Bob Wellings obit

Former Anglia TV and Nationwide presenter Bob Wellings dies

 He was not on the list.

Former Anglia TV presenter Bob Wellings has died at his home in Suffolk.

Mr Wellings, 87, joined Anglia Television in 1959 and worked on the nightly About Anglia programme as a reporter and presenter.

In 1969 he joined the BBC and later became a household name working on the Nationwide programme alongside Frank Bough and Sue Lawley.

Mr Wellings, who was born in 1934, retired to Halesworth in Suffolk.

Friends said he had a fall just before Christmas and died in his sleep earlier this week.

He is survived by his wife and three children.

Wellings was born on 1 April 1934 in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, to Louise (née Dalzell) and Francis Wellings. His father, a geologist for the Iraq Petroleum Company, hailed from Shropshire, while his mother was originally from Texas.

During his early childhood, the family lived in the Far East before relocating to the United States at the onset of the Second World War. While in the U.S., Wellings attended an American military school.

In 1947, following the war, the family settled in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Wellings continued his education at Downside School in Somerset, where he boarded. After completing his schooling, he served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of his National Service.

Wellings went on to study English at Trinity College, Cambridge. During his time at Cambridge, he became involved in the university's renowned Footlights dramatic society, appearing in several amateur productions that showcased his budding talent.

Wellings began his career as a hack writer of children's books and a cartoonist for Tatler and Punch magazines, using the moniker "Robert." Following this, he taught at a boys' prep school in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

In 1959, Wellings transitioned to broadcasting, joining Anglia Television's local news programme About Anglia in Norwich as a reporter and presenter. His entry into the role was serendipitous, resulting from a chance meeting with a senior executive on a train. In 1964, he joined BBC Television's South regional news team, before returning to Anglia Television from 1966 to 1969.

In 1970, Wellings rejoined the BBC and became a presenter on Nationwide, a role he held until 1979. During his tenure, he worked alongside colleagues such as Frank Bough and Sue Lawley. Describing the versatility required of the job, Wellings remarked in the 1991 documentary Let’s Go Nationwide: "As a Nationwide reporter, you had to be able to tackle anything, from interviewing, say, Edward Heath to some extraordinary animal."