Broadcaster John Stapleton has died at the age of 79.
John, who had Parkinson’s disease, died peacefully in hospital on Sunday morning.
Stapleton’s agent, Jackie Gil, said his Parkinson’s had been “complicated by pneumonia”:
“His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning.”
He began his career on local newspapers in North West England, before becoming a staff reporter on the Daily Sketch in Fleet Street.
His first job in television was as a researcher and script writer on This Is Your Life.
He worked as a reporter on the Thames TV regional news magazine show Today from 1971 until 1975, before joining the BBC. Over his career, he has hosted Watchdog, Good Morning Britain, and BBC’s Breakfast Time.
Former colleagues have been paying tribute to Stapleton with Sky News’ Mark Austin saying: “Incredibly sad. A good man and top presenter who could turn his hand to anything.”
Fellow Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid said on X that Stapleton was a “legend in broadcasting” and “always good-humoured and gracious to work with”.
