Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, conducted the thanksgiving service for the television producer and executive Roger Laughton.
Roger, the BBC’s head of daytime programmes, brought Neighbours to Britain. He launched Michael Palin on his globe-trotting documentaries, and won a Bafta for River Journeys with Michael Wood. He received a CBE for services to broadcasting and, with Harvey Goldsmith, produced Live Aid.
In 1990, he left the BBC to run Meridian Broadcasting. He took over the TV and entertainment arm of United News and Media before moving to Bournemouth University to set up a media department.
Harvey Goldsmith spoke about Roger’s influence on Live Aid: ‘It was the most complex live outside broadcast ever attempted … If Roger had not pushed, Live Aid would have been nowhere near the success it became, raising £140 million.’
Roger was a rare example of a public service broadcaster succeeding in a commercial television world.
Will Wyatt, a former director of BBC TV, said, ‘Roger was the least flash, least meretricious of television folk. You could trust him completely. He was proud in a quiet way of his achievements, but was without self-importance.’
The hymns were ‘Who Would True Valour See’, ‘Be Still My Soul’ and ‘Jerusalem’. The choir of St Bride’s sang ‘God Be in My Head’, ‘Amazing Grace’, the Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana and ‘American Pie’. Janie Grace read from Ecclesiastes 3. ‘A Cricketer’s Prayer’ was read by Teo Laughton Smyth, Roger’s grandson. An ‘Evening Prayer from Hansel and Gretel’ was sung by Louisa Young and Roger’s granddaughter, Freya Austin.
KEITH CLEMENT
