William G Stewart (1933-2017)

The death was announced this week of William G Stewart a man with perhaps the most unique career in TV. In the early 1970s Stewart was producer/director of sit-coms like Bless This House and Father Dear Father. By the 1980s he had moved into working on game shows like Family Fortunes and The Price is Right.  Before taping for The Price is Right Stewart would walk out before the audience wearing a Bomber Jacket with Rule Britania blaring out the studio pa in order to get them to get them into a frenzy. Stewart would then find himself in front of the camera when Jonathan Ross could not commit to presenting to general knowledge quiz 15-1 which would run for 15 years from 1988.  During one edition in 2001 in which a large number of contestants did not make it past the first round Stewart was faced with airtime to  fill and so decided to air his view that the Elgin Marbles should be handed back to Greece by the Royal Museum of London. The many tributes that have been paid to Stewart is testament to his legacy in the industry.