Radio Two DJ Chris Stuart who dreamed up TV quiz show Only Connect and commentated on Princess Diana’s funeral has died at 73
- Chris Stuart, who was one of the first hosts on BBC Radio Wales, has died
- He was the commentator across BBC radio for Princess Diana’s funeral service
- Colleagues and family members paid tribute to the presenter
A former Radio Two DJ who launched cult TV quiz show Only Connect has died at the age of 73.
Chris Stuart was hailed as one of the ‘true greats’ of broadcasting after being radio commentator on Princess Diana’s funeral – then moving from a daily radio presenter to TV production.
Stuart, born in Durham, he was one of the first hosts on BBC Radio Wales, before moving London to work on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4.
He worked as a daily presenter on Radio 2, fronting several programmes including Cinema 2 and the Auckland Commonwealth Games.
A former Radio Two DJ Chris Stuart (pictured) who launched cult TV quiz show Only Connect has died at the age of 73
For Radio 4 he was the host of the science quiz Inspiration.
He was the Westminster Abbey commentator across all the BBC’s radio networks for the funeral services of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Queen Mother.
BBC Cymru Wales director Rhuanedd Richards said: ‘Chris used his intelligence, curiosity and engaging personality to brilliant effect.’
Stuart was also a daily presenter on Radio 2 and set up the production company behind BBC quiz Only Connect and Late Night Poker on Channel 4.
On the popular quiz show, first broadcast in 2008, teams compete by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
Presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell fronts quiz show Only Connect – which was produced by Chris Stuart and his wife Megan
He came to Wales for a journalism training programme at the Western Mail in Cardiff after graduating from New College, Oxford.
In 1978 he joined the newly created BBC Radio Wales, hosting breakfast news and entertainment programmes over the next nine years.
Paying tribute, Ms Richards said: ‘He was instrumental in ensuring the success of Radio Wales in its early days and became one of its defining and most recognised voices.’
‘He could engage with any topic and find the right words for the big occasions,’ she added.
Chris and his wife Megan set up their own television and radio production company, Presentable, in 1993. They produced Only Connect fronted by Victoria Corin Mitchell from a factory on an industrial estate in Cardiff.
Victoria Coren Michell said: ‘Everyone is devastated by the loss of Chris Stuart, our brilliant colleague.’
She added: ‘Joyful and lovely and wise and insightful, and a talented broadcaster himself, which listeners to Radio Wales will remember. Most of all he was our beloved, treasured, friend, and we’re heartbroken.’
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