Veteran broadcaster John Stapleton has died at age 79, his agent said, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He passed away in hospital on Sunday morning, with his condition complicated by pneumonia, Jackie Gill said, adding that his son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa had been at his side and that he died peacefully. BBC News reported the death: BBC News article.
Stapleton's long career included presenting the BBC's Watchdog and GMTV's News Hour. He began his journalism career at the Oldham Chronicle and later became a familiar face on television, presenting Watchdog with his wife Lynn from 1985 to 1993.
Tributes poured in from colleagues. Charlotte Hawkins, a former Good Morning Britain presenter, described him as a 'brilliant broadcaster' and a 'genuinely lovely man'. Newsreader Mark Austin said he was 'a good man and top presenter who could turn his hand to anything'.
Stapleton disclosed his Parkinson's diagnosis in October 2024 during appearances on ITV's Good Morning Britain, saying: 'There's no point in being miserable. It won't ever change. Parkinson's is here with me now for the rest of my life. Best I can do is try and control it and take the advice of all the experts.'
His death prompts reflection on a career that spanned television news and consumer affairs, and on the impact of veterans of British broadcasting. The tributes and public record of his illness have highlighted the human side of a longtime presenter who helped shape daytime television.