Stuart Prebble, the influential television figure behind the BBC hit Grumpy Old Men and a former chief executive at ITV, has died at 74. His family confirmed the news, revealing he had been battling pancreatic cancer.
Prebble’s passing has prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the broadcasting world, with many reflecting on his creative legacy and journalistic brilliance.
Among the first to honour him was political broadcaster Michael Crick, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “One of the most distinguished TV journalists of modern times”.
Others also took to social media to share their memories and admiration. One tribute praised Prebble as “a really talented, inspiring and creative TV executive, who was able to navigate very tricky fast changing times. Sad news”.
Another wrote: “One of Britain’s best TV journalists, editors, investigators and original minds: fabulous sense of humour has died. RIP Stuart Prebble: Editor of World in Action and creator of Grumpy Old Men and @sky Landscape Artist”.
Prebble’s journalism career launched with a scoop most reporters could only dream of while he was still a university student in 1972. As Wings, Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band, toured UK campuses with unannounced gigs, they turned up in Newcastle, where Stuart was working on the student paper, The Courier.
“I looked in the back of the van and there was Paul McCartney”, he recalled. Despite it being a Sunday and the Student Union being closed, Stuart found a workaround: “I told them the Student Union was closed on a Sunday but that they might be able to play in the canteen”.
He helped set up the show, where 400 students paid 50p each to hear McCartney’s new material – netting Stuart a front-page story and an unforgettable byline.
That early break marked the beginning of a wide-ranging career. After five years at the BBC, he moved to Granada and became a central figure at World in Action, a hard-hitting current affairs show known for, as he once put it, “righting wrongs, taking on the establishment and uncovering dodgy dealings of one kind or another”.
In 2001, he took the reins as ITV’s chief executive but left after the collapse of ITV Digital, which he also led. He later created Grumpy Old Men, a cultural phenomenon that gave famous men a platform to rant about everyday frustrations.
Famous people included Rick Wakeman, Bob Geldof, John Peel, and Jeremy Clarkson. The hit spin-off Grumpy Old Women, in which Ann Widdecombe, Janet Street-Porter, and Germaine Greer all air their own societal grievances, was the success of its popularity.
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Source: Mirror
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