Tributes paid to BBC TV and radio star Chris Serle after death aged 81

Tributes have been paid to BBC radio and TV presenter Chris Serle after his death aged 81. The Bristol-born star rose to fame on satirical consumer affairs show That’s Life!

He presented alongside colleague Dame Esther Rantzen covering a variety of subjects including consumer advice, rights and investigations.

Dame Rantzen has since remembered her That’s Life! co-star for being “funny, clever and charming” following his death, which was confirmed by his family to the BBC.

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Serle, who worked on programmes throughout the 80s and 90s, also chaired Radio 4’s Pick Of The Week and was the host of a long-running afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol. He also presented In At The Deep End and Points Of View for the BBC.

“I am so very sad to hear that Chris Serle, one of our best loved That’s Life! reporters, has died,” Dame Esther told the PA news agency. She sent her “deepest sympathy” to his friends and family.

“He was as nice off camera as he was in the studio on camera – funny, clever, charming, a very versatile presenter," she added. "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.”

It comes after BBC News reported Serle’s death, sharing a statement from his family which described him as a “familiar and cherished figure on British television screens throughout the 1970s and 1980s”.

Details for his funeral and memorial service are being arranged and will be shared in due course, BBC News reported. Serle is survived by his wife Ali and their three children, alongside two children from a previous marriage.