Broadcaster Derek Jameson dies following heart attack

Veteran broadcaster Derek Jameson has died. His wife Ellen confirmed that the 82-year-old, who edited three national newspapers, had a heart attack at his home.

Derek Jameson edited the Daily Express, the Daily Star and the News of the World and was also managing editor of the Daily Mirror, and a presenter on BBC Radio 2.

• Mr Jameson was born in poverty in London's East End where, without parents, he grew up in a home
• He began work in Fleet Street as a messenger boy at the age of 14 and rose through the ranks to edit some of Britain's biggest newspapers
• He developed a reputation as a builder of circulation and, asked to launch the Daily Star - the first new national tabloid for 75 years, he took it to more than a million copies within a year

Derek was not only a unique broadcaster and Fleet Street legend but also a really nice, kind and generous man who always knew exactly how to tap into the mood of the nation at the time. I remember nothing more demonstrated his sensitive nature than when he broke down on air during his daily review of the papers while reading a story about a child with leukaemia. Listeners at the time will remember his daily catch phrase 'morning morning Jameson here'. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his wife Ellen.

RIP Derek Jameson - one of the great characters in Fleet Street history.

From @piersmorgan on Twitter: ( 6:52 pm, Wed 12 Sep 2012)

The BBC turned him into a celebrity with television series such as Do They Mean Us? and his popular breakfast show on Radio 2.

He went on to present a chat show for six years with his wife, establishing the largest late night radio audience in Europe.

Much of his fame rested on his gravelly Cockney voice, which he regarded as unique because it contained elements of Manchester, where he worked for eight years, and wartime days as an evacuee in Hertfordshire.

Mr Jameson leaves Ellen, his third wife, and four adult children.