Chris Serle dead: BBC Radio presenter and That's Life! icon dies aged 81 as Esther Rantzen leads tributes
Chris Serle has died at the age of 81
PA/YOUTUBE/BBC
Former BBC presenter Chris Serle has died at the age of 81, with the broadcaster sharing a message from the star's family last night.
Serle found fame and became a firm favourite throughout the 80s and 90s for his satirical consumer affairs show That’s Life! alongside the likes of Dame Esther Rantzen.
He went on to present In at the Deep End and Points of View and chaired Radio 4’s Pick of the Week between 1981 and 1988 - before becoming the host of a long-running afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol.
The 81-year-old also presented Windmill - showing archived BBC clips on themes including Doctor Who and Blue Peter - and appeared on The Computer Programme and Monkey Business in the early noughties.
His death was announced by BBC News who paid tribute to his incredible legacy, leaving behind his wife Ali and their three kids, along with two children from a previous marriage.
The broadcaster relayed a message from the family that said: "[He was] a familiar and cherished figure on British television screens throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The BBC's stars family issues a statement through the broadcaster
PA
"His family said funeral and memorial service details are being arranged and will be shared in due course."
After the news of his death was announced, many were left saddened and took to their social media to pay tribute to his legacy, with one writing: on X "Sad to hear BBC’s Chris Serle has passed at 81 He was on lots of BBC shows when I was growing up in the 70’s & 80’s The Computer Show was probably my fav."
Another added: "Chris Serle did a terrific job on ‘The Computer Programme’ – at the time an exciting look into what the future might hold and now a fascinating historical document. Well worth re-watching if you were there at the time!"
"Chris Serle is in no small way responsible for feeding an obsession that’s never left me. Difficult to underestimate the impact that simple wee clips show “Windmill” had on me. So many Sunday mornings, bewitched as he introduced *treasure*. Thank you, Chris," a third expressed.
Chris Serle was most known for his time on That's Life!
PA
Broadcaster Matthew Sweet wrote: "This is such painful news. Chris was a donnish and delightful giant of a man. He had a shambling diffidence that suited him when he – for instance – performed opera on TV without being able to sing. But I’ll remember the warm & magnanimous silent movie fan, laughing in the dark."
Actress Judy Matheson penned: "This is so sad. He was in my 1st theatre company, travelling all over the US; when I first went to rehearse in Bristol he & his family put me up. He was such a terrific guy.
"Further to my last post, a memory with the brilliant Chris Serle, with me in my 1st job with the Bristol Old Vic, on our US tour in the Garden of The Gods in Denver in 1967. He never seemed to age. We were both novices in professional theatre, but Chris became a polymath. R.I.P." (sic)
His former co-star Rantzen also paid tribute, telling the PA News agency: "I am so very sad to hear that Chris Serle, one of our best-loved That’s Life! reporters, has died.
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Chris Serle rose to fame during the 80s and 90s
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"He was as nice off camera as he was in the studio on camera – funny, clever, charming, a very versatile presenter. When I first met him he was a producer, but it was clear that he had all the attributes of the best reporters.
"Viewers and listeners of That’s Life! and the many other radio and television programmes he presented will be equally sad."