TV presenter Mike Morris dies at 65

Christa Ackroyd and Christine Talbot, his co-presenters on Yorkshire TV’s news programme, led the tributes to Morris, who was known nationally in the 1980s as one of the first hosts of breakfast TV.

Christa said on her Twitter account: “He would have been so glad to know how many people had fond memories of him. I know I did.”

Christine Talbot added: “Very upset to hear of the death of our former Calendar News presenter Mike Morris. Spoke to him just recently. He was still full of fun.”

Lorraine Kelly, who shared a breakfast TV sofa with Morris, said: “Very sad news. He was a good man and a very underrated broadcaster.”

Morris, who died after a short illness, joined TV-am initially as a sports presenter, after working on newspapers in Surrey and Sydney, Australia, and a stint at Thames Television.

He was promoted to the main news programme alongside Anne Diamond and Nick Owen after a boardroom shake-up and the sudden departure of original presenters Anna Ford and Angela Rippon.

After the station lost its franchise in 1991 - prompting an on-air outburst in which Morris said he was “gutted” - he joined Yorkshire TV, which was then run by his former boss at TV-am, the late Bruce Gyngell. He left the station in 2002.

Current Calendar host Duncan Wood tweeted: “Very sad to learn of the death of Mike Morris. He was a broadcaster of immense talent and very fondly remembered here at Calendar News.”

His former TV-am sports colleague Richard Keys said: “Desperately sad news. Mike Morris, my buddy from TV-am, died last night. Top guy and hugely under-rated. Loved a laugh. I’ll miss you buddy.”