# Gilbert Harding > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gilbert_Harding > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gilbert_Harding.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Harding > Source revision: 1352556437 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) English journalist and broadcaster (1907–1960) Gilbert Harding Harding, 1949 Born Gilbert Charles Harding (1907-06-05)5 June 1907 Hereford, England Died 16 November 1960(1960-11-16) (aged 53) Marylebone, London, England Alma mater Queens' College, Cambridge Occupations Journalist, radio and television personality **Gilbert Charles Harding** (5 June 1907 – 16 November 1960) was a British journalist and radio and television personality. His many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman, [disc jockey](/source/Disc_jockey), actor, interviewer and television presenter. He also appeared in several films, sometimes in character parts but usually as himself – for example in *[Expresso Bongo](/source/Expresso_Bongo_(film))* (1959). Harding had a sizeable role alongside [John Mills](/source/John_Mills) in the 1952 film *[The Gentle Gunman](/source/The_Gentle_Gunman)*. He played the lead in [Behind the Headlines (1953 film)](/source/Behind_the_Headlines_(1953_film)). He narrated the introduction to the film *[Pacific Destiny](/source/Pacific_Destiny)* (1956). He also made a couple of comedy recordings in 1953, with [Hermione Gingold](/source/Hermione_Gingold), on the Philips label: ' Takes Two to Tango ', and ' Oh, Grandma ' (Philips P.B.104), with Peter Yorke and His Orchestra. ## Early life Harding was born in [Hereford](/source/Hereford) where his parents, Gilbert Harding and May King, were employed as "master" and "matron" of the city's [workhouse](/source/Workhouse).[1][2] His father died in 1911 at the age of thirty following an [appendicitis](/source/Appendicitis) operation,[3] and so his mother sent their son to board at the [Royal Orphanage of Wolverhampton](/source/The_Royal_School%2C_Wolverhampton), "an excellent academy" which prepared him for his subsequent education at [Queens' College, Cambridge](/source/Queens'_College%2C_Cambridge). Due to the circumstances of his upbringing, Harding was fond of the "half-true" claim to have been "born in a workhouse and educated in an orphanage".[4] His paternal grandparents, Gilbert William and Mary Priscilla Harding, were superintendents of the Children's Home at Caerleon, Newport, Wales; his maternal grandfather, Charles King, was in charge of the Hereford Union Workhouse, having previously worked at the workhouse in [Aylesbury](/source/Aylesbury), Buckinghamshire.[5][6] After Cambridge, Harding took jobs teaching English in Canada and France. He returned to Britain and worked as a policeman in [Bradford](/source/Bradford), before taking a position as *[The Times](/source/The_Times)* correspondent in [Cyprus](/source/Cyprus). In 1936 he again returned to Britain and began a long-term career with the [BBC](/source/BBC). ## BBC career He was a regular on BBC Radio's *[Twenty Questions](/source/Twenty_Questions)*[7] and was voted Personality of the Year in the National Radio Awards of 1953-4.[8] Harding regularly appeared on the BBC television panel game *[What's My Line?](/source/What's_My_Line%3F_(British_game_show))* as a panellist, having been the presenter of the very first episode in 1951. Harding was notorious for his irascibility and was at one time characterised in the tabloid press as "the rudest man in Britain". His fame sprang from an inability to [suffer fools gladly](/source/Suffer_fools_gladly), and many 1950s TV viewers watched *What's My Line?* less for the quiz elements than for the chance of a live Harding outburst. An incident on an early broadcast started this trend when Harding became annoyed with a contestant, and told him that he was getting bored with him. In 1960 he was reduced to tears on an edition of the *[Face to Face](/source/Face_to_Face_(British_TV_series))* series,[9] after being questioned by the host [John Freeman](/source/John_Freeman_(British_politician)). As the focus of the interview moved on to the subject of death, Freeman asked Harding if he had ever been in the presence of a dead person. At this point, in replying in the affirmative, Harding's voice began to break and his eyes watered. Freeman later said he had not anticipated the effect this would have; Harding had witnessed his mother's death in 1954.[10] Freeman appeared to be unaware that Harding was referring to his mother, for later in the interview he asserted that Harding's mother was still alive. Harding contradicted him and Freeman moved quickly on. This version of events has been contradicted by the producer, [Hugh Burnett](/source/Hugh_Burnett_(producer)).[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*][11] Freeman publicly expressed regret about this line of questioning.[12] He was seen as a lonely [bachelor](/source/Bachelor). Harding also admitted in the programme that his bad manners and temper were "indefensible". "[I'm] profoundly lonely", he stated, later adding, "I would very much like to be dead." ## Death Harding died a few weeks after the *Face to Face* programme was broadcast, collapsing outside [Broadcasting House](/source/Broadcasting_House) as he was about to climb into a taxi. The cause was an [asthma](/source/Asthma) attack. He was 53 years old. ## Media Behind Harding's gruff exterior there was a lonely and complex man. In 1979, radio presenter Owen Spencer-Thomas on BBC Radio London's *Gilbert Harding* described him as "enigmatic ... bad-tempered and rude, yet his friends counted him as one of the kindest, and most generous."