Barry Bucknell

Barry Bucknell (January 26, 1912–February 21, 2003) was a BBC TV presenter who popularised Do It Yourself (DIY) in the United Kingdom.

Bucknell served an apprenticeship with Daimler, after which he joined his father's building and electrical firm in St Pancras, London.

In the 1950s he presented the series "Barry Bucknell's Do It Yourself" which attracted seven million viewers. The Programmes were presented live and, despite rehearsing his projects at home with his wife timing him, occasionally resulted in on-screen mishaps with Bucknell saying "This is how not to do it!".

The 1962 series "Bucknell's House" followed a 39-week BBC project renovating a house, bought for £2,250, in Ealing. The house was now said to be worth £800,000 on 'How TV Changed Britain' (C4, 22 June 2008)

From the mid-1960s on he became increasingly involved in sailing and he and Jack Holt designed the popular Mirror Dinghy. He also designed a two-man canoe for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a catamaran for his wife and himself, which he moored next to his house in St Mawes, Cornwall and caravans.

References

* [http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/bucknell/bucknell.htm Whirligig TV] website
* [http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/people/BG.0028/ "Making the Modern World"] website of The Science Museum

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2787345.stm Obituary]