BBC presenter Craig Rich has sadly died (Image: BBC)
Legendary BBC presenter Craig Rich has died at the age of 86.
The Spotlight star’s family confirmed the sad news, crediting his “amazing life”. He died “peacefully” on December 1 and leaves behind wife Pat and their three children Jo, Sarah and Thomas.
His former colleague Justin Leigh paid an emotional tribute to Craig: “Whenever I think of Craig, I think of laughter. Smiling and laughter.
“He had a twinkle in his eye and an almost boy-ish love of telling jokes. So, no matter how stressful and panic-stricken the newsroom could be sometimes, the moment Craig arrived was a moment of joy every day. He brightened the day no end.”
As well as being the longest-serving regional weatherman, Craig famously solved an incredible mystery that had haunted fans.
He was the longest-serving regional weather presenter (Image: BBC)
In 1968, he became the Navigation Advisor to The Sunday Times, which sponsored the Round the World Yacht Race – the first non-stop global yacht race without a supporting crew.
Yachtsman Donald Crowhurst had mysteriously vanished from his boat in the Atlantic Ocean – and Craig was the one to find out what really happened. Crowhurst looked ready to take the crown – and a £5,000 prize – for the fastest solo time in the race.
He was reaching record-breaking speeds piloting his plywood boat, but went radio silent for the last month of the race in his boat, the Teignmouth Electron.
Craig leaves behind a wife and three children (Image: BBC)
The boat became a ghost ship, found floating adrift in the South Atlantic in July 1969 with nobody onboard. Craig was asked to examine the logbooks found onboard, which revealed the sailor had been lying about his position in the race and the speeds he was travelling at.
It seemed he then took his own life, though his body was never found. Craig, meanwhile, helped to pen a book about the tragedy, as well as being interviewed for several documentaries about the incident.
This is a breaking showbiz story, the team will be updating this story with the latest information as soon as we receive it. For further updates, please refresh the page
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest TV stories straight to your inbox by
Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the day’s top showbiz stories by following every time you see our name.
- Follow Express on Google News –
- Follow Express on Apple News –_ available on Apple devices_
- Follow Express on _Flipboard – _ and click follow
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news and all the latest updates by following , or for the latest TV and showbiz news, follow
Keep up-to-date with your must-see TV stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at