[3] Henry's father (Thomas Robert Calthorpe Blofeld, 1903–1986) was at Eton with Ian Fleming and his name is believed to have been the inspiration for the name of James Bond supervillain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Blofeld and the BBC apologised for a comment that was "not spawned by malice".[20]. [31] He was one of the travellers in series 4 of the Twofour production The Real Marigold Hotel. His last test commentary was when England played West Indies at Lord's on 9 September 2017.

He played one Gillette Cup match for a minor county, Norfolk against Hampshire in 1965 under the captaincy of Bill Edrich, who was 49 years old at the time. Speaking to The Telegraph after their wedding, the former Test Match Special commentator spoke of his wife: Valeria is the only girl I’ve met who loves what I do. He was wicket-keeper for the Eton College First XI[8] and had an exceptional career as a schoolboy cricketer. 894646. He also uses the phrase "my dear old thing".[19]. [32], Blofeld has been married three times and divorced twice. The following year, he appeared alongside Fred Trueman in the "Tertiary Phase" of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series playing himself. [16][22] His fourth book was entitled Squeezing the Orange. [9] The 1958 side was skippered by future England captain Ted Dexter and his first victim behind the stumps, on his debut for Cambridge against Kent, was also another future England captain, Colin Cowdrey, whom he caught off Dexter's bowling. Henry and Valeria used to live in London and they are based in Norfolk now. He earned his fame as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio. The stars of The Real Marigold Hotel have settled in their new home in Puducherry, India. [24], Outside cricket, Blofeld's favourite hobby is "drinking wine", followed by "eating food" and "going out." During the summer 2008 season, he resumed a full commentating quota on Tests and ODIs. That winter after Suki was born, I went off on. [28], Blofeld celebrated his 70th birthday by hosting an evening show in front of 2000 paying "guests" at the Royal Albert Hall, with appearances on stage by friends such as TMS commentator Jonathan Agnew, who narrated the event live, West Indian commentator Tony Cozier, TV personality Stephen Fry, cricket journalist John Woodcock, TV celebrity Christine Hamilton and his elder brother, former High Court Judge Sir John Blofeld. Have something to tell us about this article? [23] The book recounts his personal and professional life, including encounters with various celebrities and politicians, and a 46-day road trip from London to Bombay in a vintage Rolls-Royce.

Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, OBE (born 23 September 1939)[1] nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. [6], Blofeld was educated at Sunningdale School and at Eton College, followed by King's College, Cambridge, but failed both his final exams "by an innings". He also writes on cricket and has authored eight books to date. He has established a reputation as a commentator with an accent, vocabulary and syntax that is quintessentially Old Etonian both in style and substance. Speaking to Michael Parkinson about this on BBC Radio 2 on 26 August 2007, he responded to the question of why he was commentating less these days, by remarking that "they obviously want to bring in new faces" adding that during the Ashes series during 2006–7 "I felt in a funny way that I wasn't part of it any more". Valeria also has children of her own from a previous relationship. [7], Blofeld played cricket at both Sunningdale and Eton. Valeria also has children of her own from a previous relationship. Welcome to the boisterous bubbly world of Blowers; crickets' quintessential commentator & national treasure.

This Morning viewers divided over London Mayor candidate’s comments, {{^disable_secondary_title}} {{#secondary_title}} {{secondary_title}} {{/secondary_title}} {{^secondary_title}} {{title.raw}} {{/secondary_title}} {{/disable_secondary_title}} {{#disable_secondary_title}} {{ title.raw }} {{/disable_secondary_title}}. And thanks to TripAdvisor, we found that the two were on a Meditteranean cruise in 2016 where they enjoyed a day out at a local restaurant in Lisbon. Henry Blofeld: at last, love has bowled me over. He attended Eton and then King’s College, Cambridge, despite not passing any A-Levels (“my family had been going to King’s forever”, he explained). Popular Tags: ITV,Channel 4,BBC,Love Island,Netflix. ", "Henry Blofeld: 'I'll never retire. [2], Blofeld's family were landowners at Hoveton in Norfolk and he was the youngest of three siblings. Of the 16 games that Blofeld played for Cambridge (five in 1958 and 11 in 1959), he kept wicket in only four of them. He was unable to obtain a regular place in the side as a wicket keeper and only played in that position when first choice Chris Howland was unavailable. He has a daughter, Suki (born 1964), with his first wife. Henry has one daughter called Suki, 56, from his first marriage with Joanna. In his only match for Free Foresters, against Cambridge University in 1960, Blofeld kept wicket. Blofeld has been a regular commentator for TMS since 1972, except for a period at BSkyB from 1991 to 1994. Henry retired a few years ago, enjoying retirement life with his new wife Valeria.

[citation needed], In 1995, Blofeld was censured for an allegedly antisemitic comment made live on-air on Test Match Special, when broadcasting from Headingley. He had a double heart bypass operation in 1999 after being diagnosed with angina and was given the last rites after he nearly died in intensive care following the operation. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.

We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Henry, 78, and Suki, 54, a caterer, on rude nicknames, Bond villains and why they’re both rebels. [9] In 1956, Blofeld scored 104 not out for a Public Schools team against the Combined Services,[10] and he was given the Cricket Society's award for the most promising young player of the season. His last first-class victim was Howland, captaining Cambridge that year. He had a double heart bypass operation in … ... the first of which produced a daughter, Suki, now 49. Blofeld has been married three times and divorced twice. Henry has one daughter called Suki, 56, from his first marriage with Joanna. Henry and Valeria’s children. In January 2012, he rejoined the TMS team covering England's tour of the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan and also the autumn 2012 England tour of India. HenryI can remember Suki arriving, but this was an era when fathers didn’t have much to do with the birth of their children. In 1959, Blofeld played in half of the University fixtures, including the Varsity Match against Oxford,[13] where he won his Blue "as an opening batsman of sorts... the worst Blue awarded since the war" according to Blofeld himself. The BBC One programme returned for series 4 with a new line-up of celebrities who want to test the sweet retirement life in India far away from gloomy and cold Britain. On 23 June 2017, Blofeld announced his retirement as a BBC Test Match Special commentator. [11] Appointed Eton captain in his final year at school, Blofeld suffered a very serious accident, when he was hit by a bus while riding a bicycle,[8] remaining unconscious for 28 days.[12][7]. [8] Blofeld continued as a print journalist until 1972 when he joined the Test Match Special team. When she’s not busy creating entertainment news content she loves spending time in nature, reading non-fiction books, eating comfort food and travelling.