I was very sorry to hear that Keith Fordyce had died on 15th March, just a couple of weeks ago, aged 82. He was well known as the frontman to the pop show, 'Ready, Steady, Go!' in the early 1960s and also interviewed the Beatles when they appeared at the ABC in Plymouth.
Perhaps, though, he will be best remembered in the region as the host of Westward Television's game show, 'Treasure Hunt' in the 1960s and 1970s. The show was very popular and contestants had to answer various questions and then press a button and the amount that they won would flash up. If the 'key' symbol showed up, Keith would announce, 'It's the Golden Key!' which seemed to become, locally, his catchphrase and he probably had people shouting it out to him in the street! I can't remember what the top prize was but it was probably a few hundred pounds.
We'd all watched the show as a family. I think that it was on at 7pm. It went on for quite a while but when TSW took over the station, Keith was replaced by David Rogers and Jethro. It never seemed to have the same appeal after that and it seemed to struggle for sensible contestants. The audience seemed to be made up of OAPs who sat watching complete with overcoats, hats and handbags. I'm sure that many contestants were dragged from the audience minutes before the show started. I remember one old bloke was asked which actor played Lawrence of Arabia. After thinking about it, he gave his answer as 'Laurence of Olivier'! He was convinced he was right. Eventually, he won two gilted candlesticks and the female hostess plonked one in front of him. He looked disgruntled and shouted, as she walked away, 'No, two, dear!' I'm sure that the show couldn't have been recorded because it was awful. Eventually, it disappeared from our screens.
We had all enjoyed the show when Westward and Keith hosted it and perhaps TSW should never have resurrected it.
Keith went on to open an aircraft museum at Torbay.
It seems like only yesterday that we were all watching Westward Television and it seems very sad that many of the presenters have now passed away.
There's more about Keith's career at:
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