Burnet and providing nine-hour coverage of the results of the election between Harold Wilson and Ted Heath, utilised two computer machines that Burnet described as bringing in numerous pieces of data and statistical information - Burnet also quipped, "I'll let you into a secret - it can sing as well". The 1974 general election results were presented under the title The Nation Decides by Peter Snow. Technology had also vastly improved. "VTF30", a piece of technology based upon a knitting-pattern machine, provided moving computer graphics for the first time in television election coverage history.

The team of Alastair Burnet and Peter Sissons provided many memorable election night programmes on ITV, including the 1984 European elections and Election 87, but by 1992 the faces of ITV's political coverage had changed somewhat. Election 92 was anchored by Jon Snow, with Alastair Stewart providing graphical commentary and Julia Somerville assisting with regular news summaries. Stewart and Somerville were again present for ITV's 1997 coverage of the John Major-Tony Blair election - aptly titled Election 97 - with Jonathan Dimbleby as the anchor. Dimbleby returned for Election 2001 and Election 2005, aided both times by ITV News' political editors John Sergeant (in 2001) and Nick Robinson (in 2005) and a team of correspondents and newscasters around the country at polling stations.

The US presidential election of November 2008 was covered by ITN on the ITV network between 23:15 and 06:00 in a programme titled Election Night Live: America Decides, which saw ITN team up with fellow news organisation NBC; Alastair Stewart hosted from the studio in London, supported by MORI-founder Bob Worcester and a team of studio guests throughout the evening. Julie Etchingham, James Mates, Bill Neely and John Irvine provided the all-important presenting and reporting duties from the United States. Stewart also presented ITN coverage of the European Elections of 2009, an intimate affair with the newscaster and ITV News election analyst Colin Rallings in the studio. Political Editor Tom Bradby and Senior Political Correspondent Chris Ship provided regular updates, and a team of dedicated reporters gave results as they were counted around the country.

The UK general election campaign of 2010 was covered by ITV under the banner Campaign 2010, prominent in all its news and current affairs programming. There were special election-themed editions of the Tonight programme presented by ITN reporters and newscasters. Alastair Stewart was the moderator for The First Election Debate, the first ever debate between leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom, transmitted on 15 April between 20:30 and 22:00. A weekly discussion programme also began on that date: Campaign 2010 with Jonathan Dimbleby. The weeks of special programming culminated in the May 6 election night coverage on ITV: Election 2010, which was broadcast between 21:55 and 06:00 and presented by Alastair Stewart. Julie Etchingham fronted the traditional ITV election night graphics, Mary Nightingale hosted the ITV election party on the bank of the Thames, and ITV News Election Analyst Colin Rallings provided the all important psephological information. GMTV dedicated its entire May 7 programme to the Election, with contributions from ITV newscasters Etchingham, Nightingale and James Mates. Mark Austin and Katie Derham continued the ITN coverage following GMTV: Election 2010 returned between 09:25 and 10:50. Alastair Stewart then returned with the programme at 12:30 until 15:00. ITV1 Wales, STV and UTV provided additional programming relevant to their coverage areas.

On air[link]

In the event of any major breaking story, ITV News will interrupt normal programming to broadcast either a brief news report or a special rolling bulletin.

Newscasters and reporters[link]

Newscasters[link]

• Mark Austin (ITV News at Ten)
• Faye Barker (ITV News at 5:30)
• Julie Etchingham (ITV News at Ten)
• Mary Nightingale (ITV News at 6:30)
• Alastair Stewart (ITV News at 1:30, ITV News at 6:30)
• Charlene White (ITV News at 5:30)

Reporters[link]

The current reporting team at ITV News is divided into: international correspondents (headed by international editor Bill Neely); home affairs correspondents (with Keir Simmons as UK editor), political correspondents (headed by political editor Tom Bradby); specialist correspondents (covering media and arts, science and medicine, consumer affairs, economic, and crime. James Mates acts as Europe Editor, with Penny Marshall as a Social Affairs Editor); a sports reporter; a dedicated team of news correspondents; and the longest serving is Tim Ewart who is Royal Correspondent (joining ITN in 1981).

