Remembering Tyne Tees’ George Romaine

One of TTTV’s best loved personalities has passed away.

George Romaine, for many in the North East, is still fondly remembered as one of the early big stars of Tyne Tees Television. Romaine died earlier this month aged 82.

George was part of TTTV’s first night on January 15th, 1959 performing as an ensemble of singers the musical number There’s No Business Like Show Business as the opening song to The Big Show, and later a solo turn with the standard Witchcraft.

He would join regulars such as comedians Jack Haig, who later went onto national fame in Crossroads and ‘Allo ‘Allo, and Bill Maynard, who became best known for his roles in Oh No, It’s Selwyn Froggitt! and Heartbeat, on the daily live daytime variety series The One O’Clock Show which launched on January 19th, 1959 and was produced by future Dad’s Army executive David Croft.

As the lead singer with the lunchtime production Romaine worked with some of the biggest performers of the era including Shirley Bassey, Vera Lynn, Alma Cogan, Diana Dors and Eve Boswell to name a few.

Such was the success of the 40-minute live entertainment series it caused a ‘domestic revolution’ in the North East it was claimed as housewives changed their routines in order to stop and watch the programme.

Bill Lyon-Shaw, Tyne Tees’ first programme controller, devised The One O’Clock Show and recalls;

“I’d been responsible for the Lunchbox Show at ATV in Birmingham” Lyon-Shaw said in 1998 for Memories of Tyne Tees Television, adding, “That is where I got the idea for The One O’Clock Show. We found out that in the Tyneside area many of the children went home for lunch and after the food was cooked it was the mother’s relax time… The show had everything; music, dialogue, drama and dance.”

George Romaine was hired as the show’s lead singer after making his TV debut on ATV’s Lunchbox programme presented by Noele Gordon. George recalled in 1998 for Memories of Tyne Tees Television;

“I was appearing at the Aston ATV studios with the Northern Dance Orchestra, and at the end of the show, the floor manager said there was a telephone call for me… the phone voice said ‘I have just seen your spot on television and I am impressed.’”

The call was from agent Joe Collins who signed up Romaine and began to get the singer more radio and television work. Tyne Tees offered George a five-week contract to perform on The One O’Clock Show, Romaine would remain with the broadcaster for 27-years.

In 1964 The One O’Clock Show was taken off air after 1,098 editions of which George had sung on 1,096 of them. The final episode aired on March 27th ’64 with Romaine closing the show to Matt Monro’s ‘For All We Know (we may never meet again)’. However, it wasn’t the end of George’s on-screen career. He had been part of a number of other productions including singing and co-hosting new year’s eve spectaculars and a late evening entertainment series, Ten O’Clock Special.

In April 1964 Romaine moved over to host an ‘on the road’ series Glamour Trail which was a weekly music and talent series which featured special star guests, ballroom dancing competitions, beauty pageants, and singing. The show would be broadcast from a different venue each week, usually a ballroom or dance hall.

After fronting one series of Glamour Trail – in the ITV North East ratings it beat Coronation Street for every week it was on the air – Romaine was offered two jobs. One with the Ted Heath Band, the other as an executive behind the scenes at Tyne Tees. He opted for the latter, turning down national fame, and remained a senior member of the Public Relations Department at the City Road Studios in Newcastle-upon-Tyne until he retired in 1985.

“From the day I joined Tyne Tees until the day I retired, every morning in my life, whether it was raining, snowing, thundering or a lovely sunny day, I said ‘lets get to work’. How many can say that.” He recalled in 1998.

George Romaine was born in Shildon where he lived all his life, he was educated at Timothy Hackworth juniors and famously noted that he failed a voice test for Durham Chorister School. He trained and worked as a wagon works electrician before venturing into show business singing in clubs and notably between dog races for £12 a night at the Spennymoor Racing Track.

After retiring from television Romaine became a fundraising executive for the Teesside Hospice and president of Bishop Auckland Cricket Club. He gave up singing in any form after his voice was affected by a slight stroke – but did make one exception six years ago when he performed Gracie Fields’ Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye at a friend’s funeral.

George Romaines (bosses at TTTV rebranded him as George Romaine) died suddenly on March 14th, 2012 aged 82. His funeral took place last week at Saint Johns Church in Shildon.