The broadcaster and award-winning documentary film-maker, Desmond Wilcox, died in hospital early today.
Wilcox, 69, died at St Mary's Hospital in London in the early hours of this morning, his wife Esther Rantzen said. He had suffered from coronary heart disease for many years and undergone two heart bypass operations.
Rantzen said: "I had 32 of the best years of my life with him. He radiated warmth and light into our lives and for the moment we fear that we have lost the sunshine we depended on." She added that her husband had wished for some of his organs to be used to help others, a gesture that was typical of "an extraordinary caring and giving man".
Wilcox began his career in journalism as a reporter on a weekly newspaper in 1949, following a spell in the merchant navy. In 1960 he moved to television as a reporter on ITV's This Week current affairs programme, where he stayed for five years until joining the BBC.
But it was for the BBC that he was to make his mark with his highly-regarded documentary-making. He was co-editor and presenter of the landmark Man Alive series in 1965, pioneering some innovative documentary techniques, and formed the Man Alive Unit three years later.
From 1972 to 1980 Wilcox was head of general features at the BBC and went on to make series such as Americans, The Visit, Black in Blue and A Day in the Life. His series of six documentaries about David Jackson - the boy without a face - garnered five international awards. Wilcox was also a long-standing member of the Bafta council.