The world of British broadcasting is mourning the loss of one of its most familiar figures. According to Sky News, the veteran journalist and broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan has died at the age of 68, prompting an outpouring of tributes from colleagues who worked alongside him over a long career in television news.
Murnaghan built his reputation across some of the most demanding roles in the industry. According to the tributes, before joining Sky News he had presented carefully crafted programmes such as the ITV Evening News and News at 10, and he later adapted to the very different, fast-moving world of rolling breaking news, becoming, colleagues said, an example for others of how to manage that intensity.
Beyond the newsroom, he was known to a wider audience for a very different kind of programme. According to the tributes, many people knew him as the host of the quiz show Eggheads, which he presented for years, while friends also remembered him as a huge Arsenal fan and a great football enthusiast with a lighter side away from the news.
In the final chapter of his life, Murnaghan faced a serious illness with characteristic openness. According to the account, he had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer around a year earlier, and at the time he was responding well to treatment, choosing to speak publicly about his condition rather than keep it private.
That decision led him to take up a cause that would define his final year. According to the account, he joined figures including Sir Chris Hoy and David Cameron in the fight against the disease, becoming an ambassador for prostate cancer research and helping to drive a campaign for a national screening programme for men at high risk.
For Murnaghan, the campaign was deeply personal. According to the account, highlighting the need for screening became his mission, drawing on his own first-hand experience of how prostate cancer had affected his life, in a bid to encourage other men to get checked early. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the UK.
Those who worked with him said his legacy would be felt both on screen and off. According to the tributes, colleagues remembered him as an accomplished and popular journalist and broadcaster who had guided newcomers through their early days in the newsroom, and who, in his final year, brought an unprecedented level of attention to a cause that will outlast him.