HHenry Kelly dead: 80s BBC legend and host of Going for Gold and Game for a Laugh dies aged 78
HENRY Kelly, who presented TV shows such as Going for Gold and Game for a Laugh, has died aged 78.
The sad news was revealed in a statement from his family.
Kelly burst into the limelight after he secured a co-presenter slot on ITV with prime-time light entertainment show Game for a Laugh in 1981.
The show was a big success and made him a household name in the country.
Kelly was also well known for presenting Going for Gold from 1987 to 1996.
The lunchtime television quiz game show was broadcast on BBC1 with contestants from across Europe.
The TV legend initially started out as a journalist at The Irish Times after he graduated from University College Dublin with a degree in English in 1968.
He was swiftly promoted to the post of its Belfast-based Northern Editor in 1970, a post which he held for five years.
In 1976 he left The Irish Times and moved to London to work as a reporter for the BBC on its Radio 4 The World Tonight programme.
Four years, later Kelly made a complete career change at the age of 34.
He abandoned journalism and chose to pursue another career in television, presenting light entertainment shows.
Kelly's TV career then took off and the rest was history.
In 1988 he briefly returned to journalism and once chaired After Dark.
Kelly also appeared as a quiz show host in the final two episodes of the Victoria Wood sitcom dinnerladies in 2000.
The star had previously worked with Wood on her show Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV in the mid-1980s.
He also appeared occasionally on Sky News television reviewing the Sunday morning newspapers.
Kelly was married to the journalist Karolyn Shindler, and resided in North London.
He was also survived by two adult children.
The TV legend was said to enjoy golf in his spare time.