He attended Emanuel School after passing his eleven-plus in 1944 and served as a conscript during his national service, in the ranks of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, from 1951 to 1953.
By the early sixties, he had become one of four regular newsreaders on BBC national television, along with Richard Baker, Robert Dougall and Corbet Woodall.
Aspel was a studio announcer at the BBC on 14 February 1969 during a live broadcast from the Dorchester Hotel of an awards ceremony, when the host, Kenneth Horne, died of a heart attack.
[5] From 2 September 1974 until 27 July 1984, Aspel also presented a three-hour weekday, mid-morning music and chat programme on Capital Radio in London.
He then presented a Sunday show on Capital (which only lasted for a few months, ending on 30 December 1984) before moving to LBC for the remainder of the decade.
In 1977, Aspel appeared with a number of other newsreaders and presenters, dressed as sailors, in a song-and-dance routine ("There is Nothing Like a Dame") on The Morecambe and Wise Show.
Both had served, at different times, in West Germany, Aspel in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and Pettigrew in the REME.
Also taking part in the programme were comedian/compere Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Thomas, author of The Virgin Soldiers, and BBC Radio 2 drivetime host John Dunn.
This was followed by Nobody Cried When The Trains Pulled Out, a documentary about the evacuation of children from major British cities during World War 2 that included champion boxer Henry Cooper, actor Derek Nimmo and author Ben Wicks.
The show was successful in attracting high-profile guests including then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and George Harrison with Ringo Starr.
In 1993, Aspel & Company was censured by the Independent Television Commission because of an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone who were promoting their joint business venture Planet Hollywood.
[9] Aspel presented BBC's Antiques Roadshow from 2000 until 2008; his last programme (recorded at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk) was shown on 30 March 2008, being a tribute to himself.
As a supporter of the charity Cancer Research UK, Aspel was made a Freeman of the borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, in April 2008.