Awards[link]

ITN has won many key industry awards for its news coverage on ITV during the past fifty years. Legendary editor Geoffrey Cox was the recipient of ITN's very first award - a BAFTA in 1962. Since then BAFTA has gone on to present ITN with a total of 26 awards, for coverage on ITV ranging from Francis Chichester's home-coming in 1967 to the Northern Ireland troubles, the Iranian Embassy siege, wars in the Falklands, Lebanon and the Gulf, the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, the discovery of the Serb camps, the genocide in Rwanda, the storming of the Moscow White House, and the conflict in former Yugoslavia.

ITN/ITV News picked up both Royal Television Society (RTS) and Broadcast awards for coverage of the Beslan school siege, and Alastair Stewart won the RTS News Presenter of the Year award in 2006. The 18:30 ITV Evening News held the title of RTS News Programme of the Year for four years running, starting in 2004. News at Ten was nominated for the award in the RTS Journalism Awards 2007/2008, but lost out to the BBC News at 10. However, in the BAFTA Television Awards ceremony held on Sunday 26 April 2009, News at Ten won in the category News Coverage for their coverage of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. It was up against its ITN rival Channel 4 News and Sky News, who had two nominations. News at Ten's coverage of the earthquake also won the International Emmy award for News Coverage in September 2009. In June 2010, the programme won the News Coverage BAFTA for the second year running, for their coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

There have been over 70 RTS awards for both domestic and international coverage, with the first coming for the 1969 Apollo moon landing. Home based issues including the miners' strike, the Iranian embassy siege, the Tottenham riots, the Kings Cross fire, the death of Labour leader John Smith and coverage of Dunblane have all been voted the Best Journalism of the Year by the RTS. RTS awards for foreign coverage range from conflicts in Vietnam, Eritrea, Poland, El Salvador, Beirut, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Africa, Russia, Chechnya, Bosnia, Israel and Albania as well as humanitarian disasters including Romania, the Mozambique floods and the Asian tsunami. Coverage of the aforementioned Mozambique floods in 2000 also won an Emmy award.

From the United States there has been recognition of ITN's journalism, from the prestigious Emmy awards, the New York Television Programming Festival and the White House News Photographers' Association. ITN was the first non-US news broadcaster to win a News and Documentary Emmy when it was awarded top prize for Outstanding Investigative Journalism for the 1992 discovery of the Serb camps. The famous footage of emaciated men behind barbed wire went round the world and helped change the course of the conflict in Bosnia.

In addition to many BAFTA, Emmy and RTS awards, ITN/ITV News has also claimed awards from the Monte Carlo Gold Nymphs, prizes from the News Festival of Angers in France, the Television and Radio Industries Club, the Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards and the Broadcasting Press Guild as well as many others.^[12]

See also[link]

• List of ITV journalists and newsreaders

References[link]

External links[link]

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Faye Barker (born 14th March 1976) is a British newsreader and journalist currently employed by ITN where she presents on ITV News and ITV London.

Personal life[link]

Barker was born in Winchester, and grew up in Devon. She is married and her wedding took place at Bickleigh Castle, Devon, in 2007.^[1] In February 2010, Barker went on maternity leave from ITN, later giving birth to her first child - a daughter, as announced via her Twitter. She returned to work later that year and is a regular face on ITV News and ITV London.

TV career[link]

She began her career at London-based EBN (European Business News), an affiliate of CNBC, in October 1996.^[2] After this she joined ITN as a production journalist before making her on-screen TV debut when she first presented and reported at Five News.

In 2001, she landed a presenting job for the regional evening news magazine Calendar for Yorkshire Television, which she did until 2005 before returning to London. Faye then appeared on ITV London and GMTV as well as the ITV News Channel, and was the last presenter to broadcast on the channel's final day on air in December 2005 alongside Owen Thomas.

Other than newsreading and reporting, Faye also appeared on the ITV programme Package Holiday Undercover from 2003 -2005 and narrated the documentary series St Jimmys in 2004.^[3]

Faye has also done a certain amount of work for charity including presenting fashion shows for cancer charities. She was also part of the on-screen team at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam in 2006.^[4]

In Autumn 2007 she made a cameo appearance playing a journalist in episode two of the ITV drama Whistleblowers.

Between 2005 and 2008 she worked freelance, appearing on BSkyB services Sky News and Five News.^[5] Plus ITN produced programmes London Tonight and ITV Morning News and the now defunct Setanta Sports News channel.

