Education
Born Keith Fordyce Marriott in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, he attended Lincoln School and later studied law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Born Keith Fordyce Marriott in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, he attended Lincoln School and later studied law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
He is most famous as the first presenter of Independent Television"s Ready Steady Go! in 1963, but was a stalwart of both British Broadcasting Corporation radio and Radio Luxembourg for many years. In 1955 he came to the attention of British radio listeners as a staff announcer at Radio Luxembourg where he worked with Barry Alldis. Fordyce later worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation Light Programme in the 1960s, with such programmes as the lunchtime People’s In show, and went on to host the television talent show Thank Your Lucky Stars On 9 August 1963 he presented the first edition of Ready Steady Go! on Associated Rediffusion television, being joined subsequently in 1964 by Cathy McGowan and Michael Aldred.
McGowan took over the show when Fordyce left in 1965.
In 1967 he provided the commentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation"s first colour test transmission on British Broadcasting Corporation 2, the first men"s singles final of the Open era at Wimbledon. He presented a game show for Westward Television called "Treasure Hunt" (not to be confused with the later Channel 4 programme of the same name).
In the early 1980s, he rejoined Radio Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy after Barry Alldis"s death, working in the Villa Louvigny again for six months, and regularly attracting audiences of 250,000 or more for his programmes. On 12 February 1983 he was the first presenter of Radio 2"s Sounds of the "60s.
He also hosted Radio 2"s Beat The Record for many years.
He later hosted a record programme on west of England local radio. Prior to his retirement Fordyce worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation Regional service in Devon, based at the Radio Devon studios, doing regular weekend shows.