AlexGRFan97: Created page for Tom Boswell, dedicated to him and to Sue Baker, who I will try and make one for soon.

2022-11-17T12:40:53Z

Created page for Tom Boswell, dedicated to him and to Sue Baker, who I will try and make one for soon.

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{{Infobox Host
|name={{PAGENAME}}
|image = [[File:Tom Boswell.jpg|300px]]Boswell in 1989.
|fullname=Tom Boswell|origin=uk|dob=30th August|sex=Male|occ=Presenter|media=Top Gear (1977 TV series)|debut=Top Gear (1977 TV series)/Series 6/Episode 5|debshort=Top Gear: Series 6, Episode 5|year=1981|final=Top Gear (1977 TV series)/Series 23/Episode 6|finshort=Top Gear: Series 23, Episode 6|year2=1990}}

'''Tom Boswell''' ''(boz-WULL)'' was an Indian-born British motoring journalist who presented for ''[[Top Gear (1977 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' from 1981 until 1982 as a motorcycling correspondent, before becoming a full-time host from 1988 until his untimely death in 1990.

==Career==
Born on the 30th August, 1943<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba89135cc BFI - Tom Boswell.]</ref> in Simla (now Shimla, Himachal Pradesh), Boswell was the descendent<ref>[https://search.fibis.org/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_dataset&id=30&s_id=28 Families in British India Society - J.A.C. Boswell.]</ref> of English civil servant J.A.C. Boswell, who arrived in India in 1860. He would live most of his life in Reading, and made his broadcasting debut in 1975<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ca654725ff7645cbb8293099d991f117 BBC Genome - ''Sport on 2''. (5th July, 1975)]</ref> for BBC Radio 2. He'd present various sporting events during this time, including the 1978 running<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a524c70fa8b84d8cbdc4403e4129eafd BBC Genome - ''Sport on 2''. (25th March, 1978)]</ref> of The Boat Race, during which Cambridge's boat famously sank. He'd make his first television appearances that same year, helping to present ''That's The Way The Money Goes''<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/23256f40d35343c3968d5e2e1da873e0 BBC Genome: ''That's the Way the Money Goes: 4: Good as New?'']</ref> under lead presenter Sue Cook, where the pair helped viewers to buy a second-hand car.

===On ''Top Gear''===
Tom Boswell appeared on ''Top Gear'' for the very first time in 1981, presenting a piece<ref>BBC Infax database.</ref> on the danger of driving with bad tyres. He reappeared<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c587d8c181cf48f8a58c49e4f8f0c098 BBC Genome - ''Top Gear''. (4th May, 1982)]</ref> the following year to focus on a unique-designed British motorcycle suspension, before retiring from the programme for over six years. During this hiatus, he'd continue to review and report on cars for BBC Radio 4's ''Going Places''<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/53371e4c35d54ff8b543269d3a1ec5e1 BBC Genome - ''Going Places''. (17th October, 1986)</ref>, where he was partnered with Clive Jacobs. He would return in 1988 as part of ''Top Gear''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bid to reinvent itself during the closing years of the 1980s. Along with the likes of [[Beki Adam]], [[Jeremy Clarkson]], and [[Tiff Needell]], Boswell was brought onto the show to help lead the programme into the decade which followed. Of his approximately<ref>IMDb omits at least two of his appearances.</ref> 23 credits on ''Top Gear'', 21 were made between 1988 and 1990. He primarily focused on motorcycles but also road safety during his tenure on the programme.

===Illness and death===
Boswell's final appearances on any form of automotive journalism media came in the Summer of 1990, when he would present 4 radio programmes for [[BBC/BBC World|BBC's World Service]]<ref>[https://alexinthecities.co.uk/sources/bbc-world-service-archive/ Alex in the Cities - BBC World Service Archive.]</ref> centred around road safety. He would be absent from [[Top Gear (1977 TV series)/Series 24|Series 24]] of ''Top Gear'' due to a sudden decline in health, with his role on the show deputised by hosts such as [[Mark Forsyth]]. He was expected to continue in his role once he recovered but would unfortunately succumb to his illness on the 19th November, 1990. His cause of death was never publicly disclosed, though he would be eulogised on-screen by fellow host [[William Woollard]] in the series' [[Top Gear (1977 TV series)/Series 24/Episode 9|ninth episode]] as having had his ailment for a while, rather than an unexpected loss of life caused by an external factor. He was 47 years old.

Boswell's role on the show as motorcycling correspondent would be held by Forsyth for another year following his death, before a permanent replacement in the form of [[Steve Berry]] debuted in 1993.

==References==
<references/>

==Navigation==
{{TG 1977 Hosts}}

Tom Boswell - Revision history

AlexGRFan97: Created page for Tom Boswell, dedicated to him and to Sue Baker, who I will try and make one for soon.