On 8 January 2009 it was announced Faye would become main presenter of the ITV Morning News (now known as the ITV News at 5:30),^[6] ending her freelancing with various news outlets from 12 January although she continues to present London Today bulletins during Daybreak. Both programmes are produced by ITN. Recently, she has shared duties as main presenter, presenting alternating weeks with Charlene White and also presents the ITV News 9:25am summary, ITV News Lunchtime bulletin and London Tonight bulletin each Saturday and Sunday on an alternating weekend basis.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Faye Barker on Twitter
• ITV News at itv.com

v t e Sky News in the United Kingdom British Sky Broadcasting Programmes Sky News Sunrise The Live Desk Sky News Today Boulton & Co Afternoon Live Live at Five Jeff Randall Live News, Sport & Weather Sky News at Ten Sky News Tonight Sky Midnight News CBS Evening News Sky News On The Hour Sky World News Saturday Live Weekend Lunchtime Sky News at Seven Murnaghan Reporters and presenters Main Anna Botting Adam Boulton Colin Brazier Lukwesa Burak Kay Burley Stephen Dixon Lorna Dunkley Charlotte Hawkins Eamonn Holmes Sarah Hewson Gillian Joseph Mark Longhurst Dermot Murnaghan Jeff Randall Samantha Simmonds Martin Stanford Jeremy Thompson Andrew Wilson Business Dharshini David Joel Hills Sport Jacquie Beltrao Rob Curling Jon Desborough Karthi Gnanasegaram Lisa Knights Sarah-Jane Mee Nick Powell Chris Skudder Matt Teale Charlie Thomas Graeme Winch Weather Nazaneen Ghaffar Isobel Lang Denise Nurse Jo Wheeler Other Philippa Hall Anna Jones Ashish Joshi Lisa Knights Sarah-Jane Mee Paula Middlehurst Tim Marshall Gemma Morris Chloe Potter Jayne Secker Matt Smith Category

George Best

Best in 1982
Personal information
Full name	George Best
Date of birth	(1946-05-22)22 May 1946
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date of death	25 November 2005(2005-11-25) (aged 59)
Place of death	London, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1961–1963	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1963–1974	Manchester United	361	(137)
1974	→ Jewish Guild (loan)	5	(0)
1974	→ Dunstable Town (loan)	0	(0)
1975	Stockport County	3	(2)
1975–1976	Cork Celtic	3	(0)
1976	Los Angeles Aztecs	23	(15)
1976–1978	Fulham	42	(8)
1977–1978	Los Angeles Aztecs	32	(12)
1978–1979	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	26	(6)
1979–1981	Hibernian	17	(3)
1980–1981	San Jose Earthquakes	56	(28)
1980–1981	San Jose Earthquakes (indoor)	16	(25)
1982	Sea Bee	2	(0)
1982	Hong Kong Rangers	1	(0)
1983	Bournemouth	5	(0)
1983	Brisbane Lions	4	(0)
1983	Osborne Park Galeb	1	(1)
1983	Nuneaton Borough	-	(-)
1984	Tobermore United	1	(0)
Total		579	(205)
National team
1964–1977	Northern Ireland	37	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. In 1968 he won the European Cup with United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers' Association Player of the Year. He is described by the national team's governing body, the Irish Football Association, as the "greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland".^[1]

Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Best began his club career in England with Manchester United, who had spotted his talent at the age of 15. He went on to see success with United scoring 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years. His playing style combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders.^[2] Best unexpectedly quit United relatively early in 1974 at age 27, but returned to football for a number of clubs around the world in short spells, until finally retiring in 1983, age 37. In international football, he was an automatic choice when fit, being capped 37 times and scoring nine goals from 1964 to 1977, although the team's performance never allowed his talent to be displayed in the finals of a European Championship or World Cup.

Such was Best's talent and charisma that he became one of the first celebrity footballers, but his subsequent extravagant lifestyle led to various problems, most notably alcoholism which he suffered from for the rest of his adult life. These problems affected him on and off the field throughout his career, at times causing controversy.^[3] He often said of his career that "I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted".^[4] After football he spent some time as a pundit, but his financial and health problems continued into his retirement.^[3] He died in 2005 age 59, due to complications from the immunosuppressant drugs he needed to take after being controversially granted an NHS liver transplant in 2002.^[5][6] Best was married twice, to two former models, Angie Best and then Alex Best. His son Calum Best was born in 1981 from his first marriage.

