Popular Broadcaster and host of BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute, Nicholas Parsons has died aged 96 after a short illness, his agent said.
Nicholas Parsons was surrounded by his family when he died in the early hours of Tuesday, a statement added.
He first fronted Just A Minute, where panellists have to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition, on its inception in 1967.
The broadcaster missed a recording of the show for only the second time in more than 50 years last summer, due to a bad back, the UK Evening Standard report.
His agent Jean Diamond said on behalf of his family: “Nicholas Parsons passed away in the early hours of the 28th of January after a short illness at the age of 96.
“He was with his beloved family who will miss him enormously and who wish to thank the wonderful staff at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.”
Paying tribute, BBC Director-General Tony Hall said his “charm, inventive intellect and ability to create laughs were unsurpassed”.
He added: “Very few people have done so much to entertain audiences over the decades, and no one deserves to be called a broadcasting legend more than Nicholas Parsons.”