In pictures: Tony Hart

Iconic TV presenter and artist Tony Hart has died aged 83. His career saw him bring a love of art to millions of children around the world.

Hart had served as an officer in the Ghurkha Rifles in World War II before joining a course at the Maidstone College of Art.

On meeting a TV producer in 1952 he quickly drew a picture on a napkin. That chance meeting launched a TV career spanning nearly five decades.

His first TV role was an illustrator on the show Saturday Special, before he joined the cast of Vision On in 1964.

The show - aimed at both deaf and hearing children - combined fast-paced skits with Hart's enthusiastic painting, often on massive canvases, studio floors and any available flat surface.

He later went on to host the show Take Hart - where children were encouraged to send in their artwork.

Another of Hart's co-stars was animated clay figure Morph - a babbling sidekick who would often clumsily interrupt Hart's artwork.

Hart, who retired in 2001, once said "my aged heart is warmed by the lovely letters and emails I receive, especially when they tell me that my work... inspired the writers to become artists".

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