Prior to his death, Best was voted 16th in the IFFHS World Player of the Century election in 1999 and was one of the inaugural 22 inductees into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002; in 2004 he was also voted 19th in the public UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and named by Pelé as one of the 125 best living footballers in the world.^[7] After his death, on what would have been his 60th birthday, Belfast City Airport was renamed the George Best Belfast City Airport as a "fitting and permanent tribute to his footballing brilliance." According to the BBC, Best was remembered by mourners at his public funeral held in Belfast as "the beautiful boy" [with a] "beautiful game".^[8]

Early years and family[link]

George Best was the first child of Dickie Best (1919–2008) and Anne Best (née Withers) (1922–1978), and grew up in Cregagh, Belfast. He was brought up in the Free Presbyterian faith.^[9] Dickie Best was a member of the Orange Order and the young George Best carried the strings of the banner in his local Cregagh lodge. In his autobiography, Best mentioned how important the order was to his family.^[10] Best had four sisters, Carol, Barbara, Julie and Grace, and a brother, Ian. Best's father Dickie died on 16 April 2008, at the age of 88, in the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, Northern Ireland. He had been admitted to hospital four weeks earlier.^[11] Best's mother Anne died from alcoholism-related heart disease^[12] in 1978, aged 55.

In 1957, at the age of 11, the academically gifted Best passed the 11 plus and went to Grosvenor High School, but he soon played truant as the school specialised in rugby. Best then moved to Lisnasharragh Secondary School, reuniting him with friends from primary school and allowing him to focus on football.

Club career[link]

Manchester United (1963–1974)[link]

At the age of 15, Best was discovered in Belfast by Manchester United scout Bob Bishop, whose telegram to United manager Matt Busby read: "I think I've found you a genius."^[13][14] His local club Glentoran had previously rejected him for being "too small and light".^[15] Best was subsequently given a trial and signed up by chief scout Joe Armstrong. His first time moving to the club, Best quickly became homesick and stayed for only two days before going back home to Northern Ireland.^[16]

Best made his Manchester United debut, aged 17, on 14 September 1963 against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in a 1–0 victory. He was too young to contend for a first-team place for much of the first half of the season. His second appearance came on 28 December against Burnley. This First Division match saw Best's first goal for United in a 5–1 win. Matt Busby used Best much more after the New Year and by the end of the season, Best had made 26 appearances, scoring six goals. Manchester United finished second, four points behind Liverpool.

In his second season, Best and Manchester United claimed the league title.

Best hit the headlines at the age of twenty when he scored two goals in a European Cup quarter-final match against Benfica in 1966. The Portuguese media dubbed him "O Quinto Beatle", "the fifth Beatle" in English. His talent and showmanship made him a crowd and media favourite. Known for his long hair, good looks and extravagant celebrity lifestyle, Best appeared on Top of the Pops in 1965.^[17] Other nicknames included the "Belfast Boy" and he was often referred to as Georgie, or Geordie in his native Belfast.^[18]

The 1966–67 season was again successful, as Manchester United claimed the league title by four points. The following season, Best became a European Cup winner after scoring in the final against Benfica. United won 4–1 and Best was later crowned European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers' Association Player of the Year. After this, his steady decline began.

Best opened two nightclubs in Manchester, in the late 1960s, Oscar's and the other called Slack Alice's (which later became 42nd Street Nightclub). He also owned fashion boutiques, in partnership with Mike Summerbee of Manchester City. He developed problems with gambling, womanising and alcoholism.

Best played at United when shirt numbers were assigned to positions, in the traditional English way, and not the player. When Best played at right wing, as he famously did during the later stages of the 1966 and 1968 European Cups, he donned the number 7. As a left winger, where he played exclusively in his debut season and nearly all of the 1971–72, he wore the number 11. Best wore the number 8 shirt at inside right on occasion throughout the 1960s, but for more than half of his matches during 1970–71. He was playing at inside left (wearing the number 10) in 1972 when he famously walked out on United the first time but was back in the number 11 for the autumn of 1973 before leaving for good. Best even wore the number 9 jersey once for United, with Bobby Charlton injured, on 22 March 1969 at Old Trafford, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.^[19]

In 1974, aged 27, Best quit United for good. His last competitive game for the club was on 1 January 1974 against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, which United lost 3-0.^[20]

In total Best made 470 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions from 1963 to 1974, and scored 179 goals (including six in one game against fourth division Northampton Town — an extraordinary feat that in 2002 the British public voted #26 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments).^[21]The last of his goals for United was in a 3-2 home league defeat to Coventry City on 15 December 1973.^[22]He was the club's top scorer for six consecutive seasons, and was the First Division's top scorer in the 1967–68 season. Over the next decade he went into an increasingly rapid decline, drifting between several clubs, including spells in South Africa, Ireland, United States, Scotland, and Australia.

Jewish Guild (1974)[link]

Playing only five competitive matches for Jewish Guild in South Africa, Best endured criticism for missing several training sessions. During his short time there, he was the main draw attracting thousands of spectators to the matches.^[23]

Cork Celtic (1975)[link]

Best had a brief spell at Cork Celtic in December 1975. He played only three league games, against Drogheda United, Bohemians and Shelbourne, but despite attracting big crowds he failed to score or impress. Being on a rolling contract with Cork his failure to show for a game saw him being dropped and subsequently leaving the club.^[24]

Fulham (1976–1977)[link]

Best had a brief resurgence in form with Fulham in 1976–77, showing that, although he had lost some of his pace, he retained his skills. His time with the Cottagers is particularly remembered for a second division match against Hereford United on 25 September 1976 in which he tackled his own teammate, and old drinking mate, Rodney Marsh. Best stated later in life that he enjoyed his time most while at Fulham, despite not winning any honours.

United States (1976–1981)[link]

Best played for three clubs in the United States: Los Angeles Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale Strikers and later San Jose Earthquakes; he also played for the Detroit Express on a European tour. Best revelled in the anonymity the United States afforded him after England and was a success on the field, too, scoring 15 goals in 24 games in his first season with the Aztecs and named as the NASL's best midfielder in his second.^[25] He and manager Ken Adam opened "Bestie's Beach Club" (now called "The Underground" after the London subway system) in Hermosa Beach, California in the 1970s, and continued to operate it until the 1990s.

Hibernian (1979–1981)[link]

Best caused a stir when he returned to the UK to play for the Scottish club Hibernian.^[26] Hibs, who were suffering a decline in fortunes and were heading for relegation from the Premier Division,^[26] signed Best on a "pay per play" basis after the club chairman, Tom Hart, received a tip-off from an Edinburgh Evening News reporter that he was available.^[26][27] Even though Best failed to save Hibs from relegation, gates increased dramatically, as Hibs' attendance quadrupled for his first match at Easter Road.^[26] One infamous incident saw Best initially sacked by Hibs after he went on a massive drinking session with the French rugby team, who were in Edinburgh to play Scotland.^[27] He was brought back a week later.

Best returned to the USA to play for San Jose Earthquakes in what was officially described as a "loan", though he only managed a handful of appearances for Hibs in the First Division in the following season.^[27] He returned one last time to Easter Road in 1984, for Jackie McNamara's testimonial match against Newcastle.^[26] In his third season in the States, Best scored only once in 12 appearances. His moves to Fort Lauderdale and San Jose were also unhappy, as his off-field demons began to take control of his life again. After failing to agree terms with Bolton Wanderers in 1981, he was invited as a guest player and played three matches for two Hong Kong First Division teams (Sea Bee and Rangers) in 1982.^[28]

Bournemouth (1982–1983)[link]

In late 1982, Bournemouth manager Don Megson signed the 36-year-old Best for the Football League Third Division side, and he remained there until the end of the season, when he finally retired from football at the age of 37. The following season Malcolm Allison apparently persuaded him to sign for Middlesbrough but he never made a League appearance for them.^{[citation needed]}

Brisbane Lions (1983)[link]

Best played in a friendly for Newry Town against Shamrock Rovers in August 1983 ^[29] before ending his professional career exactly 20 years after joining Manchester United with a brief four-match stint playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian National Soccer League during the 1983 season.^[30]

He also was a guest player for an exhibition match between Dee Why Football Club and Manly Warringah held on 27 July 1983. Dee Why won the match 2-1, with Best having scored the winning goal. www.dyfc.com.au ^[31][32]

Testimonial (1988)[link]

On 8 August 1988, a testimonial match was held for Best at Windsor Park. Among the crowd were Sir Matt Busby and Bob Bishop, the scout who discovered Best, while those playing included Ossie Ardiles, Pat Jennings and Liam Brady. Best scored twice, one goal from outside the box, the other from the penalty spot.

