TRIBUTES ARE pouring in for the BBC presenter and journalist George Alagiah who has died at the age of 67.
The presenter, journalist and writer died earlier today.
Mr Alagiah was first diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2014 and underwent 17 rounds of chemotheraphy to treat the advanced cancer.
Fellow BBC presenter Clive Myrie, leads tributes and said: “On a personal note, George touched all of us here in the newsroom, with his kindness and generosity, his warmth and good humour.
“We loved him here at BBC News and I loved him, as a mentor, colleague and friend.
“His spirit, strength and courage in the later years of his life is something his family can be so proud of.
“Journalism has lost a giant.”
Mirror journalist, Lorraine King, described Mr Alagiah as “brave”, “dignified” and “a true inspiration to us all.”
Writing on Twitter, Channel 4 Journalist, Ayshah Tull said: “Incredibly sad to hear about the death of George Alagiah.
“You cannot underestimate the power of seeing him just excelling day in day out, my parents constantly switched on the news because George was on!
“He gave me the inspiration to become a journalist, forever grateful.”
GMB Presenter Adil Ray said: “This is incredibly sad. George was the reason many of us from a South Asian background pursued our dreams.
“He gave us hope and inspiration. We’re all trying to be a bit like George.
“George, thank you. Love and sympathy to family and friends.”
Career
Mr Alagiah reported and presented for the BBC for more than three decades, presenting the BBC News at Six for the past 20 years.
He was multi-award-winning journalist, and won awards for his reports on the famine and war in Somalia in the early 1990s.
Born in Sri Lanka before moving to Ghana and then England in childhood, he joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in 1989 and then became Africa correspondent.
Mr Alagiah covered events including the Rwandan genocide and interviewed Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
In October it was announced the presenter would take a break from TV after discovering his cancer had spread further.
Mr Alagiah was married for 40 years, and had two sons with his wife and three grandchildren.
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1 Comment
Am I missing something?
Other than being handsomely paid to read an autocue.
I cannot recall a single public political measure from Asian-heritage Mr George Alagiah: or African-Caribbean Mr Clive Myrie, or the celebrated African-Caribbean Sir Trevor McDonald, to practically assist their ethnic heritage English Subjects.