Television's Tony prepares to hang up his microphone

Tony grew up in the village of Saxby, near Melton, and his first experience of speaking in front of an audience came when he was asked to do a reading on his first day at the town’s Brownlow Primary School in 1969.

He has become one of the most recognisable faces on BBC East Midlands Today, along with Anne Davies, but he will pack away his microphone for the last time on Friday.

The 65-year-old has most recently been political editor, interviewing MPs and local councillors as well as reporting from Westminster.

His career has also seen him cover some many other high profile stories in crime, news and sport.

Tony told the Melton Times: “I have worked out I’ve interviewed about 10,000 people during my TV career which is a hell of a lot.

“You need to gain the trust of people when you are working in local news which is something I’ve always strived to achieve.”

The role of reporting for television news programmes has changed enormously from those early days when he started in the late 1980s.

He was accompanied by a team to each location but in recent years he’s been able to film himself.

“When I started out, I had a cameraman, sound man and lighting man,” Tony recalled.

"They were usually men in those days but that is changing thankfully.

"We also report live to the studio today. I won’t miss standing outside in the cold late at night reporting from Westminster or some other location.”

One of the stories which stands out in his career was covering the horrific baby murders at Grantham Hospital by nurse Beverley Allitt – he is still in contact with some of the affected families.

He recalls going on a three-day bus trip with Leicester City FC fans for a UEFA Cup match away to Atletico Madrid in 1997 – supporters were treated badly by the Spanish police and Tony captured it all on film.

There are also humorous recollections such as the time he was caught in a hailstone storm while reporting outside his old school, Brownlow Primary – the footage was replayed on one of TV outtakes shows.

Most viewers will associate Tony with his political reporting and appearing on the Sunday Politics show.

“I’ve always been interested in politics and I’ve covered every General Election for the last 25 years,” he said.

“I look forward to watching this year’s election rather than reporting there in the early hours.”

The rise of social media over the last 20 years has changed the way the broadcast media covers stories.

Tony, who started out in radio at BBC Cumbria and then BBC Derby before moving to East Midlands television news, said: “I worry that the word broadcasting gets diminished for the chance of getting online clicks.

"But we must make sure news outlets continue to be the most trusted form of media.”

Tony plans to spend more time with his wife and two sons during his retirement years, enjoying more music gigs and working as a trustee with the Child Migrants Trust.