International career[link]

He was capped 37 times for Northern Ireland, scoring nine goals. Of his nine international goals four were scored against Cyprus and one each against Albania, England, Scotland, Switzerland and Turkey.

On 15 May 1971, Best scored possibly the most famous "goal" of his career at Windsor Park in Belfast against England.^[33] As Gordon Banks, the English goalkeeper, released the ball in the air in order to kick the ball downfield, Best managed to kick the ball first, which sent the ball high over their heads and heading towards the open goal.^[33] Best outpaced Banks and headed the ball into the empty goal, but the goal was disallowed by referee Alistair Mackenzie.^[33]

Best continued to be selected for Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s, despite his fluctuating form and off pitch problems. There were still glimpses of his genius; in 1976, Northern Ireland were drawn against the Netherlands in Rotterdam as one of their 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. The Netherlands, who were runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, and their star player, Johan Cruyff, were at their peak at the time. Five minutes into the game Best received the ball wide on the left. Instead of heading towards goal he turned directly infield, weaved his way past at least three Dutchmen and found his way to Cruyff who was wide right. Best took the ball to his opponent, dipped a shoulder twice and slipped it between Cruyff's feet – nutmegging arguably the best player in the world at that time.^[34]

Best was considered briefly by manager Billy Bingham for the 1982 World Cup, but at the age of 36 and his football skills dulled by age and drink, he was not selected in the Northern Ireland squad.

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 November 1964	Lausanne, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–1	1–2	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	25 November 1964	Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1–1	2–3	1965 British Home Championship
3	7 May 1965	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Albania	4–0	4–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	13 October 1968	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Turkey	1–1	4–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	21 April 1970	London, England	England	1–3	1–3	1970 British Home Championship
6	3 February 1971	Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
7	21 April 1971	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Cyprus	2–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
8	21 April 1971	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Cyprus	3–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
9	21 April 1971	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Cyprus	4–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying

Career honours[link]

Club[link]

Manchester United

• Football League First Division (2): 1965, 1967
• Charity Shield (2): 1965, 1967
• European Cup (1): 1968

Individual[link]

• Ballon d'Or (1): 1968
• Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (1): 1968
• PFA ALL STAR Award Winner Division 2: (Fulham) 1977
• PFA Merit Award: 2006
• PFA England League Team of the Century (1907 to 2007): 2007
• FWA Footballer of the Year (1): 1967-68
• FWA Tribute Award: 2007
• Honorary doctorate from Queen's University Belfast: 2001
• Freeman of Castlereagh: 2002
• Inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame: 2002
• European Hall of Fame (Player): 2008
• UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: 2004

Career statistics[link]

¹Includes other competitive competitions, including Charity Shield and the Intercontinental Cup.

^[35]

Outside football[link]

Post-football careers[link]

In the late 1980s, Best narrated Streaker, a documentary on the streaking phenomenon, discussing the careers of people such as Erica Roe and Sheila Nicholls.

In 1998, Best became a football pundit on the Sky Sports live show Soccer Saturday. His last appearance on the show was in 2004.

In November 2004, 58-year-old Best agreed to join Premier League club Portsmouth as a youth coach, citing his desire to get involved in football again.

Personal life[link]

Best was married twice, first to Angela MacDonald-Janes. They married on 24 January 1978 at Candlelight Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, having met in the States when Best was playing for the Los Angeles Aztecs. Their son Calum was born in 1981 but they separated the following year and divorced in 1986.^[36]

He married Alex Pursey in 1995 in Kensington and Chelsea, London.^[37] They divorced in 2004; they had no children. He is reported to have had two daughters by other women.^[38] His niece by marriage is actress Samantha Janus, who is the daughter of Angie MacDonald-Janes' brother.^[39]

In 2004, his second wife Alex Best appeared as a contestant on the reality television programme I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and alleged that Best was violent towards her during their marriage.^{[40][citation needed]} This issue was, in fact, covered in Best's authorised 1998 biography "Bestie" in which Alex claimed that Best punched her in the face on more than one occasion,^[41] something which Best never denied. Earlier in the book it is revealed that George struck another of his girlfriends, Mary, at least once and was arrested and charged with assault on a waitress, Stevie Sloniecka, in November 1972, when he fractured her nose in Reuben's nightclub, Manchester.^[41] He was successfully defended when the case reached court in January 1973 by barrister George Carman QC, a close drinking companion of Best, as acknowledged in his book, Scoring at Half Time.

