Dickie Davies, host of ITV’s World of Sport for nearly two decades, dies

TV presenter Dickie Davies, who was the face of ITV sports coverage for more than two decades, has died aged 94.

The star presented the Saturday afternoon show World of Sport from the 1960s until it ended in 1985.

The show, a mix of live sport including racing, wrestling and football results, competed with the BBC’s Grandstand.

Former ITV colleague Jim Rosenthal announced the death, saying Davies’ family were “so proud” of his “brilliant career on the telly”.

“Dickie was a wonderful friend and colleague. RIP DD,” he added.

Fellow sports broadcaster Simon Thomas paid tribute to Davies, calling him an “absolute giant” in the industry.

Other tributes have flooded in from fellow sports broadcasters, including Sky Sports Jeff Stelling – who said he grew up watching Davies on World of Sport, adding he was “one of my inspirations along with Des Lyman – a sports broadcasting legend”.

The BBC’s Gabby Logan described him as “one of the very best”, while Richard Keys said the death of a “kind man and brilliant broadcaster” represented an “end of that era”.

ITV football presenter Mark Pougatch put it simply, writing on Twitter: “Ach, Dickie Davies. The rest of us walk in the footsteps of giants. RIP.”

Davies, originally from Cheshire, began his TV career as an announcer on Southern Television in 1960, having previously spent seven years as a purser for the cruise company Cunard Line.

He moved to ITV’s new show World of Sport and was initially an understudy to Eamonn Andrews before becoming the main host in 1968.

Every Saturday saw him at the helm of a five-hour TV marathon, anchoring the coverage of a wide variety of sports including many minority events not previously seen on TV screens.

It was an era long before sports broadcasting rights became the subject of billion pound battles between round-the-clock sports channels. Every May, Davies would lead ITV’s all-day build-up to the FA Cup final, which at that time was one of the few football matches broadcast live during the course of the season.

He also worked on ITV’s coverage of three Olympic Games.

Memorable episodes of World of Sport include the 1977 Christmas Eve special, during which comedian Eric Morecambe performed a series of distracting skits as Davies presented the show. At one point, the pair played a game of snooker, with Morecambe using Davies’ head to balance his cue.

Davies’ bushy moustache and dark bouffant hair with a trademark white streak at the front made him one of the most recognisable – and impersonated – ITV stars of the era.

His most unlikely claim to fame came when the indie band Half Man Half Biscuit paid their own tribute to him in the 1986 song Dickie Davies Eyes.

He also had an unlikely sideline during his early years on World of Sport, as he had invested some of his his TV earnings in a pub called the Globe in Andover, Hampshire – and was occasionally pictured working behind the bar on a Saturday evening, just hours after broadcasting to millions of people.

After World of Sport ended in 1985, Davies stayed at ITV as a presenter for another four years but later switched to a new role as sports editor with Classic FM.

However, a stroke in 1995 badly affected his speech and forced him off air as he slowly recovered.

He later returned intermittently to the screen for a number of specials, including ITV’s 50-year World of Sport anniversary in 2005, as well as some shows for Sky Sports.