How Des O'Connor, who has died aged 88, began his showbiz career at Filey

The TV star died on Saturday, his longtime agent and family friend Pat Lake-Smith said.

She said in a statement that the “ultimate entertainer” had been recovering from a fall when he died.

Des O’Connor presented his own prime-time TV shows for over 45 years.

He was known for shows like Today With Des And Mel and Des O’Connor Tonight, as well as being the butt of many a joke from comedy legends Morecambe and Wise.

His agent said: “Des, who was 88, was so well loved by absolutely everyone. He was a joy to work with – he was talented, fun, positive, enthusiastic, kind and a total professional.

“He loved life, and considered enthusiasm almost as important as oxygen. He adored his family – they were everything to him. He is survived by his wife Jodie, their son Adam and his four daughters, Karin, TJ, Samantha and Kristina."

Des became a Butlin Redcoat shortly after spending a week's leave, from the RAF, on holiday at Butlins Filey.

It was there that he met his first wife Phyllis, who was also on holiday there.

Phyllis won the weekly heat of the National Holiday Princess contest and later in the year went on to win the Grand Finals, becoming Miss Holiday Princess Of Great Britain.

After completing his National Service in the RAF, he and Phyllis were married and soon after this made a joint application to become Butlin Redcoats.

They were accepted for Filey camp, where Phyllis became a Redcoat Radio Butlin announcer and Des a general duty Redcoat.

At this stage Des' talent on the microphone was secondary and in his autobiography he boasts about running table tennis contests, refereeing football matches and dancing with elderly ladies at the afternoon tea dances.

He later developed the confidence to do a sing-song in the Pig and Whistle. He also says in his book. "Every day I learned something new about interacting with a crowd."

He also said: "I would volunteer for the bingo sessions, because they were a real challenge. As many as a thousand campers at a time would play, and there were frequent long breaks while cards were being checked.

"You would have to keep the crowd entertained with jokes, quips, gags and off-the-cuff sing-songs, anything to keep the customers happy".

Des was proud to become the House Captain of Edinburgh house, and was coerced into playing Captain Blood, by Jackie Clancy, which almost cost him his life. Captain Blood was normally the alter ego of Jackie, the boxing instructor at Filey, and a great practical joker.

He fooled Des into playing the part of the hated Captain Blood. Poor Des, after being chased by thousands of kids, all dressed up as pirates, was thrown into the pool. Not knowing, or caring if Captain Blood could swim or not, he was thrown into the deep end and Des, a non swimmer, nearly drowned.

He finished up being rescued by Jackie Clancy, who dived in fully clothed. After Des had been hauled out of danger and into the camp medical centre, he was transferred to Scarborough General Hospital.

By his second Butlin season Des had become resident singer and host in the Pig and Whistle and was doing a comedy spot in the weekly Redcoat show.

A visit by London agent Pete Davies resulted in a week's booking at the Palace Theatre, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in October 1953. Two shows a night, twenty pounds for the week. That was the start of Des O'Connor's phenomenal career in the world of showbiz.

Des first began fronting his own TV show in 1963.

The four-times married star has appeared on stages around the world including hundreds of shows at the London Palladium, and Scarborough's Futurist.

He had his own US TV programme, and his chat show Des O’Connor Tonight was a British television staple for a quarter of a century.

He also hosted Channel 4 quiz show Countdown with Carol Vorderman, with the pair bowing out together in 2008.

Aged 75 in 2007, he married singer-songwriter Jodie Brooke Wilson, then 38, four years after he first proposed and 17 years after they first got together.

They had a son three years before the wedding.

He had four daughters from his three previous marriages.

His singing career saw him sell 16 million records and spend 117 weeks in top 10 of the charts.

Des was made a CBE for his services to entertainment and broadcasting.

The late councillor and West Ayton pub landlord Mick Jay Hanmer was a trombone player for Des, backing him at venues such as the London Palladium. He also souped up the cars of the rich and famous, including Des's, and said that all the tapes in the car were Des's own!

Filey Butlins information from an article by Rocky Mason on the website Butlins Memories.