Frank Evans, a former business partner of Best, claimed in his 2009 book, The Last British Bullfighter, that Carman offered a Manchester gangster "pots of cash" in 1973 to break Best's legs when he discovered that Best had been having an affair with his second wife, Celia. Carman's offer was rejected with the following warning by the gangster: "I don't sort out domestic disputes and I'm not going to harm George [Best]. So you can take your money and go somewhere else. But I'll tell you this – if any harm comes to George I'll know who did it and I'll come after you."^[42]

Alcoholism[link]

Best suffered from alcoholism for most of his adult life, leading to numerous controversies and, eventually, his death.^[6]

In 1981, while playing in the United States, Best stole money from the handbag of a woman he did not know in order to fund a drinking session. "We were sitting in a bar on the beach, and when she got up to go to the toilet I leaned over and took all the money she had in her bag."^[41]

In 1984, Best received a three-month prison sentence for drunk driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to answer bail. He spent Christmas of 1984 behind bars and turned out as a player for Ford Open Prison.

In September 1990, Best appeared on an edition of primetime BBC chat show Wogan in which he was heavily drunk and swore, at one point saying to the host, "Terry, I like screwing".^[43] He later apologised and said this was one of the worst episodes of his alcoholism.

Best was diagnosed with severe liver damage in March 2000.^[5] In August 2002, he had a successful liver transplant at King's College Hospital in London.^[5] The transplant was performed at public expense on the NHS, a decision which was controversial due to Best's alcoholism.^[44] The controversy was reignited in 2003 when he was spotted openly drinking white wine spritzers.^[6]

On 2 February 2004, Best was convicted of another drunk driving offence and banned from driving for 20 months.

In his book The Doc's Devils: Manchester United 1972-1977, author Sean Egan wrote that Best’s “excruciating shyness” was something “surprisingly few posited as a cause of his alcoholism.”

Illness and death[link]

Gates of Belfast City Hall soon after Best's death, Another view.

Graffiti honouring Best like this one in the New Lodge area appeared all over Belfast after his death.

Best continued to drink, and was sometimes seen at his local pub in Surbiton, Greater London. On 3 October 2005 Best was admitted to intensive care at the private Cromwell Hospital in London, suffering from a kidney infection caused by the side effects of immuno-suppressive drugs used to prevent his body from rejecting his transplanted liver.^[5] On 27 October, newspapers stated that Best was close to death and had sent a farewell message to his loved ones. Best's condition improved at first, but deteriorated again in November. On 20 November the British tabloid News of the World published a picture of Best at his own request, showing him in his hospital bed, along with what was reported to be his final message: "Don't die like me".

Best's "farewell" message was seen as a way of warning others not to risk suffering a similar fate as a result of alcoholism.

In the early hours of 25 November 2005 treatment was stopped; he eventually died, aged 59, after a battle that lasted longer than doctors had expected, at 13:06 GMT that day as a result of a lung infection and multiple organ failure.^[5][45]

The FA Premier League announced that a minute's silence would be observed before all Premier League games to be held over the weekend of his death; this was ignored at many grounds, in favour of a minute's applause in his honour. The first match at Old Trafford after Best's death was a League Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion, the club against which he made his début for Manchester United in 1963. The match, which United won, was preceded by tributes from former team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton. Best's son Calum and former team-mates, surviving members from the West Bromwich Albion team which he played against in his début, all joined the current United squad on the pitch for a minute's silence, during which fans held aloft pictures of Best, which were given out before the match.

Funeral[link]

Best Family Grave, Roselawn Crematorium and Cemetery, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 331615

His body left the family home at Cregagh Road, East Belfast, shortly after 10 a.m. UTC on Saturday, 3 December 2005. The cortege then travelled the short distance to Stormont. The route was lined with around 100,000 mourners. There was an 11 a.m. service in the Grand Hall relayed to around 25,000 mourners inside the grounds of Stormont. As the cortege left Stormont, the Gilnahirk pipe band played. The Funeral was live on several TV stations including BBC One. Afterward, Best was buried beside his mother Annie Elizabeth Kelly in a private ceremony at the hill-top Roselawn Cemetery, overlooking east Belfast.

Memorials[link]

The new airport signage

Belfast City Airport was renamed George Best Belfast City Airport as a tribute to Best.^[46] The official new name and signage was unveiled to a gathering of the Best family and friends at the airport on 22 May 2006 which would have been his 60th birthday.

