Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart dead: Former BBC broadcaster dies following a stroke

Tributes have been pouring in for the former broadcaster

Ed ‘Stewpot’ Stewart, the veteran BBC DJ and presenter, died following a stroke (Re (Rex)

Ed ‘Stewpot’ Stewart, the veteran BBC DJ and presenter, has died following a stroke.

Rocky Taylor, a friend of 40 years, said the former BBC Radio 1 DJ and Crackerjack presenter died in hospital in Bournemouth.

He served as one of Radio 1’s first presenters, broadcasting from its launch in 1967. He began his most well-known radio role in 1968, on ‘Junior Choice’ on Saturday mornings, later becoming the first presenter of ‘Newsbeat’ for the station.

Mr Stewart also saw a career as a broadcaster, most famously as the host of children’s TV programme Crackerjack from 1973-1979.

Tributes have been pouring in for the DJ, with whom many people grew up on the airwaves.

Bob Shennan, Director of BBC Music, said in a statement: "Everyone at Radio 2 is extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart.

"Ed has been a stalwart of popular music broadcasting for many years and over the past few Christmases, he brought back Junior Choice to the delight of millions of loyal listeners.

"We are thinking of Ed's friends and family at this difficult time."

Presenter David Hamilton also paid tribute to his former colleague.

"Like all of us, radio was his first love. But also, he did very well on television. He was one of the hosts of Crackerjack for a long time, he did Top Of The Pops and he had his own programme.

"He was one of those radio people who did also work well on television," he said.

There have also been numerous tributes on social media: