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Published 22 July 2009

BBC's Question Time host David Dimbleby has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Brighton.

David (pictured right), who is 70 and lives near Eastbourne, East Sussex, is to become a Doctor of Letters in recognition of his outstanding national contribution to broadcast journalism and cultural understanding.

He will receive his doctorate from Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Colin Monk, on Friday, July 31, during graduation ceremonies at the Brighton Dome.

David said: "I admire what the University of Brighton stands for, the wide range of subjects it teaches and the part it plays in the community. So, I look forward very much to receiving the honorary degree."

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor said: "David is the most talented public broadcaster of our generation. There can hardly be a household in the nation that is not familiar with his outstanding work. The University of Brighton is delighted to be making this award to such a consumate professional."

Educated at Glengorse School, Battle and Charterhouse, David studied politics, philosophy and economics at Christ Church College, Oxford. He joined the BBC as a news reporter in Bristol after leaving university and during his career has presented Panorama, 24 Hours, People and Power and Dimbleby Talk-in.

He has been a commentator for a wide range of special outside broadcast events including the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, and the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

He has presented the BBC's general election programmes for the last three decades and has chaired Question Time, the BBC's flagship debating programme, since 1994.

David has written and presented a number of award-winning film series, including; The White Tribe of Africa (1979 Royal TV Society Supreme Documentary Award) and The Struggle for South Africa (Emmy Award 1991). In 1998 he received a BAFTA (Richard Dimbleby Award) for the most important personal contribution to factual television.

In 2005, he wrote and presented a major BBC series, A Picture of Britain, celebrating British and Irish paintings, poetry, music, and landscapes. In June 2007 he wrote and presented a follow-up, the BBC series, How We Built Britain, in which he travelled thousands of miles exploring the buildings that define a nation and how one particular period of architecture gave each region its unique character.