Public opinion in Northern Ireland about the renaming of the airport was divided, with one poll showing 52% in favour and 48% against.^[47] Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) deputy leader and East Belfast Member of Parliament Peter Robinson, in whose constituency Belfast City airport is situated, stated that his preference was a sports stadium be named after Best.^[48] The move generated negative comments beyond Northern Ireland.^[49]

In March 2006, airline Flybe, named a Dash 8 (Q400) plane The George Best. The aircraft was later used to carry Best's family across to the Manchester memorial service for Best.^[50]

In June 2006, Sarah Fabergé, great-granddaughter of Russian Imperial Jeweller Carl Fabergé was commissioned to create the George Best Egg, in tribute. A strictly limited edition of 68 eggs were produced, with all profits from the sale of the eggs going to the George Best Foundation. The first egg from the collection is now on permanent public display at the George Best Airport.

For the first anniversary of his death, Ulster Bank issued one million commemorative five pound notes.^[51] The notes sold out in five days.^[52] The notes sold on the online auction site eBay for up to £30.^[53]

Current plans for a new national stadium for Northern Ireland near Lisburn include a proposed statue of Best as one of several celebrating sporting heroes from the country. These statues would surround the main sporting arena and Best would be joined by rugby player Willie John McBride, Gaelic Football player Cormac McAnallen, Olympic gold medalist Mary Peters, Grand National winner Richard Dunwoody, Grand Prix driver Eddie Irvine, Motor cycle World champion Joey Dunlop and snooker world champion Alex Higgins.

In December 2006 the George Best Memorial Trust launched a fund-raising drive to raise £200,000 in subscriptions to pay for a life-size bronze sculpture of George Best. By 2008 the money had still not been raised until a local developer, Doug Elliott, announced on 29 January 2008, that he would put up the rest of the money and would manage delivery of the project.^[54]

In popular culture[link]

George Best's autobiographies include:

• Bestie (co-written with Joe Lovejoy),
• The Good, The Bad and The Bubbly (with Ross Benson)
• Blessed: The Autobiography (with Roy Collins)
• George Best: A Celebration (Bernie Smith and Maureen Hunt)
• Scoring at Half Time (with Martin Knight).
• Hard Tackles and Dirty Baths

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, while at the peak of his career, Best advertised Cookstown Sausages on TV with the phrase "the Best family sausages". In 2007 a memorial plaque was placed outside the pork factory in the County Tyrone town.^[55]

In the year 1970, German avantgarde film director Hellmuth Costard made a film entitled "Fußball wie noch nie", translated into English as "Football like never before". The film shows only Best, filmed from 8 cameras, during a regular Manchester United match. The film was screened in the year 1971 by German public broadcast ARD.

Best had a cameo as himself in the 1971 British comedy film Percy.

In 1972 he made a TV series 'The Best in Football' coaching soccer to children.

In 1984 Best made a fitness album with Mary Stavin called Shape Up and Dance.

A warts-and-all biopic simply entitled Best was released in the year 2000. The Mary McGuckian directed film starred John Lynch as George Best, Ian Bannen as Matt Busby, Roger Daltrey as Rodney Marsh, Linus Roache as Denis Law, and Jerome Flynn as Bobby Charlton. The film also featured Patsy Kensit and Sophie Dahl as Best's love interests. Best was released in UK cinemas on 12 May 2000, and was subsequently released on Region 2 PAL DVD on 27 January in the year 2003 by Mosaic Movies.

Indie rock band The Wedding Present named their first album after him. He is featured on the cover wearing his red Manchester United kit.

Best has been mentioned in numerous other songs, television shows and internet articles. It has been reported that George was the inspiration for Dedicated Follower of Fashion, by The Kinks, and most recently inspired the song Where Did It All Go Wrong Mr Best? on the 2008 album Bingo by Rinaldi Sings.

Leading the way in popular culture through the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as recognised worldwide, it is no surprise that the legacy left by George Best has ensured that items connected with him are now highly collectable. In January 2010, a previously unknown collection of Best memorabilia and photographs was discovered in a house in Worsley, Greater Manchester.^[56]

In 2007, GQ named him as one of the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years.^[57]

See also[link]

• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
• Grosvenor Grammar School
• UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll

References[link]