He learned German at Freiburg University, and read economics and law at St John's College, Cambridge.
Ernest Bevin, then British Foreign Secretary, heard the broadcast, and was spurred to press ahead with what became the Marshall Plan for the nations of Europe to rebuild their economies after the war.
During that period, programmes such as Monitor, Tonight and The Sky at Night were created; Panorama was relaunched; and David Attenborough began his wildlife broadcasting career.
He became a consultant research historian at the BBC, and assisted Professor Asa Briggs in producing the official History Of Broadcasting In The United Kingdom.
He also wrote obituaries for The Independent from 1987, and published a book, Inside The BBC: British broadcasting characters, in 1994.