Daniel Vindel was born in Madrid on 3rd February 1932 and became a Spanish journalist and television host who specialised in sports broadcasting and game shows for young people which were generally centred around the theme of sport. His career began on Radio Juventud (Youth Radio) and he soon after progressed to Radio Nacional de España, where he presented Antorcha deportiva (The Sports Torch). He also worked in commercial radio from the late 1950s as a presenter for EAJ2, Radio España in Madrid.

Daniel made the transition to television with shows like Estudio galerías (Gallery Study, 1960) and La Olimpiada del saber (The Olympiad of Knowledge, 1964-1965), the latter of which led to him being awarded the RTVE National Prize in 1965. However, it was with Cesta y puntos (Basket and Points, 1966-1971) that he really came to national prominence. The show - which he had previously presented successfully on radio - was themed around the rules of basketball, but with the teams scoring baskets by answering a variety of questions. A succession of schools took part in the series, two per programme. As with La Olimpiada del saber in 1965, Daniel's work on Cesta y puntos garnered an award, the Antena de Oro in 1968. After the cancellation of Cesta y puntos, Daniel revamped the idea in Subasta de triunfos (1971-1972), a series which included games of a more practical nature and even some physical challenges, this time in the form of an auction. He went on to present another twist on the format during 1973 and 1974 with Camino del récord.

In 1975, TVE launched Torneo (Tournament), a show in which they broadcast national youth tournaments for athletics, swimming and the like, and Daniel again fronted the programmes. One of these shows that today survives in TVE's archives features a very young Miguel Indurain taking part in the athletics game. Indurain would go on to become a world famous cyclist, who was the winner of the Tour de France between 1991 and 1995. The series lasted until 1979.

During the 1980s, Daniel appeared less frequently on television but still participated in programmes such as Juvenil cultural in 1982 and the equestrian programme Al galope (1984-1985).

In 1990 he began working as a commentator and presenter on Jeux Sans Frontières for the Spanish broadcaster TVE, a role that he also fulfilled for the show's 1991 season. Unfortunately this would prove to be his last work.

In his personal life, Daniel was married to Aurora López Clemente, an announcer at RTVE who worked with Daniel on most of his famous programmes. The couple had a daughter, Maria Rosa Vindel Lopez (born in 1958), who became a successful lawyer and politician. Daniel died at his home in Madrid on 7th January 1996,  just one month shy of his 64th birthday. He was reportedly relaxing in front of his television when he suffered a fatal pulmonary thrombosis.

by David Laich Ruiz and Alan Hayes