Bryan Russell Martin was born on May 29 1935 at Ulverston, Cumbria, the son of a stock and share broker who lived in the next street to the birthplace of the comedian Stan Laurel. He became a Senior BBC Radio 4 newsreader and presenter of the 70s and 80s, who announced on the Today programme the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, and broke the news of the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980. He appeared in The News Quiz, occasionally introduced The Goon Show, and read the spoof “news bulletin” which always featured in the middle of the comedy The Men From the Ministry.