Dennis Norden Dies: Veteran UK TV Host & Comedy Writer Was 96

Veteran TV host and comedy writer Denis Norden has died aged 96, his family has said.

Best known as the frontman for long-running ITV blooper show It’ll Be Alright On The Night, Norden died on Wednesday morning following a spell in a London hospital. He hosted the hit ITV series from 1977 until his retirement aged 84 in 2006.

After an early career working in cinemas, Norden began scriptwriting during the Second World War. He wrote his first script for the BBC at the age of 19 and from 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the successful BBC Radio comedy programme Take It From Here with comic Frank Muir with whom he was a regular collaborator.

Norden also wrote a number of film scrips in the 1960s and 70s, including Paramount comedy The Bliss Of Mrs Blossom, starring Shirley MacLaine and Richard Attenborough, United Artists rom-com Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell (which scored a WGA nomination) with Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters and Phil Silvers, and 1971 comedy The Statue with David Niven, Robert Vaughn and John Cleese.

Tributes have been widespread this morning:

Norden is survived by his wife Avril and their son and daughter.