'Just a Minute' host Nicholas Parsons breathes his last at 96

British broadcaster Nicholas Parsons, who hosted BBC radio 4’s Just A Minute game show for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 96 after a short illness, his agent said on Tuesday.

He was also an actor, performer and entertainer, appearing in films and on stage.

“No one deserves to be called a broadcasting legend more than Nicholas Parsons,” BBC Director General Tony Hall said in a statement.

“His charm, inventive intellect and ability to create laughs were unsurpassed.”

Parsons was best known for Just A Minute, in which panelists have to talk non-stop for 60 seconds on any given topic without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

Gyles Brandreth, a friend who worked with Parsons on the programme said: “It’s heartbreakingly sad and it is the end of an era in many ways.

“He was a consummate professional and a role model to so many people because he just went on working right up to when he was 95.

“It’s a career truly to celebrate and a man to celebrate,” he told the BBC.