Troubled children's TV '˜chum' Chegwin dead at 60

Last night, his co-stars and a generation of viewers reacted with shock and sadness as time caught up with Keith Chegwin.

He died at 60 from after battling an incurable and rapidly worsening lung condition. His wife Maria, daughter Rose and son Ted were by his side.

He had risen to fame on the BBC’s Multi-Coloured Swap-Shop, the corporation’s first attempt at a Saturday morning show for children, and went on to marry his co-presenter, Maggie Philbin.

She called the news of his death “heartbreaking”, and described him as “a one-off – full of life, generous and with a focus on things that mattered... his family.”

Ms Philbin, who was divorced from Chegwin in 1993 after 11 years of marriage, said she had seen him two months ago at the wedding of his sister, the disc jockey Janice Long, to her long-term partner, and that he was “still attempting to be life and soul of the party despite being on portable oxygen”.

Noel Edmonds, the host of the Saturday morning programme, said Chegwin had been “my first real telly chum” and called him a “true legend”, while co-host John Craven described him as “bubbly, positive, full of fun”.

Edmonds said: “He was an extraordinary showman, capable of entertaining a vast crowd of excited children during the long periods between his live contributions to the show.

“I never saw Keith flustered or lost for words. In fact I never saw him upset or angry. I never heard Cheggers say a bad word about anyone. Like all true professionals he possessed the knack of reinventing himself time and time again.”

Chegwin was a comedian, accomplished musician and singer who was at his best, Edmonds said, on location, “with a member of the public about to be surprised on their doorstep”.

He added: “Millions will be grateful for Keith’s contribution to their childhood memories and like me they will mourn the passing of a friend.”

John Craven said: “We worked together for 10 years and remained good friends, which doesn’t always happen when strangers are thrust together on a television show.

“He was a master of the off-the-cuff remark and always made his job look so easy, whatever show he was doing, which is the true mark of a star on top of his game.”

Chegwin went on to present his own children’s show, Cheggers Plays Pop and later tried to update his act for a grown-up audience, hosting a revival of It’s A Knockout and revealing rather too much of himself on Channel Five’s Naked Jungle, which he described as the “worst career move of my entire life”.

He also hosted Channel 4’s Big Breakfast in the 1990s and as an actor appeared as Fleance in Roman Polanski’s 1971 adaptation of Macbeth and in the 2004 comedy, Shaun Of The Dead.

A native of Liverpudlian who never lost his distinctive Scouse accent, Chegwin’s life on the small screen had actually begun in Yorkshire, on the talent show Junior Showtime, produced in Leeds. He was reputedly spotted there by the dance teacher June Collins, mother of the rock star Phil Collins, and invited to audition for the West End production of Mame.

He made a name as a reliable performer in the low-budget features of the Children’s Film Foundation and gravitated to small roles on TV. But it was on Saturday mornings that he was to find his metier, and in the late 1970s his face was as familiar as any in Britain. When he and Philbin married, the wedding was a national TV event.

They had met, she said, when they shot a film item about windsurfing and was she struck by his “energy and kindness”.

She said he had insisted on driving her back to Leicester­shire, insisting it was on his way home, even though he lived only 15 miles from the surfing lake.

However, fame, and the pressures of being a role model to his young audience, took their toll, and he confessed following the break-up of their marriage that he was an alcoholic.

Chegwin had spoken openly about his fight against alcoholism in an interview on the TV show, This Morning.

Chegwin, who was 34 at the time, told Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan: “I am an alcoholic. It’s a disease.”

He said his hectic work schedule led him into a downward spiral where he needed a drink to relax and help him sleep.

“The moment I have a drink, then, bang, I’m gone,” he said.“It won’t be a couple of gin and tonics, it would be two bottles.”

Earlier this year he sent best wishes to fellow presenter Ant McPartlin, who was treated for depression and alcohol and substance abuse, writing: “I know just how hard it can be.

“Be proud - you’re a very brave and honest man.”