Who was Cecil Taylor? Legendary BBC news reporter dies at 96

Cecil Taylor, legendary BBC Northern Ireland (BBCNI) reporter and news and TV production pioneer, died peacefully at his home near Bangor last week at age 96. His funeral service was held at Bangor's Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church on January 24, 2024.

BBC reporter Cecil Taylor dies at the age of 96 (Image via @MarkCarruthers7/X)

Taylor was crucial in the development of famed BBC shows like Newsline, and he also covered historic moments in Ireland during his reign as a reporter. According to Metro, Don Anderson, Taylor's colleague, credited the reporter for playing a pivotal role in BBC's "journey towards proper impartial journalism." He added:

"He used to say that when he arrived at the BBC the news from the Belfast newsroom sounded as if it had been written in Stormont Castle and he did something to change that, which was highly important."

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Cecil Taylor began his BBC journey in 1955

Hailing from Larne, Northern Ireland, Cecil Taylor began his journalism career at the Irish Times. As per BBC, he joined the BBC newsroom in Belfast as their only reporter in 1995, which led to an illustrious career that spanned four decades.

Writing for Chronicle, BBCNI's account during the Troubles (an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998), Taylor said:

"It is difficult to remember that television news bulletins in the United Kingdom didnt start until 1955. I joined the BBC in Belfast that year to provide the infant television news in London with a service from Northern Ireland."

He wrote scripts and was the first reporter to appear on camera on Northern Irish local television news just two years after starting at BBC. His career as a reporter saw him cover the Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s border campaign and the Troubles in the 1950s and early 1960s.

According to Metro, he slowly climbed the ladder to become a news editor and head of programmes at BBCNI by the mid-60s. As a writer, he was instrumental in developing the 10-minute tea-time bulletin and Scene at Six - now popularly known as BBC Newsline.

As head of programs, he commissioned many dramas, including Graham Reid's Billy Plays starring Kenneth Branagh. Nicknamed "Big Cecil," he was admired for his forthright manner and dedication to providing his viewers with credible news.

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Tributes pour in following the death of BBC legend Cecil Taylor

As news of the journalism giant's death spread, many of his colleagues paid homage to Cecil Taylor and his reputable career. According to BBC, Don Anderson, his colleague, said:

"He was one of the men who began television drama here – when we see all the studios here now, all the series, he began all that. Once that boulder began rolling down the hill there was no stopping it."

Former BBC news editor Robin Walsh told BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster that Taylor would be "sadly, sadly missed."

"He told you what he thought and there were no airs and graces about it. He had a fine-tuned editorial mind, but I tell you what he also had, he had an open door – sadly, sadly to be missed."

Former BBC journalist Brian Walker wrote in his tribute on Slugger O'Toole that Cecil Taylor was "valued and respected as the go-to source of invaluable local knowledge and good judgement."

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Cecil Taylor is survived by his wife Doreen, his daughter Olwyn, son-in-law Ian, and granddaughter Matty.