The English TV presenter and broadcaster Keith Chegwin has died aged 60.
Chegwin, popularly known as "Cheggers", died following a "long-term battle with a progressive lung condition" which "rapidly worsened towards the end of this year", his family said in a statement today.
The Liverpool-born entertainer was known for his 'off-the-cuff' style which made him ideally suited for live TV such as breakfast TV and gameshows.
Credit: PA
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Chegwin was active in the entertainment industry for five decades, starting as a child when he entered a end of pier talent competition in Rhyl, North Wales.
Chegwin presented many TV programmes in the late 1970s and early 1980s before his career temporarily waned due to his battle with alcoholism.
His career revived in the 1990s when he presented the "Down Your Doorstep" outside broadcast segment on Channel 4's popular breakfast TV show The Big Breakfast.
In 1999 Chegwin went on to present a revived version of the 1970s gameshow It's A Knockout on the then fairly new Channel 5.
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In 2001 Chegwin then presented the ill-advised nudist game show Naked Jungle, appearing entirely naked apart from a hat. He later called the show "the worst career move" he ever made.
Chegwin being evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother House in 2015. Credit: PA
In the 2000s Chegwin worked for seven years on GMTV before appearing as himself in an episode of Ricky Gervais' sitcom Extras in 2006.
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Chegwin collaborated with Gervais again in 2011 in the comedy series Life's Too Short with Shaun Williamson and Les Dennis.
In August 2012 Chegwin was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Reality TV Awards. In recent years he appeared in several celebrity gameshows including Pointless Celebrities, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Masterchef.
In addition to his TV output Chegwin was a renowned pantomime performer, regularly appearing in pantomimes including Aladdin, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Mother Goose.
Chegwin's last tweet came in September of this year after a sudden drop in his social media output back in June.
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His last tweet on September 28 said: "Still not right. I will be back - But not for a bit yet. I'm so sorry."
Chegwin is survived by his second wife Marie Chegwin, his daughter Rose and his son Ted. He is also survived by two siblings: his twin brother Jeff and his older sister, the radio DJ Janice Long.
Rest in peace, Cheggers.
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