Yorkshire treasure and veteran BBC Look North presenter Harry Gration dies suddenly aged 71

An emotional Amy Garcia, who shared the screen with Harry for seven years, announced the news at the end of tonight's BBC Look North programme.

She confirmed that Harry died suddenly today (Friday).

"We all at Look North are absolutely devastated to give you this news," she said.

"Next week we will take time to pay tribute to Harry properly - that's what he deserved."

As she broke down, she gave her condolences to Harry's wife, family and friends from the team at Look North.

The Bradford-born news anchor became a Yorkshire institution after fronting the programme for more than 38 years, before stepping down in 2020.

Harry joined the BBC in 1978 after working as a history teacher, and joined Look North in 1982, although he left for a spell working on BBC South Today in the 1990s.

He covered nine Olympic Games for the BBC and won two Royal Television Society (RTS) awards for his sports documentaries: White Rose In Africa in 1992 and Dickie Bird: A Rare Species in 1997.

And he won the RTS Best Presenter award twice.

In 2019, Harry became a father again at the age of 68, when his wife, Helen, gave birth to his sixth child.