That was a life that was ...

Ned Sherrin died today, aged 76 years old. His BBC obituary describes him as a "humorist, anecdotalist, raconteur, impresario, producer, presenter, playwright, actor and author" -- which comes reasonably close to capturing his extraordinary versatility. I first became aware of Ned Sherrin in 1986, as a teenager at school, when a friend told me I just had to listen to Loose Ends, his weekly arts and entertainment show on Radio 4. I was hooked immediately, one of yet another generation of Ned Sherrin's fans. Last year, I -- and the rest of the Loose Ends audience -- became conscious of Ned's worryingly frequent coughing as his voice cracked during links. By October, he was off-air, diagnosed with a paralysed vocal chord. The diagnosis was soon changed to throat cancer.

Here's a little reminder of Sherrin, the larger-than-life TV host, in full voice: from We Interrupt This Week, a popular American quizshow broadcast in 1979.