Direct and passionate - showman John McCririck was a brilliant broadcaster

Ken Dodd was helped on television by his teeth. Ronnie Corbett was helped by being small. John McCririck was helped by the way he looked, the way he dressed and the way he sounded, but there was far more to him than that. He was a brilliant broadcaster.

It is all too easy to dismiss or devalue McCririck's contribution to how racing was covered on the box. It is true he became a caricature of himself, while his reputation and standing suffered because of at times demeaning appearances on reality shows. However, forget about Big Brother, Wife Swap and all the others. Remember what he was like in the betting ring. Remember him in his pomp.

Even before he became extremely different McCririck was still quite noticeably different. That is why he was brought into ITV's racing team, where he gained his first big break on Derby day in the Shergar year of 1981. For over three decades he remained part of that team, with most of the time spent on Channel 4. When you think of Channel 4 Racing, you think of John McCririck.