Pat Keysell

Pat Keysell (7 June 1926 – 31 October 2009) was a presenter of the BBC television series Vision On which ran from 1964 to 1976. She was also a mime artist and administrator.

Early life Keysell was born in Tooting, London and brought up in Petts Wood, Kent. She was educated in Orpington and trained in mime at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She later emigrated, returning to Britain in 1958 with her son, after having divorced her husband.

Career Keysell worked as a personal assistant to Ursula Eason (1910–93) who was the Assistant Head of BBC Children's Television from 1955 to 1970. She made her debut with For Deaf Children in the late 1950s by introducing mime to the format, acted out by deaf actors. By the time of Vision On she was a production assistant with the BBC's Drama Department and went freelance in order to present the new programme. She was featured on the BBC community programme See Hear on 1 April 2009, where she talked about her career in television and education. She retired and went to live in Italy, where she died aged 83, survived by her son Michael.