John Stapleton dead: GMTV presenter dies at 79

Broadcaster John Stapleton has died at the age of 79.

The renowned presenter and journalist had Parkinson’s disease complicated by pneumonia and died peacefully in hospital early this morning, his agent has confirmed.

Stapleton was best known for presenting on programmes including the BBC’s Watchdog and GMTV’s News Hour. He was also one of Sky News' original presenters.

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After almost 50 years on screen – which included reporting on the war in Kosovo and four US elections – John share his Parkinson's diagnosis in October 2024, saying he refused to be 'miserable and was 'learning to live with it.'

A year on from his diagnosis, John died peacefully in hospital this morning. His agent, Jackie Gill, said in a statement today: “John had Parkinson’s disease, which was complicated by pneumonia.

“His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning.”

The sad news comes just days after John's broadcaster son Nick appeared on BBC's Morning Live to say that his beloved dad had 'taken a turn for the worst.'

When host Gethin Jones offered Nick his best wishes he replied: "Unfortunately, Dad's got a bit of a chest infection, and that can be pretty nasty if you've got Parkinson's.

"And I just felt like I really needed to be there with him this weekend and get him some help. And thankfully, that is now in place, and I'm hopeful that, you know, he'll be back on form pretty soon."

Expressing his support, Gethin concluded, "Absolutely. Well, we send him all our love, of course."

John bravely opened up about his Parkinson's battle last year as he shared his diagnosis on Morning Live in a discussion with his son Nick.

He said: “Speaking is how I’ve earned my living for the best part of 50 years.

“It’s very frustrating sometimes, particularly [when] people are constantly saying to you: ‘Sorry, what did you say?’ And you have to repeat yourself, time and time again.

“I am fairly pragmatic about the prospect of this getting worse. I try to remain positive, because what’s the point of not being?”

He added: "There’s no point in being miserable… It won’t ever change.

"I mean, Parkinson’s is here with me now for the rest of my life. Best I can do is try and control it and take the advice of all the experts.”

Nick, who followed in his dad's footsteps to become a journalist and broadcaster, said that, while his father’s diagnosis has been “really upsetting”, it did not come as a surprise because his grandmother also had the degenerative condition.

In the UK, around 153,000 people live with Parkinson’s, a condition in which the brain is progressively damaged. John’s mother June was diagnosed aged 78 – the same age as him. It did not come as a surprise as she’d had signs for some time

Speaking about his mother, John said: “I witnessed my mother’s decline from this lively, ebullient, outgoing lady to a lady who is fairly fragile.

“One of the practical problems she faced initially was her inability to do things like open a can of beans or peel a potato. Believe it or not, I’m having the same problem, to some extent, myself right now.”

Television presenter Mark Austin said the death of broadcaster John Stapleton was “incredibly sad”.

Responding to the news in a post on X, Austin wrote: “Incredibly sad.

“A good man and top presenter who could turn his hand to anything. Best wishes to his family.”

Speaking to the Mirror last year, spoke fondly of his varied TV career.

“I had a wonderful time. I’ve worked for the BBC, I worked for ITV, and there’s been a few ups and downs but, overall, I’ve been very lucky."

John was asked to join TV-am in 1983 after he had already worked on Nationwide for the BBC and become a familiar face to viewers.

Over a 50-year career, John reported from the Falklands, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland for BBC's Panorama and Newsnight. He also co-presented Watchdog in 1980.

He also ticked off a number of the UK's biggest breakfast shows during his career from the BBC's London Plus and Breakfast Time, GMTV, Daybreak and Good Morning Britain.

Away from work, John was a devoted family man married to former BBC Watchdog presenter and campaigning journalist Lynn Faulds Wood for 43 years before her death in April 2020.

The cancer campaigner was best known for hosting the consumer investigation programme from 1985 to 1993, alongside her husband John.

A statement from her family said she died peacefully "having suffered a massive stroke last night and a subsequent bleed on the brain".

Describing her as a 'pioneer' in campaigning to raise awareness of bowel cancer, John said his wife had saved thousands of lives: "When Lynn started campaigning there were people in our business who couldn’t bring themselves to say the word cancer… Lynn would have none of that of course."

He continued: "She saved thousands of lives. She was still doing it right at the end. She would always find some ray of hope."