Tony Gubba RIP

Another wonderful voice was lost last week when sports presenter Tony Gubba, whose voice became died of a short illness. He was 69.

The Manchester-born Gubba spent much of his career working for the BBC as a commentator and presenter for the Saturday sports show Grandstand as well as the midweek sports show Sportsnight. Joining the BBC in 1972, he worked on every World Cup from 1974 to 2006.

In addition to football, Gubba was a sports all-rounder who commentated on hockey, table tennis, golf, tennis, bobsleigh, ski-jumping and darts for the BBC. He also covered every Olympic Games, both summer and winter, from 1972 to 2012.

His more recent role as a presenter on ITV’s Dancing on Ice from 2006 also introduced him to a new audience. His colourful phrasing on ice-skating terminology was much loved. Phrases such as “a butterfly lift followed by a prawn wrap” and “laundry doesn’t spin that fast in a washing machine” endeared him to a new set of television audiences.

Very sad.