Simon Reed (born 5 August 1947[1][2] in Sutton, Surrey) is a British broadcaster, known as a commentator on a variety of sports. His voice has also been heard on Dancing On Ice. He is the half-brother of actor Oliver Reed, nephew of film director Sir Carol Reed and grandson of RADA founder Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree.
Simon began commentating on tennis in 1984 for Channel Four.[3] He has been a commentator on Eurosport since 1991. He has been head of their commentary team since 1995.[4] Since 2000, he has been part of the BBC's Wimbledon commentary team.[5] In 2009, Reed discussed tennis being part of the Olympic games and said "The whole Olympic issue is a funny one. I don't think tennis needs the Olympics any more than the Olympics needs tennis, and though it's an easier fit than it used to be I have to say I still find its presence a little strange."[6]
He gained media attention after he was suspended from the International Skating Union, after discriminatory comments against Meagan Duhamel.[7][8]
At Oliver Reed's funeral in 1999, Simon (who used to run Oliver's PR)[9] gave a tribute to his half brother saying "Oliver taught me a lot more than just about having a drink. He was innovative, very, very funny and very talented. He lived life as if it were a party."[10]
References
edit- ^ "Simon Reed: Player profile". Eurosport. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Entry information". freebmd. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Wimbledon 2013 on BBC TV: Biographies". BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "HBS Broadcast Academy discusses future of commentating, 15 September". SVG Europe. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Broadcast - BBC programme". BBC. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Simon Reed: Politics". Eurosport. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Skating announcer removed from broadcast after calling ex-skater 'The b**** from Canada' on hot mic". Yahoo Sports. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ Staff, A. O. L. (2022-03-25). "Figure skating announcer who called Olympic champ 'that b---- from Canada' gets suspended". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "Simon Reed on the secrets of tennis commentating". wimbledondebentureholders. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Oliver Reed given a rousing send-off in Cork". Irish Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
External links
edit- Simon Reed at IMDb