[13] The *Face to Face* interview was rebroadcast on [BBC Four](/source/BBC_Four) on 18 October 2005, following a repeated episode of *What's My Line?*. It was also broadcast in part on the BBC Four series 'Talk at the BBC'. A three-hour programme, *The Rudest Man in Britain*, was broadcast on [BBC Radio 4 Extra](/source/BBC_Radio_4_Extra) in 2014 and has been repeated several times. This included interviews with people who knew and worked with Harding, and explored his life, personality, sexuality and influence in a non-judgemental way. It included the *Face to Face* interview in full, as well as episodes of programmes in which Harding was either Chairman or panel member. It ended with [Stephen Wyatt](/source/Stephen_Wyatt)'s play *Dr Brighton and Mr Harding*.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In 2002, Harding was played by [Edward Woodward](/source/Edward_Woodward), with [Jonathan Cullen](/source/Jonathan_Cullen) as his secretary, in Leonard Preston’s play *Goodbye Gilbert Harding*, which portrayed the final decade of Harding’s life.[14][15] ## References and sources **References** 1. **[^](#cite_ref-GCHperDWB_1-0)** [Denis William Brogan](/source/Denis_William_Brogan) (September 2004). "Harding, Gilbert Charles (1907–1960), radio and television broadcaster". *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/33701](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F33701). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-198-61412-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-198-61412-8). (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-GHperPH_2-0)** ["The Workhouse, the story of an institution ..."](http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Hereford/) Peter Higginbotham. Retrieved 26 May 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Harding, Gilbert. *Along my Line*. London: Putnam, 1953, chapter 2. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Brief Lives, Paul Johnson, Arrow Books, 2011, p. 127 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Along My Line, Gilbert Harding, Putnam, 1953, p. 3 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Gilbert Harding: A Candid Portrayal, Wallace Rayburn, Angus & Robertson, 1978, p. 8 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Kynaston, David](/source/David_Kynaston) (2009). *Family Britain 1951-7*. London: Bloomsbury. p. 18. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780747583851](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780747583851). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Kynaston, David (2009). *Family Britain 1951-7*. London: Bloomsbury. p. 354. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780747583851](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780747583851). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** According to the booklet for the *Face to Face* Region 2 DVD set (p.27) the interview with Harding was recorded on 3 July 1960 and broadcast on 18 September 1960. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Gilbert Harding: A Candid Portrayal, Wallace Reyburn, Angus & Robertson, 1978, p. 82 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Frances Bonner, *Personality Presenters: Television's Intermediaries With Viewers*, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot, 2011, p.82 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Andrew Roberts ["Harding, Gilbert (1907–1960)"](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1216201/), BFI screen online website. Accessed URL 29 May 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Stephen Bourne ["Harding, Gilbert"](http://www.museum.tv/eotv/hardinggilb.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233725/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/hardinggilb.htm) 3 March 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), The Museum of Broadcast Communications website. URL retrieved 29 March 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Goodbye Gilbert Harding, Theatre Royal, Brighton, until November 2"](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5122409.goodbye-gilbert-harding-theatre-royal-brighton-until-november-2/). *The Argus*. 30 October 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Goodbye Gilbert Harding, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/goodbye-gilbert-harding-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford-139655.html). *The Independent*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220707070438/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/goodbye-gilbert-harding-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford-139655.html) from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2025. **Sources** - [Grenfell, Stephen](/source/Stephen_Grenfell_(broadcaster)) (ed.) (1961) *Gilbert Harding By His Friends*. London: Andre Deutsch (memories) - Harding, Gilbert. (1953) *Along My Line*. London: [Putnam](/source/G._P._Putnam's_Sons) (autobiography) ## External links - Russ J. Graham, ["Gilbert Harding"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060105053039/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/gilbert.php) at *TV Heroes*. - Andrew Roberts, ["Harding, Gilbert (1907–1960)"](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1216201/) at *ScreenOnline*, British Film Institute. - [Image of Gilbert Harding](https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/images/episode/p009yc8q_640_360.jpg) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States Other SNAC --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gilbert Harding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Harding) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Harding?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.