Former broadcaster Tom Edwards has died at the age of 80

Former BBC and pirate radio broadcaster, Tom Edwards has passed away aged 80.

Tom, who was on pirate stations Radio City and Radio Caroline in the 1960s, went on to work for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. He also spent time as an announcer for various TV stations, including Thames Television, ATV, and HTV West.

From Norwich, Tom began his radio career when he joined offshore pirate Radio City in 1965, where he went on to become senior DJ.

He joined Radio Caroline South in early 1967 where he stayed until the Marine Offences Act came into force in August of that year. He affectionally earned the nickname of Tatty Tom because he was always smartly dressed.

In late 1967 Tom joined the BBC working as a TV newsreader and presenter on BBC Look East. Then, in 1968 he started working for BBC Radio 1 initially replacing Simon Dee on Midday Spin, later becoming a staff announcer and newsreader on both Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. He also presented a number of shows on Radio 2 during the 1970s.

Tom returned to his hometown of Norwich in 1990 after working as a freelancer in TV during the 1980s and spent time working on BBC Radio Norfolk.

His autobiography, Is Anybody There, which goes into detail about his career and personal struggles, was published in 2018.