Peter Sissons, a former BBC newsreader, has died at the age of 77. In a statement announcing the sad news, Peter's agent said: "We are sad to announce that Peter Sissons, the former presenter on ITN, Channel 4 and the BBC, died peacefully last night in Maidstone Hospital, Kent. His wife and three children were with him and wish to pass on their thanks to the hospital staff who were so caring and fought gallantly to save him to the end."
Peter's career in news spanned more than 40 years but he will be most famously remembered as the presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and the BBC Ten O'Clock News between 1993 and 2003. The father-of-three – who also worked for ITN after graduating from Oxford University in 1964 and later Channel 4 – is one of the UK's longest-serving news presenters, although he retired in 2009 to focus on writing his memoirs.
Peter is best known for his time newsreading for the BBC
Tributes have flooded in on social media, with BBC's Simon McCoy tweeting that he was: "Very sorry to hear of the death of former colleague Peter Sissons. A great journalist and a fine presenter at ITN and the BBC. #RIP."
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Piers Morgan paid tribute on Twitter
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Iain Dale, the journalist who helped publish Peter's memoirs after his retirement, said of the news veteran: "Very sad. I published his memoirs and he was a delight to deal with. A model author and a great journalist."
Piers Morgan added: "RIP Peter Sissons, 77. An excellent journalist & TV newsreader, and splendidly combative & amusing man."