Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on the eastern edge of the city.[3] Later in his childhood the family moved to Bolton, then part of Lancashire, where he attended Bolton County Grammar School. He left formal education with two "O" Levels, one in mathematics[4] and one in geography. He was called up for national service and spent three years in the Royal Air Force. He was posted to Wales as a radar operator and was later sent to Germany to monitor the Hamburg-Berlin air corridor.[5]
Ball began his entertainment career by working as a Butlin's Redcoat, and was an entertainer in northern clubs and cabaret. He was nicknamed Johnny after John Ball, who played for Bolton Wanderers from 1950 to 1958 and the name stuck.[6]
Television and radio career
Ball was one of the hosts of pre-school programme Play School beginning in 1967 and continuing throughout the 1970s and beyond. He was also a regular fixture on children's television from the mid 1970s and throughout the 1980s, presenting several series of science and technology programmes intended for children (including Think of a Number; Think Again; Think Backwards; Think...This Way and Johnny Ball Reveals All). As well as appearing on screen Ball wrote jokes for some shows including Crackerjack.[7] All of these shows (except the ITV programme ...Reveals All) appeared on the BBC. Ball's shows were known for presenting scientific and technological principles in an entertaining and accessible way for young people.[8][9][10][11]
In 2003, Ball appeared on The Terry and Gaby Show in which he answered viewers' questions. In July 2004, he was named in the Radio Times list of the top 40 most eccentric TV presenters of all time.[12] In July 2012, he presented a Horizon special on ageing on BBC Four. He has starred in ITV and Channel 4 television adverts as well as radio adverts for the Yorkshire-based firm Help-Link.[13]
In 2012, Ball took part in the Strictly Come Dancing television show, where he was paired with Aliona Vilani. A training accident in the three-week interval resulted in torn ligaments for Vilani, causing her to retire temporarily from the show. She was replaced by Iveta Lukošiūtė who, with Ball, was eliminated in the first week.[14] Vilani returned in the final group dance alongside Ball. In an interview in October 2017, Ball said that Vilani faked the injury, with Vilani denying the allegation and saying she would take legal advice over Ball's comments.[15] There are no reports that she subsequently took any form of legal action.[16]
Personal life
Ball's daughter Zoe by his first wife, Julia née Anderson, previously presented Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two for BBC TV and currently presents the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. The couple divorced when Zoe was two.[17]
In November 2006, Ball voiced his opposition to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, which would require any adult working with children to be vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said: "It is like George Orwell's 1984... a quarter of adults will have to be checked... The fear we are instilling in [children] is abhorrent."[20]
In 2007 it was reported that Ball rejected the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, stating that "carbon dioxide has been unfairly victimised in the debate." He supports the expansion of nuclear power and has given speeches arguing for its development.[21][22] On 15 December 2009, he was booed off stage at a London show for his climate change denial.[23]
^Bellos, Alex (8 February 2021). "Can you solve it? Think of a number". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2021. ...Think of a Number was hosted by Zoe Ball's dad Johnny, and to many Britons, this one included, it was an indelible cultural highlight of growing up in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
^"Johnny Ball - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?". The Express on Sunda. 11 July 2020. pp. 68–69. Millions of us grew up watching Johnny 'Think of a Number' Ball, on children's TV from the mid 70s.
