My friend and former colleague Ken Goudie, who has died aged 87, was a colossus in the BBC's radio newsroom at Broadcasting House, London, for many years. He later became editor of Today and The World Tonight.
Ken was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, but his parents moved first to Chippenham, Wiltshire, and then to Cheltenham. He joined the BBC as a subeditor in 1955, having worked on newspapers in Gloucestershire and the Press Association in London. Promotion was slow in those days, but Ken's talent was fully recognised in the era of the new radio news editorial chiefs Peter Woon and Stan Taylor; and he became one of their three assistant editors.
A lover of classical music, Ken had married a newsroom typist, Pat, and they had two children, Lucy and Fred. They lived in Shooters Hill, south-east London, and bought a holiday cottage in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, the heart of Ken's beloved West Country.
Ken was dedicated to his work, but he also had a reputation as a bon vivant with the nickname "two dinners Goudie". It was alleged that he once ate three curries in one day, but that was never proved. What was certainly true was that at a BBC medical, when Ken tentatively inquired if he was overweight, the doctor replied: "According to my chart, you should be 7ft 6in tall!"
His working life changed dramatically in 1978 when the Today programme was revamped and Ken chosen to edit it. The programme, which had been cut to two half-hour segments by the controller of Radio 4, Ian McIntyre, was restored to an even fuller length than previously and the new presentation team brought together the highly successful Brian Redhead/John Timpson duo. It also made the first live broadcasts from China, fronted by Libby Purves.
Bold moves were made – horse-racing tips were introduced into the sports news and one of several programme scoops was the Zimbabwean nationalist leader Joshua Nkomo admitting that his Zapu forces had brought down a government plane in Rhodesia while independence talks were taking place in London. The interview was recorded twice because of a faulty tape and Nkomo chuckled when he gave the news the second time, which led to questions in parliament.
His job done by 1983, Ken went on to the calmer pastures of The World Tonight before taking early retirement, when he and Pat moved to Malmesbury.
Pat predeceased him. As well as Lucy and Fred, Ken is survived by two grandchildren.