Jess Yates

Who was Jess Yates?

Jesse Frederick Joseph Yates was a British television presenter and producer. He was the creator, presenter and producer of Yorkshire Television’s religious programme Stars on Sunday, for which he gained the nickname 'The Bishop'.

He was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. His family moved to Llandudno when he was five. After leaving school, Yates worked as a cinema organist. Yates was born into a show business family; his mother booked his stage acts. After the war he directed documentary films, joined BBC Television as a freelance designer and joined the BBC on the production side in 1949. He was involved with programmes such as Come Dancing, The Good Old Days and the Miss World competition. In later life, he lived in the village of Rowen, near Conwy in North Wales.

In 1968, he became head of children's programmes for Yorkshire TV. The following year, he began hosting Stars on Sunday. Yates would introduce the show seated at an electric organ – on which he occasionally performed using much tremulant – placed in front of a stained-glass window. One of his many observations was, "We can't see round the bend in the road, but God can."