Tom Vernon

Thomas Bowater Vernon (23 April 1939 – 11 September 2013) was a British broadcaster and writer, best known as the titular "Fat Man" of a number of popular travelogues.

Early life Thomas Bowater Vernon was born on 23 April 1939 in Stepney, London, the son of a Bengal Lancer and colonial administrator for Nigeria. His mother was a hospital matron. Vernon's other duties at the BHA included oversight of its various publications. His campaigning work was significant; he is credited with helping secure the decriminalisation of abortion in Britain.

Radio career While working for the British Humanist Association, Vernon started writing topical current affairs songs for the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. In 1970, he was the first presenter on the newly launched BBC Radio London.

The Fat Man series After several years working as a presenter and interviewer for BBC Radio 4, Vernon's first travelogue series was Fat Man On A Bicycle, in 1979. Vernon would repeat this journey fifteen years later for the television series Fat Man in France.

Fat Man at Work and his first television series, Fat Man in the Kitchen, deviated from the travelogue style of the other series. The former featured Vernon talking to people working in factories, while the latter was a cookery programme filmed in his own kitchen in Muswell Hill, in which each edition was devoted to the cuisine of a different country. This was one of the first cooking programmes to be filmed outdoors. Fat Man in Italy (1980) Fat Man on a Roman Road (1983) Fat Man at Work (1983)

Television series Fat Man in the Kitchen (BBC, 1985–6, two series) Fat Man Goes Norse (Channel 4, 1987) Fat Man in Argentina (Channel 4, 1990) Fat Man Goes Cajun (Channel 4, 1991) Fat Man Goes West (Meridian, 1993) Fat Man in France (BBC, 1994) Fat Man Wilts (Meridian, 1995) Fat Man of Kent (Meridian, 1996)

Publications Fat Man on a Bicycle: A Discovery of France (1981) Fat Man on a Roman Road (1983) Fat Man in the Kitchen (1986) Fat Man in Argentina (1990) Fat Man in France (1994)

Awards In 1981, Vernon won radio personality of the year for his BBC Radio 4 series Fat Man in Italy; radio presenter of the year, and producer of the best radio documentary. The couple had two sons, Jos and Hal. The marriage ended in divorce in 1986; however, the pair remarried in 1992, having moved to France together in 1990.

Vernon died of a heart attack on 11 September 2013, aged 74, at his home in the Cévennes, France.