Fifteen To One host Stewart dies aged 84
TRIBUTES have been paid to “consummate professional” TV host William G Stewart who died aged 84 yesterday.
The former Fifteen To One presenter became a household name when he fronted the Channel 4 general knowledge quiz programme from 1988 until 2003.
Sandi Toksvig, who now presents The Great British Bake Off, stepped into Stewart’s shoes when the show returned for a revamped series in 2014.
Following his death, she tweeted: “Sad news about William Gladstone Stewart.
“A lovely man, a consummate TV professional and of course, host of 15 to 1 long before I stepped up.”
Comedian Adam Hills, who has hosted the Celebrity Fifteen To One series since its inception in 2013, also paid his predecessor a fond “farewell”.
In a light-hearted Twitter tribute, he wrote: “Farewell to William G Stewart. Even if I had three feet, I’d never have filled his shoes.”
Father-of-five Stewart was also a hugely successful producer and director, working on quiz shows The Price Is Right and Family Fortunes and sitcom Bless This House.
He also backed the Daily Express campaign to scrap inheritance tax, joining a march to Downing Street in 2006 to call for an end to the “death tax”.