Prominent figure in the media industry

CHARLES Wilson, former editor of The Times, was a prominent figure in the media industry.

Mr Wilson, pictured, was born in Glasgow and first worked for the News Chronicle and the Daily Mail before editing the Glasgow Evening Times, The Glasgow Herald and the Scottish Sunday Standard.

He served as deputy editor of The Times from 1982 to

1985 before becoming editor between

1985 and 1990.

Despite his combative method of working, he only fired three people during his editorship, one of whom was future Prime Minister Boris Johnson for fabricating a quote.

He also edited the Independent briefly in 1995 and 1996.

Mr Wilson was managing director of the Mirror Group in the 1990s and editor-in-chief of The Sporting Life.

He had a lifelong interest in horse racing and was a member of the Jockey Club and an owner and breeder at his home in Leicestershire.

Mr Wilson is survived by his wife of 21 years, Rachel, his three children, Emma, Luke and Lily, and seven grandchildren.

He was previously married to broadcaster and TV presenter Anne Robinson and journalist Sally O’Sullivan.

He met Robinson, who would later become a household name as the host of The Weakest Link, while working at the Daily Mail and they had a tempestuous five-year marriage, ending in a court battle for custody of their only child.