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BBC veteran Dave Monk has sadly died aged 72 after battling pancreatic cancer. Dave was a radio presenter on BBC Radio Essex for almost 40 years, before he was diagnosed with the disease in 2024. Real name David Travis, he was one of the original hosts of BBC Essex when it launched in 1986, and covered huge stories like the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Dave's final words to his listeners on the radio were: "Look after yourself, have a lot of fun, and don't forget, the more you laugh, the more you live. Goodbye."

Now tributes have flooded in for the star, with BBC Local's Robert Thompson praising him as "the voice of Essex". He said: "From solicitor to broadcaster, there was nothing Dave couldn't do, and he taught us all to grab hold of every opportunity and go after it."

Former Essex police and crime commissioner Nick Alston also paid tribute to Dave, saying: "We used to have a Friday night disco at the school and he'd be spinning the turntables there. He was just very, very good at engaging with the people, either in front of him on the stage or on the dance floor."

He added: "He was funny, he was very well informed, he'd always done his research.

"He understood the issues, and his passion for Essex meant that his questions were always the right ones. I really respected that."

Speaking initially about his terminal cancer diagnosis, Dave said last month: "I'm not scared of death, but I'd rather it not to have come quite yet."

He told the BBC that originally he thought it was simply gallbladder issues - and the diagnosis came "completely out of the blue". He underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy and a pancreaticoduodenectomy, AKA the Whipple's procedure - to remove parts of his pancreas and bile duct, his gallbladder and duodenum, along with part of his stomach, which "worked for about four months".

Despite radiotherapy, Dave received the news that his treatment had not worked, and the cancer spread to his lungs and liver.

He said: "They've decided there's nothing more they can do, so I'm under the wonderful care of Farleigh Hospice and [I'm] going through the last stages."