"Funny as a cow's crotch"

And so farewell, then, Michael Hurll - producer of such top-rated television shows as The Two Ronnies, the Eurovision Song Contest and The Royal Variety Show - and the man most credited with making the ailing Top of the Pops a renewed success in the day-glo, neon-lit 1980s.

He was ostensibly a quiet, modest, bespectacled figure but by all accounts ruled with a rod of iron.

He was also a complete bitch, never afraid to voice his opinions on the myriad famous people with whom he worked:

• Charlie Drake: "a horrible, horrible man".
• Bob Hope: "the nastiest man I’ve ever worked with".
• Jerry Lewis: "a nasty piece of work".
• Mike Yarwood: "an alcoholic; very sad"
• Rod Hull (of Emu fame): "a dirty bastard; the most miserable, nastiest man you ever met".
• Cannon and Ball: "as funny as a cow's crotch".
• Johnny Vegas: "nah"

The world of light entertainment owes this man a big debt.

RIP

Michael Hurll obituary in The Guardian