Legendary TV producer Michael Hurll dies aged 75
The man behind Top of the Pops, Blind Date and some of the best British comedy of the last 50 years has passed away
Legendary British TV producer Michael Hurll has passed away peacefully aged 75.
Hurll oversaw much of the best comedy and entertainment programming that has aired in the last half century. He was responsible for 70s favourite Seaside Special, Blind Date and - perhaps most famously - Top of the Pops. He took over the music show during the 1980s and was credited for introducing its party atmosphere.
As well as producing live events like the Royal Variety Show, Comic Relief and the Eurovision Song Contest, Hurll devised the concept for the British Comedy Awards - a ceremony which has grown in popularity and notoriety ever since.
Hurll joined the BBC in 1956 as a call boy who brought on guests for the Billy Cotton Show and quickly rose up the ranks to stage manager and then director. During his star-studded career the 75-year-old worked alongside comedy greats such as The Two Ronnies, Billy Connelly and Bob Hope.
In recent years Hurll had been suffering from Parkinsons Disease.
Many of Hurll's former colleagues in the TV industry have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to him:
