Alan Towers
Alan Towers was a presenter of Midlands Today, BBC Midlands' regional news programme.
Career
After stints as a newsreader with ITN and Granada Television in Manchester, Towers joined BBC Midlands in 1972 as the main presenter on Midlands Today and was also seen nationally as a presenter of features from the English Midlands on Nationwide. His most famous item was the infamous "skateboarding duck" story. He regularly presented the programme with Kay Alexander.Following a heart attack during the late 1980s, Towers left his role as main presenter but continued on Midlands Today as a sports presenter and reporter. During this time, he also raised thousands of pounds for charity by walking the Great Wall of China and riding a motorbike across Canada. He appeared in a few episodes of the BBC's medical drama Dangerfield as a local TV news reporter.
In 1997, Towers announced his resignation from the BBC on-air and left viewers with a disparaging comment about the state of BBC management:
Despite these comments, Towers returned to Midlands Today as a special guest on the programme's last broadcast from the Pebble Mill studios in October 2004.