His father died when Michelmore was two years old, and he was raised- with five siblings- by his mother in a terraced house near the Cowes boatyards until being sent to live with his sister and her husband, a farmer.

After the war he worked for BBC Radio and television as a freelance sports commentator, then as a news reporter and as a producer of children's programmes, including All Your Own.

From 1955 to 1957 Michelmore presented the BBC TV programme Highlight, a current affairs show with a reputation for uncompromising interviews.

On 18 February 1957 he became anchor for BBC Television's new topical weekday magazine show Tonight, with Fyfe Robertson, which ran for eight years and attracted eight million viewers at its peak.

Arguably Michelmore's most poignant commentary was in October 1966 on the Aberfan disaster, where 116 children and 28 adults died after the collapse of a colliery spoil tip.

Michelmore presented coverage of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969, alongside James Burke and Patrick Moore.

[16][17] Paying tribute, the Director-General of the BBC, Tony Hall, said: "It's impossible to overestimate just how important a national figure he was at a time when there were just two channels...