That's Life! and BBC Radio 4 presenter Chris Serle has died aged 81

Former That's Life! and BBC Radio 4 presenter Chris Serle has passed away aged 81. His former colleague on the popular 80s consumer affairs show, Dame Esther Rantzen, led tributes.

Also known for presenting Radio 4 favourite Pick of the Week between 1981 and 1988, Serle was also host of a long-running afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol.

Dame Esther paid tribute to the "funny, clever and charming" reporter, who became a household name for his pieces on consumer rights on That's Life!, sending "deepest sympathy" to his family and friends.

"I am so very sad to hear that Chris Serle, one of our best loved That’s Life! reporters, has died," she said. "He was as nice off camera as he was in the studio on camera – funny, clever, charming, a very versatile presenter.

"When I first met him he was a producer, but it was clear that he had all the attributes of the best reporters. Viewers and listeners of That’s Life! and the many other radio and television programmes he presented will be equally sad."

Bristol-born Serle's family confirmed he had passed away to BBC News on Monday evening, saying he was a "familiar and cherished figure on British television screens throughout the 1970s and 1980s".

He also presented In At The Deep End and Points Of View for the BBC.

Details for his funeral and memorial service are being arranged and will be shared in due course, BBC News reported. Serle is survived by his wife Ali and their three children, alongside two children from a previous marriage.