Tributes for the 'wry, intelligent' quiz master

TRIBUTES have been paid to broadcaster Robert Robinson, former host of radio quiz show Brain of Britain, who died at the weekend aged 83.

Robinson, who also fronted the Today programme and worked on TV shows such as Call My Bluff, had suffered from heart problems for seven years.

Celebrities including Stephen Fry spoke of the quiz show host spoke of their sadness over his death.

"I've just heard the sad news of the passing of Robert Robinson," tweeted Fry. "Would that it weren't, would that it weren't."

"Would that it were" was a catchphrase of Robinson, who often used it in response to a wrong answer from a Brain of Britain contestant.

His daughter, Susie, one of three children with his wife, actress Josee Richard, said: "He had a very long, productive and successful life and we'll all miss him terribly."

Robinson took on the role of co-presenter of the Today programme in the early 70s, where he quickly gained a reputation for his "battering ram" interview technique. By 1974, two years after he began as host of Brain of Britain, he was named TV Personality of the Year.

Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor for BBC Radio 4 comedy, described Robinson as a "radio legend".

"Many Radio 4 listeners will have grown up listening to Robert and enjoyed his quiet, wry intelligence. We'll miss him."