Peter Donaldson, voice of Radio 4, dies aged 70

'His delivery - rich, yet calm and precise - oozed authority'

Peter Donaldson was 70-years-old (PA)

Peter Donaldson, “the voice of Radio 4 for a generation”, has passed away at the age of 70.

The BBC newsreader’s death was announced during the BBC Radio 4 news bulletin. Radio 4 Today presenter John Humphrys said his former colleague, who had cancer, was “one of the great radio newsreaders”.

He became the chief announcer for the station in 1998 and retired in 2012, reading the midnight news for one final time on 31 December.

BBC correspondent James Cook said his voice and delivery “oozed authority”, while newsreader Corrie Corfield praised Donaldson as “a great friend and the best boss ever”.

Files released by the National Archive ten years ago showed Donaldson was chosen to read special bulletins on a radio station in the event of a nuclear attack on Britain.

The Wartime Broadcasting Service would have replaced radio stations in the event of such an emergency, according to the BBC. The first bulletin would have opened with: “This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked by nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known.”