1. Loyd Grossman presented the BBC programme MasterChef from 1990 to 2000 and was a co-presenter, with David Frost, of the BBC and ITV panel show Through the Keyhole from 1987 until 2003.
27 Facts About Loyd Grossman
1. 2.
Loyd Grossman's cousin was Ram Dass, the spiritual teacher and author.
3.
Loyd Grossman became involved with journalism as an undergraduate in Boston writing for a number of 'underground' and music publications including Boston After Dark, Fusion, Vibrations, the New York Review of Rock and Rolling Stone.
4.
Loyd Grossman has written for many British newspapers and is a regular contributor to Country Life.
5.
Loyd Grossman presented Masterchef from 1990 to 2000 and Junior Masterchef as well as a great number of other programmes including Loyd on Location, The History of British Sculpture, and Behind the Headlines.
6.
Loyd Grossman presented the BBC Radio 3 series Composers at Home.
7.
Loyd Grossman has a continuing career as a guitarist initially with punk band Jet Bronx And The Forbidden, who reached number 47 in the UK singles chart in December 1977 with "Ain't Doin' Nothing".
8.
Loyd Grossman returned to playing music in 2008 at the Vienna Rebellion Punk Festival.
9.
Loyd Grossman subsequently formed a new band, The New Forbidden, with Valentine Guinness.
10.
Loyd Grossman appears as a guest artist with Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull when they play their annual concerts in aid of English cathedrals.
11.
In 1995, Loyd Grossman introduced his own brand of cooking sauces, which a 2003 survey found to be the most successful UK celebrity brand.
12.
Loyd Grossman was disappointed that there seemed to be little real money or political will to change hospital catering.
13.
Loyd Grossman is a former commissioner of the Museums and Galleries Commission, a former commissioner of English Heritage, and of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.
14.
Loyd Grossman was a founding member of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, past chairman of the National Museums Liverpool, deputy chairman of Liverpool European Capital of Culture, chairman of Culture Northwest and of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association.
15.
Loyd Grossman was chairman of the University for the Creative Arts from 2008 to 2012 and a member of the Court of Governors of the LSE from 1996 to 2009 and is an emeritus governor.
16.
Loyd Grossman was deputy chair of the Royal Drawing School, a member of the Council of the British School at Rome, a member of the board of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and a governor of the Building Crafts College.
17.
Loyd Grossman is chairman of The Royal Parks, having been reappointed for a four-year term in July 2020, to run from 5 July 2020 to 4 July 2024.
18.
Loyd Grossman was chairman of Gresham College, a governor of the British Institute at Florence, a governor of the Compton Verney House Trust and a trustee of the Warburg Charitable Trust.
19.
Loyd Grossman is president of the Arts Society and patron of the Association for Heritage Interpretation.
20.
Loyd Grossman is Master of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, an Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars.
21.
Loyd Grossman is a fellow of a number of learned societies: the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Royal Society of Medicine.
22.
Loyd Grossman was married to Deborah Puttnam, the daughter of the film producer David Puttnam, from 1985 to 2004 and they have two daughters.
23.
Loyd Grossman is a keen scuba diver and a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox.
24.
Loyd Grossman was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Birthday Honours for services to patient care and promoted to Commander of the same Order in the 2015 Birthday Honours for services to heritage.
25.
Loyd Grossman was knighted in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to Heritage.
26.
Loyd Grossman was awarded an honorary DLitt degree from the University of Chester in 2007, an honorary DArts degree from the University of Lincoln in 2010, and an honorary DUniv degree from the University of Essex in 2014, all in recognition of his work for heritage and tourism.
27.
Loyd Grossman is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London since 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.