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Stuart Prebble, the creator of the BBC series Grumpy Old Men and a former CEO of ITV, died on Thursday, August 21, at the age of 74. His family confirmed the tragic news, revealing his cause of death was pancreatic cancer. Broadcaster Michael Crick called him "one of the most distinguished TV journalists of modern times," as he led the tributes on X - formerly known as Twitter.

"A really talented, inspiring and creative TV executive, who was able to navigate very tricky fast changing times. Sad news," another person penned. A third chimed in: "One of Britain's best TV journalists, editors, investigators and original minds: fabulous sense of humour has died. RIP Stuart Prebble: Editor of 'World in Action' and creator of 'Grumpy Old Men' and @sky 'Landscape Artist' ." A fourth penned: "At Newcastle Uni he lead the weekly debate on Saturday evenings in the debating chamber at the students' union. No topic was too daft, too serious or too controversial. He was a superb public speaker who could think on his feet. RIP."

One of his first-ever scoops famously came while he was still at university in 1972. Paul McCartney and his new band Wings were playing a series of impromptu gigs at universities around Britain in the stars' first post-Beatles shows.

They pitched up in Newcastle and encountered Stuart, who was working on the next edition of the student newspaper The Courier. "I looked in the back of the van and there was Paul McCartney," Stuart later recalled. "I told them the Student Union was closed on a Sunday but that they might be able to play in the canteen."

He took charge of the logistics for the gig where 400 students paid 50 pence each to hear McCartney's new music, which gave him a front-page story.

In 1974, he applied to join the BBC's journalist training scheme and moved to London on a two-year contract as a news reporter, although he was soon back in Newcastle working for BBC North East & Cumbria, where he presented the Look North slot.

It was the beginning of a long and distinguished career that saw him straddle the boardroom and broadcasting roles. He remained with the BBC for five years before moving to Granada.

He went on to present, produce, and edit ITV's current affairs show World In Action, "righting wrongs, taking on the establishment and uncovering dodgy dealings of one kind or another," as he described it.

In 2001, he became CEO of ITV, but his tenure was brief, ending in the wake of a debacle over ITV Digital, of which he was also CEO. In 2002, he created one of his best-known formats when he invited well-known men to moan about everything that annoyed them about the world.

Big names enlisted to bare their souls on BBC's Grumpy Old Men, including Jeremy Clarkson, Bob Geldof, John Humphrys, John Peel, Will Self, Tim Rice, Rick Wakeman, and Kelvin MacKenzie.

It ran for four series and spawned numerous spin-offs, including, naturally, Grumpy Old Women, in which Ann Widdecombe, Germaine Greer, and Janet Street-Porter were among those moaning about life in the 21st century.