by 
A man most famous for travelling around the country helping children swap their toys has died, leaving memories not as a swap but as a gift.
Chegwin, who was a fixture on television during the Seventies and early Eighties was irrepressibly cheerful and unflaggingly upbeat, serving as a childlike foil to more senior – but less entertaining – presenters and bringing a warmth to the Saturday mornings and teatimes of millions.
Even during a dark period of alcoholism and depression he continued working whenever he could, channelling his own difficulties into happiness for others, which as obituaries go, is probably one of the best that can be given.
He was a performer with an unexpectedly wide range, as his career involved everything from children’s films to Shakespeare, from chart success to hosting successful quiz shows.
He went from the pantomime stage to hosting the BAFTAS with the same wide-eyed enthusiasm and a feeling that he had no more idea what he was going to say or do next than you did.
Everyone of a certain age has a Chegwin memory, and it’s almost certainly a silly one that probably involves children laughing, or adults laughing like children.
In his later years, Cheggers was notorious for cheerfully and shamelessly stealing other people’s gags on Twitter, and so he’d probably find it hilarious if we took this opportunity to remember his wonderful performances in the Parrot Sketch, as Inspector Clouseau, and for repeatedly telling Stanley this was another fine mess he’d got him into.
Thanks, Keith.
